Main Street Pops Announces Line-Up for Virtual Film Festival Launch Party

(via press release; all images via Main Street Pops)

Stuck at home this Friday night with nothing to do? Main Street Pops  has a temporary fix with a community viewing party that will transport us outdoors, raise money for our community, and come together- all while staying safely within our own four walls- at least for a few hours.

The first live screening launches this Friday, May 15th, and 100% of ticket sales proceeds will be donated to F.L.A.G., Hoboken Food Pantry, and the Hoboken Shelter..

All ticket holders will receive a link on screening day that activates for the live viewing party that evening at 7:30 pm so we can connect with friends online, watch together and share comments.  The video-on-demand link is valid for five additional days after the launch party to watch films on their own.

Tickets are only $10.00 and can be purchased HERE.

Local sponsors include Hair Cult, Natural Awakenings, GCM Homes and Muller Insurance.

We got our hands on a preview of the film shorts to be screened:

In Your Hands

By Brandon Moore, Nico and Mary Kate Van Den Berg, Luke Lasley, Bone+Gold

Visceral imagery, emotional score, and a powerful speech by John F. Kennedy underscore a timeless theme: we come from the sea. In Your Hands invites viewers to look inward and rediscover our connection with – and responsibility to – the natural world.

Raccoon and the Light
By Hanna Kim

This adorable short follows a raccoon as he finds a flashlight in the woods.

Love, Trails, & Dinosaurs
By Draft Agency, Alex Oliver, Edy Recendez, Jamison Stalsworth, Carson Hunt, Blake Waring, Dana Nies

This heartwarming film tells the story of the first person with autism to hike every trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Garan Moore. His mother, Theresa, shares their story of a journey for weight loss that developed into a passion for hiking – and 900 miles later… one historic achievement.

Every Nine Minutes
By Hub Strategy & Communications, Oliver Hamilton

Every nine minutes, the weight of a blue whale (300,000 pounds) in plastic makes its way into our ocean. To call attention to this, the Monterey Bay Aquarium built a life-sized replica of a blue whale made of single-use, locally sourced plastic trash. Certified by Guinness World Records, the whale is the largest sculpture of its kind ever built.

The Guardian Elephant Warriors of Reteti
By Ami Vitale, Katy-Robin Garton

Reteti Elephant Sanctuary is the first ever community-owned and run elephant sanctuary in Africa. This oasis where orphans grow up, learning to be wild so that one day they can rejoin their herds, is as much about the people as it is about elephants. It’s a powerful story about the changing relationship between people and the animals they are protecting.

A Message From the Future With Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
By The Intercept, Naomi Klein, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Avi Lewis

Set a couple of decades from now, A Message From the Future With Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a flat-out rejection of the idea that a dystopian future is a forgone conclusion.Instead, it offers a thought experiment: What if we decided not to drive off the climate cliff? What if we chose to radically change course and save both our habitat and ourselves? What if we actually pulled off a Green New Deal? What would the future look like then?

In Celebration of Open Space
By Tate Yoder, Hannah Webber, Catherine Schmitt, Schoodic Institute

The Schoodic Institute at Acadia National Park worked with organizations and volunteers from Maine, the United States, and more than 19 different countries who spent time outside walking, observing, and recording data to ask, what does open space mean to you?

Green Gone
By Keanu Frith, Tess Moretti-Hill, Gabriel Jeffers, Mahealani Dunn

This adorable infomercial parody made by Maui youth pokes fun at the overuse of pesticides and herbicides and the psychology used to market them.

Sounds of Survival
By Katie Garrett

Deep in the emerald cloud forests of Cusuco National Park of Honduras, scientists are on a quest to record the never-before-heard call of the endangered “exquisite spike-thumb frog” (Plectrohyla exquisita). What ensues is both a delightful portrait of the process of scientific discovery and an inspiring example of the power of sound as a tool for conservation.

Life of Pie
By Ben Knight, Travis Rummel

In 2002, mountain bikers and entrepreneurs Jen Zeuner and Anne Keller moved to Fruita, Colorado, in search of cheap rent, world-class single track, and free time to ride. Over 15 years later, the two unconventional women have helped reshape one of the state’s most conservative towns, uniting the community through advocacy, inclusivity, and damn good pizza.

Nature Now
By Gripping Films Production, Tom Mustill

Made with no flights, recycled footage, and zero net carbon. Given away for free. Viewed 53 million times, played to the United Nations. This film is a personal and passionate call to arms from Greta Thunberg and George Monbiot to use nature to heal our broken climate.

Wow…Now that’s what we call a socially distanced “night out”!

There are two more screening events currently planned in the series; the June 4th event will benefit the newly formed Hoboken Relief Fund, and July 10th proceeds will benefit Mile Square Theatre.

For more information, visit the Main Street Pops website at Main Street Pops and to find out more about The Wild & Scenic Film Festival On Tour, which visits 250 places each year, go to Wild & Scenic Film Festival

CLICK HERE for ticket information.

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