January 25, 2012 by Mark.

Dear YERTians,

We’re thrilled to announce a new partnership with Steeltown Entertainment’s “Take a Shot at Changing the World” competition, with a kick-off event that includes a YERT screening in Pittsburgh just one week from now! Read on for more information and some YERTy news about our upcoming West Coast Tour…

• YERT Screens at Heinz History Center to Launch Steeltown’s “Take a Shot” Contest on Jan. 29!
• Sign Up to Host a Screening During Our Imminent West Coast Tour
• YERT Film DVD Sales Going Strong

YERT Screens at Heinz History Center to Launch Steeltown’s “Take a Shot” Contest on Jan. 29!

Please join us on January 29th at 2:30 p.m. at The Heinz History Center where students, parents, educators, and the general public are invited to a FREE SCREENING of the film “YERT: Your Environmental Road Trip.” At the event you’ll also have an opportunity to learn more about the “Take a Shot to Change the World” competition, in which students can make a movie that makes a difference and win up to $10,000 in prizes. Tickets for the screening are first come, first serve. To attend, please RSVP with rachel@steeltown.org or call 412-622-1325. More information about the screening AND the contest at http://www.takeashotcontest.org/.

Sign Up to Host a Screening During Our Imminent West Coast Tour

We’ve learned that the absolute best way to get the word out about the YERT film and all of the amazing stories IN the film is to meet our audiences. In person! So we’re hitting the road again for a big West Coast Tour in late February and all of March (with a few screenings on the trip out and back). We don’t have our schedule locked yet, so now’s the time to entice us, encourage us, and help us visit you wherever you are! Here’s what we need…

• Screening hosts. We’ll screen anywhere: house parties, theaters, community centers– we just need you to help organize the events. We can even set up a our own mini-theater with supplies we’ll bring along.
• Places to stay. We’ll have bedding supplies. We just need a place to put them down.
• People to film. We would love to share a few new stories about what’s happening across America.

The tour will be funded by donations, DVD sales, and lots of love. Screening fees for events that we visit on tour are requested but not mandatory. Check out our rough itinerary (totally subject to change) and Google Map Route, then sign up to host a screening here. Be sure to note that you want an “on tour” screening!

YERT Film DVD Sales Going Strong
We’ve been delighted by the number of people who have purchased YERT DVD’s during the last two months. So much enthusiastic feedback, too! You can order yours at our online store. Share them with friends. Give them as gifts. Help us wake up this country and get on a sustainable path. (Bulk pricing is now available - contact mark@yert.com for details).

We hope you had a nourishing and delicious holiday season, filled with rich, close community encounters. Did you watch our film with family? How did it go? Tell us about it on Facebook. Until next time…

Cheers,
Mark, Ben, and Julie
team@yert.com

Posted in Janaia donaldson, tour, Heinz, steeltown, screening | No Comments »

January 19, 2012 by Mark.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Rachel Shepherd, Steeltown Entertainment Project, Project Manager, 412-622-1325

STEELTOWN’S “TAKE A SHOT AT CHANGING THE WORLD” CONTEST
KICKS OFF AT THE HEINZ HISTORY CENTER ON JAN. 29
-SCREENING OF AWARD WINNING FILM “YERT” TO HONOR 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF
RACHEL CARSON’S “SILENT SPRING”-
-$10,000 PRIZES TO BE GIVEN AWAY TO SWPA STUDENTS-

Pittsburgh, PA (January 2012) – In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, and to kick off the 2012 “Take A Shot At Changing The World” Digital Media Contest, Steeltown Entertainment Project and the Senator John Heinz History Center are screening YERT: Your Environmental Road Trip, a film that is keeping Carson’s dreams alive. This movie follows a trio on their cross-country road trip and quest for the sustainable lifestyle, departing from the birthplace of the environmental movement—the Rachel Carson Homestead.

The screening takes place at the Heinz History Center on January 29th at 2:30 P.M and is free and open to the public. Filmmaker and star Mark Dixon will speak after the event along with other special guests including Dr. Patricia DeMarco, Director of the Rachel Carson Institute at Chatham University, Carl Kurlander, Executive Producer of Steeltown Entertainment Project, and Andy Masich, President and CEO of the Heinz History Center. Tickets are first come, first serve. To reserve free tickets, people are encouraged to call Steeltown’s offices at 412-622-1325 or email Rachel@steeltown.org.

