Off the Screen: Rebels with a Cause

How did a local fight for public land foster a national movement that lead to an astonishing system of fourteen National Seashores? Filmmakers Nancy Kelly and Kenji Yamamoto spotlight a battle over land that changed the American landscape forever in Rebels with a Cause, a stunningly beautiful documentary narrated by Academy Award–winning actress Frances McDormand.

Beginning in the 1950s, groups of ranchers, farmers, conservationists, garden club members, widows, volunteers, and politicians from both parties banded together to preserve open spaces near urban areas for parks and farms—and took the fight all the way to the White House. Their hard-fought campaign powerfully illustrates how ordinary individuals can change the rules.

Featuring:

Rebels with a Cause (2012, 60 min.), by Nancy Kelly and Kenji Yamamoto

There will be a post-screening conversation with guests:

Phyllis Faber, co-founder of the Marin Agricultural Land Trust and past member of the California Coastal Commission, is a long time environmentalist, teacher, and wetland expert on San Francisco Bay marshes.  

Albert Straus, President of the Straus Family Creamery, converted his family's dairy to organic in 1994. It became the first certified organic dairy farm in California and later became the first certified organic creamery in the United States making 100% organic products.

Huey D. Johnson, co-founder of the Trust for Public Land and founder of the Resource Renewal Institute, has received numerous awards for his environmental work, including the United Nations Sasakawa Environment Prize in 2001.

Michelle Myers, Director of the Sierra Club San Francisco Bay Chapter. 

Photo courtesy of Jane Richey.

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