Oct 13, 2017 - Santa Cruz Premier of STRAWS at SCIFF

STRAWS Screens at Santa Cruz Film Festival on Friday October 13th

WHAT: STRAWS Documentary Screening and post-screening Q&A with Dr. Wallace J. Nichols and Jackie Nunez, The Last Plastic Straw

WHERE: Colligan Theater, Tannery Art Center, Santa Cruz

WHEN: Friday, October 13, 2017 – 12:00pm

STRAWS is an award-winning documentary that illuminates the problems related with straws and other single use plastic pollution that inundate our waterways and oceans. The film includes Jackie Nunez who as a volunteer with Save Our Shores, founded “The Last Plastic Straw” in 2011. STRAWS will screen at Tannery Arts Center’s Colligan Theater as part of Santa Cruz Film Festival’s Ocean Shorts Program onFriday, October 13th at 12:00 pm.

Half a billion unrecyclable plastic straws get used every day in the U.S., ending up in landfills and on streets and beaches. With animation and segments narrated by Oscar winner Tim Robbins, STRAWS (33 minutes) is funny, entertaining and informative. The film leaves audiences with a clear understanding of the problems caused by plastic pollution and its harm to marine life.

“I hope to get people thinking about how small habits can add up to huge impact. Removing plastic straws is a tangible, simple change people and businesses can do that truly makes a difference,” says filmmaker, Linda Booker. “Because of Jackie’s persistence, Santa Cruz and the Monterey area have become a leading example of how a community can come together to reduce plastic waste.”

A Q&A after the film will include Nunez and Dr. Wallace J. Nichols, local author of Blue Mind who was interviewed at the Monterey Bay Aquarium for the film. Other local locations and people include Westcliff area; Steve Elb, owner of Olitas on the Wharf; The Bagelry in Santa Cruz; Kim Solano of Haute Enchilada, Moss Landing; Big Sur Charter School and Save Our Shores.

STRAWS won the Outstanding Achievement Award in Environmental Film at Cayman International Film Festival, and was called “An inspiring story of how it’s possible to make a sea of change, one straw at a time,” by the Philadelphia Environmental Film Festival. It can also be seen in film festivals in Malaysia, the Caribbean, Europe and Canada this fall. STRAWS is also available for educational and community screening use through the Video Project.