The “Take a Shot at Changing the World” contest is open to middle school and high school students in Southwestern PA, and gives kids the chance to make movies and make a difference. Students can win cash prizes by making short films that tell stories of how Pittsburgh and Pittsburghers have changed the world, the $2500 Innovation Prize in conjunction with the Heinz History Center, or by making movies that feature their own personal plans for social action, the $2500 Globechangers Prize. Additionally, there is a $2500 environmental movie prize, and a $2500 polio movie prize. The winner of the polio prize will get their film posted on the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation website and the winner of the Globechanger Social Action Award will receive a trip to the Jefferson Awards in Washington, D.C. and mentorship to implement their ideas.

The contest is a collaborative effort put forth by Steeltown Entertainment Project, The Jefferson Awards, The Heinz History Center, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Allegheny Intermediate Unit, and WQED.

Teachers and students are invited to stay after the screening to find out more about the “Take a Shot at Changing the World” contest and how they can get involved, and also to attend a movie-making brainstorming workshop with Mark Dixon and other experts.

The acclaimed film YERT is a fun and compelling environment road trip where the filmmakers cover 50 States in one year living on only one shoebox of trash a month. With their planet in peril, three friends hit the road - traveling with hope, humor, and all of their garbage - to explore every state in America (the good, the bad…and the weird) in search of the extraordinary innovators and citizens who are tackling humanity’s greatest environmental crises. As the YERT team layers outlandish eco-challenges onto their year-long quest, an unexpected turn of events pushes them to the brink in this award-winning docu-comedy. The film features Bill McKibben, Wes Jackson, Will Allen, Janine Benyus, Joel Salatin, David Orr, and others. The YERT Feature Film received a plethora of noteworthy awards including the Audience Award at the Environmental Film Festival at Yale, tying with Oscar-nominated Waste Land. To find out more about this feature film visit www.yert.com.

The YERT screening is the first of the “Make a Movie, Make a Difference” series that will culminate in April with The Shot Felt ‘Round the World, a film that tells the story of Jonas Salk and his team at the University of Pittsburgh pulling together with a city and a nation to conquer what was once the most feared disease of the 20th Century—polio. The screening will mark the 57th anniversary of the Salk Polio Vaccine being declared safe and effective, as well as the recent declaration of India becoming polio-free. The Shot Felt ‘Round The World was recently selected as the Opening Night Film for the San Luis Obispo Film Festival and has been picked up for distribution by Mercury Media.

The “Take A Shot” competition builds on last year’s success, where students created movies that connected the development of the Salk Polio Vaccine in Pittsburgh to current eradication efforts around the world, raising awareness about a largely forgotten disease and inspiring a new generation to care and to act. 265 students participated, and their films received 12,500 votes from the general public.

To find out more about Steeltown’s “Take a Shot at Changing the World,” the contest topics and prompts, and how you can get involved, visit www.takeashotcontest.org.

———————————
Steeltown Entertainment Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is to help build a vibrant, responsible, and sustainable entertainment sector in Southwestern PA by connecting entertainment professionals with regional ties to local projects, people, and partnerships to create commercially viable and socially meaningful film and media. For more information, go to www.steeltown.org.

The Senator John Heinz History Center is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution and the largest history museum in Pennsylvania. The Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum is a museum within a museum, comprehensively presenting the region’s remarkable sports story through hundreds of artifacts and interactive experiences for visitors of all ages. The History Center and Sports Museum are located at 1212 Smallman Street in the city’s Strip District, and are open every day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. More information is available at www.heinzhistorycenter.org.

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November 30, 2011 by Ben.

Whew, I just got back from St. Louis, Costa Rica, and Pittsburgh…and boy are my arms tired. It’s been a fantastic couple of weeks for the YERT film - (hey, we just won Best Feature Documentary for our international premiere at the Costa Rica International Film Festival!!). Here are some snapshots and a few things I learned while traveling.

St. Louis (11/11-13):
* Always remember your wallet when taking a road trip to St. Louis (or your Aunt Karen will never let you live it down when you get there).

* When in St. Louis’ incredible City Museum, keep track of your 3-year-old…no, really.

* Treating said 3-year-old to a celebratory ice cream cone and root beer at said museum may seem like a good idea at the time…

…it is not.

* The St. Louis International Film Festival is really cool. They’ll even take a picture of you outside their marquee.

Costa Rica (11/14-18):
* Always remember your passport when flying to Cos…don’t worry, I did actually remember my passport.

* 48 hours is not nearly enough time in Montezuma, Costa Rica.

