'Angel Azul' Documentary Merges Art and Environmental Activism

Submitted by Lisa Files, Green Community Connections

“Angel Azul,” a documentary merging art and environmental activism, will be shown at noon and 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 3, at the Lake Street Theater, 1022 Lake Street in Oak Park. Two sets of panelists will hold question and answer periods following each viewing.

The first set will connect ideas brought forward in the film with the condition of our Great Lakes. Gary Wilson, independent journalist and commentator for Great Lakes Echo and WKAR Current State, along with Katie Larson, education manager at Alliance for Great Lakes, will comment and answer questions following the film, at about 1:15 p.m.

The second group of panelists will focus on how art can be used to draw attention to environmental issues. Margot McMahon, artist and member of Chicago Sculpture International, and Mike Dimitroff, Chicago park manager of art initiatives-Department of Cultural and Natural Resources, will comment and answer questions following the film, at about 8:15 p.m.

“Angel Azul” shows artist Jason deCaires Taylor create statues from live models, then submerge them to take the place of dying coral reefs. Taylor’s work highlights an underwater crisis as algae encroaches. Peter Coyote narrates the film, which won best documentary from the Breckenridge Film Festival and best cinematography from the United Nations Association Film Festival.

These two Oak Park showings are part of special early screenings for the Fourth Annual One Earth Film Festival, which will take place the weekend of March 6-8. Admission is $6 per person for the matinee showing at noon and $8.50 per adult for the evening show. Learn more at oneearthfilmfest.org. Full schedule and tickets for the film festival can also be found at oneearthfilmfest.org or email oeffmarketing@gmail.com.

Tuesday’s screening is made possible through partnership with Classic Cinemas Lake Theater and its First Tuesdays Film Club.View an encore screening of this film, plus a pop-up gallery of found-object artwork, at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 8, at the Chicago Cultural Center’s Claudia Cassidy Theater.

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