Polluting Paradise

Cleveland International Film Festival

By Eddie Fleisher

[Editor’s note: Once again, EcoWatch is thrilled to be a media sponsor of the world-renowned Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF). As always, we are promoting the films in CIFF’s It’s Easy Being Green sidebar sponsored by Great Lakes Brewing Company. We will showcase all 10 eco-films this week and continue to promote them during the festival, April 3 – 14. Each film does an incredible job illustrating our most daunting environmental issues and providing solutions to ensure the well-being of future generations. I encourage you to see these films at CIFF, or at your local film festival or theatre. Documentaries are a great way to educate and motivate people to action.]

Many of us worry about pollution. But probably not as much as the people of Camburnu, Turkey, do. Ten years ago the government allowed a garbage dump to be built in the hills above the small Turkish Black Sea town. As time passed, the citizens saw their beautiful land destroyed by a faulty facility that leaks toxic waste into their drinking water and causes a ghastly odor that often makes it hard to breathe. Their complaints have gone unheard by an incompetent government that doesn’t seem to grasp what’s driving their people to sickness and causing the population to dwindle. The things we take for granted have become a constant frustration for a people who aren’t asking for much. Will they have to abandon the homes they’ve lived in for so long? Will they be able to make money when their crops have been ruined? And will Camburnu’s heritage and traditions be lost in a sea of trash? POLLUTING PARADISE is an eye-witness account of one village’s heartbreaking struggle for dignity.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=ctf8CWgAQ5g%3Frel%3D0

This film is showing at the CIFF at Tower City Cinemas, 230 W Huron Rd., Cleveland, Ohio 44113 on:

Sunday, April 7 at 9:40 p.m.
Monday, April 8 at 11:35 a.m.

Visit EcoWatch’s BIODIVERSITY page for more related news on this topic.

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