* But, if 48 hours is all you can get in Montezuma, Costa Rica…take it!

* Don’t try to cross the river to hike through the jungle to get to the big waterfall if it rained the night before because the river will look like this and you will die.

Instead, cross the river the next day when it’s calmer…

Of course, when the waterfall you’re trying to get to looks like this…

…I can understand why people might throw caution to the wind.

* Zip lines are harder to pull off as you get older.

* The Costa Rica International Film Festival is also really cool! And they dig fun environmental docs!

TEDx (11/19-20):
After a long day of travel from San Jose, Costa Rica to Farmington, PA by way of MIA and PIT, I finally rendezvoused with Mark at what can only be described as rural Pennsylvania’s answer to the Palace of Versailles for a truly remarkable experience presenting YERT highlights at Pittsburgh’s TEDx conference where we were very well received.

* Pennsylvania doesn’t have Las Vegas, but it does have Nemacolin Resort. And holy honkin’ hotel, Batman! This place is decked out!

* There is a certain inescapable irony about holding a conference focused on “power” in an enormous, sprawling hotel with giant chandeliers in every hotel room. Kind of like an environmental road trip…

* In a pinch, a hotel room bathtub can be used as a washer and an iron as a clothes dryer…for all of your wet, stinky Costa Rica “jungle clothes”…on the morning of your presentation.

* TEDx is really cool. You might even meet someone like, oh, say…C-3PO. Though he’s harder to spot without the full metal body suit.

Finally, as exciting as the traveling’s been, it’s always a joy to come back home to family.

Here’s to an even more fruitful and exciting 2012! Oh, and don’t forget to BUY YOUR YERT DVDs before the holidays - they make great gifts!

Happy Holidays!
-B (& J & M)

Posted in premiere, pittsburgh, Ben, Mark, Uncategorized | No Comments »

November 11, 2011 by Mark.

Dear YERTians,

We continue to receive overwhelmingly positive feedback about the YERT film, as we travel from screening to screening to meet audiences around the country. It seems that people everywhere are ready for, as we like to say, “an environmental documentary film that isn’t depressing.” Read on for more news…

• YERT is “Best Environmental Film” at SOAPIFF!
• The International Premiere of YERT in COSTA RICA
• More Upcoming Screenings (KY, CA, CT, MO, GA, PA)
• DC Screening Success!
• Exploring Distribution Options

YERT is “Best Environmental Film” at SOAPIFF!
We’re thrilled to announce that the YERT film received another award - this time from the Southern Appalachian International Film Festival, or SOAPIFF for short. We have a special chapter in our film that specifically grapples with mountaintop removal mining (MTR) in West Virginia, featuring a flight on SouthWings, an interview with several MTR activists including Larry Gibson, and beautiful music by Ben Sollee (in this case, “Panning for Gold“). It is our small tribute to those working hard to rescue Appalachia from mining companies that are actively working to scrape life from the region. Learn more and get involved at ILoveMountains.org.

The International Premiere of YERT in COSTA RICA
Ben will be heading down to one of the most environmentally forward-thinking countries on earth for the International Premiere of YERT at the Costa Rica International Film Festival! The YERT film’s reputation is starting to open doors on its own, and we were invited by the festival to apply. One thing let to another, and now Ben is going to need some non-toxic sunscreen for his hop down to Costa Rica for the big event: Wednesday, Nov. 16, 8pm, at the El Sano Banano in Montezuma, Costa Rica (Nicoya Peninsula). I know that most of you probably aren’t planning to swing down there next week, but we definitely want you all to know about it. (For the record, in 2010 Costa Rica ranked 3rd in the world on the Environmental Performance Index developed at Yale and Columbia Universities. The United States placed 61st.)

More Upcoming Screenings
There can never be too many YERT screenings, and we’re glad to announce a fresh batch of events before Thanksgiving! We have over 10 screenings planned around the country during the next week. Check out our screenings page for more details and our calendar of events. And don’t forget to tell your friends and family to go see the YERT Film in their area! Here’s a quick reference list of events coming up through the end of November:

UPCOMING YERT SCREENINGS
(click each for details or here for full calendar)

