EARTH WEEK FILM FESTIVAL SCREENS AMERICAN FILMS

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The third week of April, the American Cultural and Information Center hosted the Earth Week Film Festival, sponsored by the Econ-Commercial Section of the U.S. Embassy in Ulaanbaatar, its website has reported. The event was the first of its kind for the Ulaanbaatar Embassy and was a success. Over three days, three environmental films were paired with panel discussions and screened to an audience of about 134 people. On Tuesday, April 22, the Film Festival kicked off with Erin Brockovich, a movie based on true story of an environmental activist who fought against a California corporation. Charley Montgomery, Environmental, Health and Science Officer lead a pre-screening discussion about water problems with experts from the Health Science University of Mongolia and World Bank. On Wednesday, April 23, the Public Affairs and Econ Officers of the U.S. Embassy hosted a movie day for students from Mongolian secondary schools from the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar. Students watched the film Wall-E, a children’s film that shows what happens when people become disconnected from their environment. Each half hour, the Officers had mini- discussions with the students, and the students impressed their Embassy discussion leaders with their ideas and answers. At the end of the movie, students produced an action plan for protecting Ulaanbaatar’s environment. A winning proposal was selected that suggested several things, including lining outhouses with cement and having more septic trucks for carrying waste. On Thursday, April 24, the U.S. Embassy showed the classic American movie Soylent Green, which explores how overpopulation and poor planning can affect human health and happiness. Following the movie, experts from the United Nations Population Fund, the Asia Foundation, and Embassy’s Environmental, Health and Science Officer lead a panel discussion on how the themes of the film related to Mongolia’s own issues with overcrowding and urban planning.