Blog post written by Kelsey Green, Documentary Studies and Production, '13, FLEFF intern, Buffalo, New York

I grew  up an hour outside of Buffalo, NY, but currently, I reside in Ithaca, New York,  where I am a sophomore enrolled in Documentary Studies and Production at Ithaca College. 

I am from a rural area and therefore enjoy many activities outdoors such as horseback riding, kayaking, and hiking.  Ithaca is a great place to pursue my studies because there are so many natural areas to explore nearby.

On campus, I am engaged in several ways.  I am a resident assistant for the first year living community on campus. And, I'm also a dean’s host for the Roy H. Park School of Communications. 

When I am not on duty in the residential halls or giving tours of the Park School, the multimedia section of The Ithacan keeps me busy.  I am regularly creating short videos and slideshows for the online section of the paper.  On weekends, I get a thrill out of filming Cornell hockey games for the ICTV show Big Red Faceoff.

Education is very important to me. I do what I can to help youth, because I believe they are our future.  Once a week,  I go to the Ithaca High School to tutor local students.  I also work through a program on campus to talk with visiting ninth graders about my college experiences. I hope to become a film producer after I finish my degree,  but I am also interested in becoming a professor. 

Why am I interested in documentaries and new media?  Because I am amazed at the power they have in raising awareness and prompting social change.  The engagement involved not only by the creators, but also by the audience, fascinates me.  So, that's why I am excited to become more immersed in the media world through FLEFF.  The opportunity to see so many different forms of art and to meet so many different leading artists is incredible!   

What are you looking forward to in the 2011 edition of FLEFF?  Are there certain artists you’re particularly excited to hear speak?    

Blog posting written by Shawn Steiner, Film and Photography ’14, FLEFF Blogger, Elkridge, Maryland

Welcome to the Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival! I’m Shawn Steiner and I am among the interns who will be bringing you the scoops, behind-the-scenes, profiles, and Q & A’s throughout the festival. I hope you will be joining us here and at Cinemapolis during these fun times.

Here at Ithaca College I am a first-year student majoring in Film and Photography with a minor in Writing. It’s a pretty far distance from my home in Elkridge, Maryland, but believe it or not I love the weather up north. Also, the school itself is fun! I am fortunate enough to be using 4x5 view cameras, a 16mm Bolex, and spend hours in the darkroom with my film. It’s amazing. Also, I'm able to work on ICTV shows such as Panorama and go out and shoot profiles of interesting events and people.

Things like FLEFF are adding to my love of Ithaca. Through these events I have had the opportunity to see and talk to numerous people I never would have seen otherwise. Just a couple weeks ago I saw Albert Maysles and his documentary Gimme Shelter at a sold out screening at Cinemapolis as the opening event of FLEFF and it was amazing.

As a film and photography major seeing all these films and people has been just a great opportunity to learn. Which I believe ties greatly into the idea of FLEFF.

FLEFF is an environmental film festival, “a different environment” from other types of festivals. It is here to teach as we are here to learn. And there is always something that we can learn from others.

We aim to bring together as many people from as many different backgrounds to do as many different activities as possible. I was surprised to hear that there were so many new media artists, musicians, and others along with the filmmakers coming to the event as well. Even that one of our partners is a venue for music, Delilah's on Cayuga.

This is one huge experience everyone should learn from because the environment isn’t just the trees outside. It includes society, the people, the arts, and all the other happenings of the world. But perhaps most importantly with this festival, we are to have fun.

I’m having a lot of fun so far, so why don’t you come join us? FLEFF isn’t just a week in April, it has already begun.