• 11/11/11 @ 7pm - Connecticut Science Center, Hartford, CT
• 11/12/11 @ 7pm - Connecticut Science Center, Hartford, CT
• 11/12/11 @ 2pm - St. Louis Int’l Film Festival, St. Louis, MO** - with special meet-up w/ Ben at City Museum after screening at 5pm.
• 11/13/11 @ 4:30pm - St. Louis Int’l Film Festival, St. Louis, MO**
• 11/15/11 @ 6pm - Center for Sustainable Energy, San Diego, CA°
• 11/15/11 @ 7pm - Foxhollow Farm, Crestwood, KY
• 11/16/11 @ 1pm - Westport Historical Society, Westport, CT
• 11/16/11 @ 7pm - Emory University, Atlanta, GA
• 11/16/11 @ 7:30pm - Albright College, Reading, PA*
• 11/16/11 @ 8pm - INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE of YERT in COSTA RICA**
• 11/30/11 @ 5:30pm - Kingsley Association & UGGC, Pittsburgh, PA*

Key:
*Mark attending for Q&A
**Ben attending for Q&A
***Mark + Ben attending for Q&A
°Mark or Ben for videochat Q&A

DC Screening Success!
With barely two days of lead time, we packed the house with over 40 very enthusiastic viewers at last weekend’s YERT screening in Washington DC, then sold 17 DVDs after a standing ovation and extended Q&A with both Mark and Ben. The screening was designed to coincide with the Tar Sands Action, and we handed out over 1,000 fliers to a huge crowd of activists (10,000+) gathered all around the White House. Not only did the screening go well, but the larger event (protesting the possible KXL pipeline from the tar sands in Canada) was a great success! Obama decided to delay approval of the pipeline - and most analysts believe that the news spells the end for the project. A W E S O M E. Read Bill McKibben’s full report here.

<--Photos from the screening in DC!

Exploring Distribution Options
We don’t have a lot to report here yet, but we have received a steady stream of interest from distributors, agents, and others interested in helping us get the YERT film seen more widely around the country, and the world. Stay tuned - we’re looking at possible screening tours, Earth Day/Week/Month events, and generally brainstorming about how to get the film in front of more peole. Got ideas? Please e-mail them to us at team@yert.com.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and we have so much to give thanks for here at YERT. Thank you for your enthusiastic support and encouragement. And don’t forget to join the conversation on Facebook. Peace out.

Best,
Ben, Mark, and Julie
team@yert.com

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November 3, 2011 by Mark.

We have quickly assembled this screening to coincide with the Tar Sands Action in Washington DC - but everybody is welcome to join. It is open to the public. Mark Dixon, YERT Producer, will be available during and after the screening for Q&A. Feel free to share the following “blurb” widely!

********YERT SCREENING IN WASHINGTON DC********
The award-winning environmental docu-comedy called “YERT - Your Environmental Road Trip” will be screening in Takoma Park/Washington DC, and you’re invited!

“Here’s a trip you’ll wish you’d taken, and you’ll be glad you get to watch!”
-Bill McKibben, Author and Environmentalist

Please join YERT Producer, Mark Dixon, at this very special screening, arranged specifically to coincide with the Tar Sands Action at the White House. Details are below…

Sunday, 11/6/11, 8pm
Seekers Church
276 Carroll St., NW, Washington, D.C. 20012
METRO: One block from Takoma Station, RED line. Details below.

Here’s a quick synopsis: 50 States. 1 Year. Zero Garbage? Called to action by a planet in peril, three friends hit the road - traveling America with hope, humor…and all of their garbage - to explore the good, the bad, and the weird across every state in search of the extraordinary innovators and courageous citizens who are tackling humanity’s greatest environmental crises. As the YERT team layers outlandish eco-challenges onto their year-long quest, an unexpected turn of events throws the project for a loop in this award-winning docu-comedy. Featuring Bill McKibben, Wes Jackson, Will Allen, Janine Benyus, Joel Salatin, David Orr, and music by Ben Sollee, Daniel Martin Moore, Mark Geary and more.

Winner, Audience Award, 2011 Environmental Film Festival at Yale
Winner, Best Environmental Documentary, 2011 DocuFest Atlanta
Winner, Chris Award, 2011 Columbus International Film and Video Festival
Winner, Best Environmental Film, 2011 Southern Appalachian Int’l Film Festival

METRO INFORMATION FROM WHITE HOUSE: The Seekers Church is located about one block east of the Takoma Metro Station on the RED line. (Please note: there is some construction of the Takoma station, so you might need to take a shuttle bus. They’re advising folks to add 30 minutes to their travel time.)
- From the corner of 15th St. NW and G St. NW (East of the White House) walk three blocks on G St. NW to the Metro Center Metro Station (12th NW and G NW).
- Catch the Red Line toward Takoma Park. Travel ~17 minutes/8 stops to Takoma Metro Station.
- Exit the metro station and walk about one block East (away from the tracks) along Carroll/Cedar St. NW. The Seekers Church is on your right (276 Carroll St. NW) at the intersection with Cedar St. NW.

