Living Lightly

LIVING LIGHTLY NEWS

DAVID GOES TO HOLLYWOOD

David Chernushenko has been invited to show Be the Change at a festival in Los Angeles. The Green Lifestyle Film Festival will feature Be the Change in its lineup of films on March 14-15, and present David with a Green Apple Award at the closing gala. Not one to fly more than necessary, David is seizing the opportunity to do a two-week Be the Change Tour of the West Coast. Stops are already planned for film screenings and speaking engagements in the San Francisco Bay area as well as Vancouver and Victoria. More tour stops will be added as the itinerary evolves. Click HERE to see the schedule of events.

Readers who wish to host a stop on the tour — or know somebody who might — are invited to contact David directly.

The March 31 Vancouver screening will be co-hosted by the Be the Change Earth Alliance at the Vancouver Public Library. We look forward to partnering with this dynamic group.

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WE’VE HIT THE 1,000 MARK!

Sales of the Be the Change DVD, the little film that could, have chugged their way to nearly 1,000 copies. Another 1,000 are on order, in time to take a box of them out west. A major library distributor will be promoting the film to public libraries across North America  as part of its Earth Day catalogue.

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THE ECOLOGY OTTAWA AND LIVING LIGHTLY VIDEO CONTEST

In partnership with local environmental group Ecology Ottawa, the Living Lightly Project is co-hosting a contest to encourage other video artists to tell their own short stories of living lightly. The best 2-5 minute entries will be screened following a showing of Be the Change at the National Library Auditorium on Saturday, April 4. Judges will select a winner in each of two categories, under-25 and 25-plus, and the audience will have a chance to vote for its favourite film. Prizes will be awarded to the winners, and a local television station will screen the winning videos at a later date. Details and contest rules can be viewed HERE.

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MEET YOUR GREENS BLOG

When Kara Stonehouse of Ottawa and her British partner David contacted us with an offer to contribute regular reports as they travel between eco-communities in Europe and Asia, we enthusiastically accepted. Over the coming year, Kara and David will be providing reports with photos and commentary via their new blog Meet Your Greens.

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WEBSITE REDESIGN

A year into the Living Lightly Project’s life, we are improving the website to better showcase the main features. Site visits have been strong and feedback positive, but we are hearing and feeling that navigation could be easier, and the main features of the site made more evident. Our own films will be more visible, short videos (ours and those contributed by visitors) made more prominent, and active blogs will be easier to find, to search and to read. Finally, it will be easier for visitors to purchase Be the Change DVDs and other products as they become available. It will also be easier to donate to the Films for Change fundraising efforts, which are what make it possible to operate the website, produce videos and make feature films.

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POWERFUL – FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN IS ON A ROLL

As individuals, whatever our financial means, we have the power to make big changes happen and big projects possible when we come together to share ideas, pool talent and invest our money. That’s the underlying belief of our Films for Change Producers Circle, a novel way of generating interest in and funding for future videos and Films for Change. The next of these is a film that is all about the sharing of knowledge, the collective search for a better way of living, and the use of power and energy for good. It’s called Powerful: Energizing People, Communities and Democracy.

In Powerful, producer David Chernushenko will take us along on his voyage to determine how much we really can do with renewable energy combined with conservation and intelligent use of fuel and electricity. He will show us how the people and communities that are pursuing greater energy autonomy are discovering just how much power they have to govern themselves better and to build stronger, healthier communities.

A four-minute trailer for Powerful is available for viewing already. Many people are telling us how intrigued they are by the topic and how excited they are to see the final product. Well, we are too! But we need lots of other powerful people to make this project all that it can be, by contributing what money they can and joining the Films for Change Producers Circle. Click HERE to read more about the Producers Circle and follow the directions to donate.