GOING GREEN AT THE MOVIES >>>

Last year's catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf and Japan's current tribulations with natural and man-made disasters are periodic, sober warnings of people's tenuous yet vital hold on the environment. Nature nurtures both our physical and artistic instincts. A filmmaker, for instance, looks about and sees Earth as one vast mise-en-scène, its raw materials photographed in endless combinations to suit infinite stories.

The Olympia Film Society's second annual Environmental Film Festival, April 15 - 17, celebrates a few of those stories that carry a unifying message: lean, clean and green, baby.

"I think it's made clear by the number of environmental groups (in town), not just local groups that are part of national organizations and state organizations ... (that) most Olympians are concerned about the environment," says OFS Film Programming Director Helen Thornton.

To read Christopher Wood's full article on the 2nd Annual Environmental Film Festival, click here.

[Capitol Theater, 2nd Annual Environmental Film Festival, April 15 - 17, times and prices vary, olympiafilmsociety.org for full schedule, 206 Fifth Ave. SE, Olympia, 360.754.6670]