More YERT videos and info at http://www.yert.com .
Facebook event at https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=134326523340450 .
********************************************

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October 7, 2011 by Mark.

Dear YERTians,

Word is getting around about the YERT film… and right now we’re deep into the season of festival screenings and have even received a few awards! Lots of details below.

• Festival Awards!
• The West Coast Premiere of YERT - NEXT WEEK
• Un-official YERT Screening for AASHE Conference Attendees
• YERT at Heartland Film Festival (click to help us build buzz!!)
• Lots of Upcoming Screenings
• Pittsburgh Premiere Wrap-up Report
• YERT Film DVD Sales?

Festival Awards!
YERT is pleased to announce that we’ve received a few awards since our last e-mail update. We recently learned that the YERT film was named “Best Environmental Documentary” by DocuFest Atlanta. The YERT film also received a “Chris Award” from the 59th annual Columbus International Film + Video Festival. At the Cincinnati Film Festival we received the following awards: Best Regional Documentary and Honorable Mentions for Best Documentary and Best Documentary Director. We’re still applying to and getting into more festivals, so stay tuned for more good news. We’ve also found that attendance at film festivals varies widely– if you have advice for how to make the most of each festival, we’d love to hear your ideas!

The West Coast Premiere of YERT - NEXT WEEK
The big SF Premiere date has almost arrived! The Bioneers is co-hosting this event with the San Francisco Green Film Festival and the Green Living Project. Meet up with Ben and all of our San Francisco YERTy friends at the famous Roxie Theater in downtown San Francisco on Tuesday, 10/11 at 8:45pm. Invite your friends to our Facebook event and don’t forget to buy your tickets here. The screening and Q&A will take place from 8:45pm to about 11:00pm at the Roxie Theater, 3117 16th St., SF, CA.

Un-official YERT Screening for AASHE Conference Attendees
AASHE stands for “Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education,” and they’re having their annual national conference in Pittsburgh next week! Mark purchased a very expensive conference ticket in the hopes of meeting lots of college sustainability coordinators and introducing them to the possibility of screening YERT at their respective institutions. To sweeten the deal, we have planned a very special private screening of the full YERT film for AASHE Conference attendees on Monday evening, 10/10/11 at 7pm. The location is secret, but virtually next door to the convention center. Just contact Mark (mark@yert.com or 412-204-6098) to learn the secret location!

YERT at Heartland Film Festival (help us build buzz!!)
Join YERT Director Ben Evans at one of our best fests to-date next week: the Heartland Film Festival in Indianapolis, IN. This amazing festival has a very YERTy mission and a wonderful legacy of films screened in the past. We’re hoping to make a major impact at all three of our screenings - but we need your help. All you need to do is click on this link, and that builds “buzz” with the Heartland website. We did this before and rocked the deadCENTER film festival with buzz, ratings, and a great time - and now we’d like to set even more buzz records with your help. THANK YOU!!

Lots of Upcoming Screenings
The screening events keep flooding in– Woohoo! We have over 16 screenings planned around the country during the next couple months, possibly one near you! Check out our screenings page for more details and our calendar of events. And don’t forget to tell your friends and family to go see the YERT Film in their area! Here’s a quick reference list of events coming up through the end of October:

UPCOMING YERT SCREENINGS
(click each for details or here for full calendar)

• 10/7/11 @ 8:30pm - Westport Village Shopping Ctr., Louisville, KY**
• 10/8/11 @ 2pm - Foxhollow Farm Fall Festival, Crestwood, KY**
• 10/11/11 @ 8:45pm - CA Premiere at Roxie Theater, San Francisco, CA**
• 10/14/11 @ 5pm - Building Change Film Festival, Pittsburgh, PA*
• 10/15/11 @ 1pm - Heartland Film Festival, Indianapolis, IN**
• 10/15/11 @ 6pm - Flagstaff Mountain Film Festival, Flagstaff, AZ
• 10/15/11 @ 7pm - Central Coast Bioneers, San Luis Obispo, CA°
• 10/15/11 @ 9pm - Kentucky Waterways Alliance, Corbin, KY
• 10/22/11 @ 7pm - Transition Honesdale, Beach Lake, PA
• 10/17/11 @ 9pm - Heartland Film Festival, Indianapolis, IN
• 10/19/11 @ 4pm - Heartland Film Festival, Indianapolis, IN
• 10/23/11 @ 5:15pm - Orlando Film Festival, Orlando, FL
• 10/25/11 @ 6:30pm - Portland Maine Permaculture, Portland, ME
• 10/29/11 @ 1:40pm - SOAPIFF, Knoxville, TN**
• 11/12/11 @ 2pm - St. Louis Film Festival, St. Louis, MO**
• 11/13/11 @ 4:30pm - St. Louis Film Festival, St. Louis, MO**

Key:
*Mark attending for Q&A
**Ben attending for Q&A
***Mark + Ben attending for Q&A
°Mark or Ben for videochat Q&A

Pittsburgh Premiere Wrap-up Report
The YERT Premiere in Pittsburgh was a great success. Hundreds of enthusiastic YERT fans filled the Eddy Theater at Chatham University and laughed and cried their way through the YERT film. It finished with a standing ovation that led to a thoughtful series of questions by the audience, fielded by Mark and Ben. We sold dozens of DVDs (first time on sale EVER) and released a brand new YERT t-shirt design that also sold well. Many thanks to all of our sponsors, particularly the Rachel Carson Institute at Chatham University, PennFuture, Pair Networks, and Parkhurst Dining Services.

YERT DVD Sales?
We are starting a gradual rollout of DVD sales of the YERT feature film for personal use! This is a slow process, and they aren’t available on our website just yet, but if you plan a screening in your area, we will give you an opportunity to purchase YERT film DVDs at a wholesale rate for you to re-sell at your screening event. It acts as a fundraiser for you, and brings in a little extra money for YERT– all while satisfying the growing demand for YERT DVDs around the country. We’ll let you know down the road when you can just go find the film online for purchase, but in the meantime, planning a community screening is your best and fastest way to watch the YERT film. Sign up for a screening at our screening page and we’ll contact you right away.

It is difficult to express our gratitude to all of you for your support with this project, particularly after you see the film and share your smiles and reflections with us. Thank you, and please continue to help spread the word to friends and family. And don’t forget to join the conversation on Facebook. Until next time…

Cheers,
Ben, Mark, and Julie
team@yert.com

Posted in roxie, green living project, aashe, Heartland Film Festival, Parkhurst, bioneers, San Francisco Green Film Festival, #AASHE2011, docufest atlanta | No Comments »

October 6, 2011 by Mark.

If you’re heading to the AASHE Conference in Pittsburgh, next week, YERT has your Monday evening entertainment covered! We’ll be hosting a special private screening of our award-winning eco-documentary-comedy film, “YERT - Your Environmental Road Trip,” on Monday at 7pm at a secret location just a block from the Convention Center. You can contact Mark Dixon, YERT’s producer, at mark@yert.com or 412-204-6098 for screening location details. You can also find him all week at the AASHE conference, just look for his big tan hat! (see below for picture of big, tan hat)

Here’s a quick synopsis of the film:
50 States. 1 Year. Zero Garbage? Called to action by a planet in peril, three friends hit the road - traveling America with hope, humor…and all of their garbage - to explore the good, the bad, and the weird across every state in search of the extraordinary innovators and courageous citizens who are tackling humanity’s greatest environmental crises. As the YERT team layers outlandish eco-challenges onto their year-long quest, an unexpected turn of events throws the project for a loop in this award-winning docu-comedy. Featuring Bill McKibben, Wes Jackson, Will Allen, Janine Benyus, Joel Salatin, David Orr, and music by Ben Sollee, Daniel Martin Moore, Mark Geary and more.

More information about YERT at http://yert.com/film.php

Mark in his big, tan hat.

#AASHE2011

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September 28, 2011 by Mark.

Scott Brusaw, Co-Founder of Solar Roadways, is coming to Pennsylvania! He’ll be speaking at Penn State at 6:30pm on October 3rd in room 301 of the Steidel building. Mark from YERT will be there to film the presentation. Should be a great time. Come on by! Caravan!

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September 14, 2011 by Mark.

Dear YERTians,

We’re on a roll with festival acceptances and new screenings! Take a look below for details…

• The CA Premiere of YERT at the Roxie in SF
• Lexington, KY Premiere - TONIGHT!
• A Fiesta of Festival Acceptances
• Pittsburgh Premiere and Overflow Screening on Sept. 20 AND Sept. 21
• YERT Film Screening at Mother Earth News Fair, PA
• Join Yes! Magazine for No Impact Week
• Host a YERT Screening!
• Seeking Outreach Volunteers

The CA Premiere of YERT at the Roxie in SF
One of our long-standing favorite national sustainability organizations, the Bioneers, is co-hosting this event with a brand new favorite of ours, the San Francisco Green Film Festival. The whole thing will take place on Oct. 11, 2011 at the famous Roxie Theater in downtown San Francisco, and Ben will be there with bells on for Q&A and general merriment. Invite your friends to our Facebook event and don’t forget to buy your tickets here. The screening and Q&A will take place from 8:45pm to about 11:00pm at the Roxie Theater, 3117 16th St., SF, CA.

Lexington, KY Premiere Tonight!
The YERT film will be screening TONIGHT, September 14th, at 7pm in the Worsham Theater of the University of Kentucky student center: 404 South Limestone St., Lexington, KY. The screening will be followed by Q&A with Director, Ben Evans. You can find parking at 409 South Limestone.

A Fiesta of Festival Acceptances
As you can see from the laurels at the top of this e-mail, we’re pleased to announce a bunch of new festivals that the YERT film has been accepted into. We have over 18 screenings planned around the country during the next month, possibly one near you! Check out our screenings page for more details and our calendar of events. And don’t forget to tell your friends and family to go see the YERT Film in their area! Here’s a quick reference list of events coming up through the end of October:

UPCOMING YERT SCREENINGS
(click each for details or here for full calendar)

• 9/14/11 @ 7pm - University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY** (TONIGHT)
• 9/15/11 @ 6pm - 15Thousand Farmers, Louisville, KY** (TOMORROW)
• 9/20/11 @ 7pm - Pittsburgh Premiere at Chatham U., Pittsburgh, PA***
• 9/21/11 @ 7pm - Overflow Screening at Homewood Library, Pittsburgh, PA*
• 9/22/11 @ 2:15pm - Twin Cities Film Festival, “Twin Cities,” MN
• 9/22/11 @ 8:45pm - Dallas VideoFest, Dallas, TX**
• 9/24/11 @ 11am - Mother Earth News Fair, Seven Springs, PA*
• 9/25/11 @ 11am - Mother Earth News Fair, Seven Springs, PA*
• 9/25/11 @ 9:30pm - DocuFest Atlanta, Atlanta, GA
• 9/26/11 @ 9:00pm - Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, VA
• 9/27/11 @ 7:30pm - Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, VA*
• 9/27/11 @ 7pm - Transylvania University, Lexington, KY**
• 10/7/11 @ 7pm - Westport Village Shopping Ctr., Louisville, KY**
• 10/11/11 @ 8:45pm - CA Premiere at Roxie Theater, San Francisco, CA**
• 10/15/11 @ 6pm - Flagstaff Mountain Film Festival, Flagstaff, AZ
• 10/15/11 @ 7pm - Central Coast Bioneers, San Luis Obispo, CA°
• 10/15/11 @ 9pm - Kentucky Waterways Alliance, Corbin, KY**
• 10/22/11 @ 7pm - Transition Honesdale, Beach Lake, PA

Key:
*Mark attending for Q&A
**Ben attending for Q&A
***Mark + Ben attending for Q&A
°Mark or Ben for videochat Q&A

Pittsburgh Premiere and Overflow Screening on Sept. 20 AND Sept. 21
We’re filled to the brim with reservations for the big Pittsburgh Premiere of YERT on Sept. 20, so we’ve opened up an Overflow Screening the very next day, same time (7pm), at the Homewood Library Theater. You can still try to get a seat at the Sept. 20 event by signing up on the waiting list here, and we’ll let people in in order of their appearance on the list. Alternatively, you can go see it the next day in Homewood (just a few minutes from Chatham) and be guaranteed a seat. Wait list and Overflow Screening reservations must be made via this form. Feel free to contact Mark@yert.com if you have any questions.

YERT Film Screening at Mother Earth News Fair, PA
This is an event you won’t want to miss. The planners are expecting more than 8,000 people and it is happening right outside of Pittsburgh, PA. The Mother Earth News fair is a hands-on festival of sustainability activities, speakers, events, and one feature film screening: YERT! Twice! That’s right, we’re screening at 11:00 AM on both Saturday 9/24 and Sunday 9/25 at the Utne Reader Stage. Mark and a team of helpful volunteers will be there for the event, including a Q&A with Mark after each screening. Check out the website for the Mother Earth News Fair to see their massive calendar of events.

Host a YERT Screening!
We are working to build the team and infrastructure to enable thousands of community screenings around the world during the next couple of years, but in order to do that, we need your help! Are you involved with a community group in your area that might enjoy a screening of the YERT film? We’d love to help you make that event happen. Each of our screenings to-date have sparked the creation of several more screenings, so once we get this ball rolling it’ll grow and grow — but we need your help getting those initial sparks launched! Sign up today at our screening page.

Join Yes! Magazine for No Impact Week

Our friends and long-standing supporters at Yes! Magazine are contributing 250 current editions of their magazine for attendees at YERT’s Pittsburgh Premiere. They are also teaming up with the No Impact Project for a week-long experiment in low-impact living called No Impact Week, starting on Sept. 18! Over 30,000 people across the planet have participated in the experiment, and YERT encourages you to do the same. For more information about how to get involved, click here.

Seeking Outreach Volunteers
Our team of outreach volunteers is growing, but we still need more help! Would you like to spend a couple hours each week as an outreach volunteer? Click here to sign up and we’ll follow-up with you by e-mail and phone. We particularly need active grass-roots development in these states: PA, CA, AZ, MN, TX, GA, and IN. Sign up today!

We’re certainly feeling the wave of enthusiasm build for the YERT film, and we’ll be keeping you updated on how it all flows in these very full months to come. Don’t forget to join the conversation on Facebook, and we’ll write again soon!

Cheers,
Ben, Mark, and Julie
team@yert.com

Posted in San Francisco Green Film Festival, bioneers, mother earth news fair, yes! magazine, no impact man, no impact week, route 66 festival, docufest atlanta, dallas videofest, soapiff, twin cities film festival, orlando film festival, cincinnati film festival, flagstaff mountain film festival, premiere | No Comments »

August 16, 2011 by Mark.

For use through September 20, 2011

Contact: Mark Dixon
412-204-6098
mark@yert.com

Pittsburgh, PA - “Your Environmental Road Trip (YERT),” an award winning documentary from Pittsburgh film maker Mark Dixon and Louisville’s Ben Evans, will have its Pittsburgh premiere on Tuesday, September 20 at 7 p.m. at the Eddy Theater at Chatham University. The screening will be followed by a discussion with the filmmakers.

Tickets to the screening are limited, and a donation is requested. Reservations are required, and can be made online at http://yertreservation.questionpro.com/

YERT: Your Environmental Road Trip celebrates the American spirit in the face of adversity, and is a unique docu-comedy profiling the courageous and creative individuals, groups, businesses and leaders of this country who are tackling the greatest environmental threats in history. It features the travels of Mark Dixon, Ben Evans, and Julie Evans as they covered 50 states in one year and virtually every environmental issue coast to coast. With a blend of humor and depth, the film features such luminaries as Bill McKibben, Deepak Chopra, and members of Congress – as well as ordinary citizens from all walks of life.

Inspired by the legacy of hometown environmental hero Rachel Carson, YERT’s adventure launched from the Rachel Carson Homestead just outside of Pittsburgh on July 4, 2007. One year later, Mark, Ben, and Julie (and their new baby Bailey), were joined by supporters for a homecoming party at the Rachel Carson Homestead.

The September 20 screening is hosted by the Rachel Carson Institute in the School of Sustainability and the Environment at Chatham University. Sponsors include Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future (PennFuture) and its Black and Gold City Goes Green, Three Rivers Solar Source, and Breathe Easy, Stay Healthy campaigns. Additional sponsors include Tree Pittsburgh, the Allegheny Group of the Sierra Club, Venture Outdoors, Transition Pittsburgh, 3RiversBioneers, Evolver, Grow Pittsburgh, Sust-Enable, Peaceful Gathering of Hands (P.G.H.), and the Pittsburgh Student Environmental Coalition (PSEC). Parkhurst Dining Services will be providing complimentary light refreshments.

Clips and more information about the film are available at http://www.yert.com

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Posted in Pittsburgh Student Environmental Coalition, Peaceful Gathering of Hands, Eddy Theater, Parkhurst Dining Services, Allegheny Group of the Sierra Club, Sust-enable, tree pittsburgh, 3riversbioneers, rachel carson institute, transition pittsburgh, evolver, grow pittsburgh, pennfuture | No Comments »