For Immediate Release:  March 25, 2011

Award-Winning Documentary Bag It
Premieres Nationally on Public Television
During Earth Week
(Starting April 17, 2011)
With Festival & Community Screenings
Planned For Earth Month, Earth Week and Earth Day

Why would you make something that you’re going to use for a few minutes
out of a material that’s basically going to last forever?

LOS ANGELES, CA – Award-winning film Bag It, a touching and often funny documentary about how we use and abuse plastic, is set to air nationally on public television during Earth Week starting April 17, 2011. The film, by award-winning director Suzan Beraza, is an eye-opening look at the environmental and health dangers posed by the global use of disposable, non-biodegradable plastic products. Told with wit and humor, Bag It follows “everyman” Jeb Berrier as he embarks on a global tour to unravel the complexities of our plastic world. To learn more about the film, please visit http://www.bagitmovie.com.

The filmmakers have a lot planned for Bag It during Earth Month, Earth Week, and Earth Day:

Earth Month:
During Earth Month (April 2011) Bag It, along with five other feature-length documentaries, will screen as part of Whole Foods Market® debut “Do Something Reel” Film Festival. The month-long festival hits 70 cities across the U.S., serving as reminder of small changes people can make for good while supporting budding green-genre filmmakers.  Read below to learn more or visit http://dosomethingreel.com.

Earth Week:
National Broadcast –
Bag It will premiere nationally on public television stations (PBS) throughout the country starting April 17 (Earth Week dates run from April 16 – 22 according to Wikipedia). Please visit the ‘Screenings‘ section of the Bag It web site to learn more.

Community Screenings –
The filmmakers are planning 100 public screenings nationally in communities across the country to inspire citizens nationwide to “bag” their single-use plastic habit (see more below).

The day BEFORE Earth Day:
– Thursday, April 21, 2011 – Live webcast – 9:15pm (EDT)/6:15pm (PDT)
– Join Jeb Berrier and director Suzan Beraza in a live interactive Q&A webcast at http://www.vokle.com/lineups/8709-bag-it

Earth Day:
A portion of the Bag It screenings – PBS broadcasts, public community, and film festival presentations – will take place on Earth Day – Friday, April 22, 2011.  Screening dates and times will be posted on the “Screenings” sections here: http://www.bagitmovie.com/screenings_find.html.

Produced by Reel Thing Productions in association with the Telluride Institute, Bag It is a powerful look at the impacts of plastics on society.  The film focuses on plastic as it relates to our throwaway mentality, our culture of convenience, our over consumption of unnecessary, disposable products and packaging – things that we use one time and then, without another thought, throw them away.  But where is AWAY??  Away is over flowing landfills, clogged rivers, islands of trash in our oceans, and even our very own toxic bodies.

Jeb is not a radical environmentalist, but an average individual who decides to take a closer look at the world’s love affair with plastics. What he discovers is shocking.  The average American uses between 330 – 500 plastic bags a year for an average of 12 minutes before they are discarded (that adds up to about 100-150 BILLION plastic bags used in 2010 in the US alone). There is a floating “island” of plastic and other debris swirling around in the Pacific Ocean known as the ‘Great Pacific Garbage Patch.’ Unlike most other trash, plastic isn’t biodegradable.  Sunlight does eventually “photodegrade” the bonds in plastic polymers, reducing it to smaller and smaller pieces, but it never goes away entirely. And the levels of plastic debris in the Pacific Ocean – much of it resembling plankton, i.e., fish food – has at least tripled in the last ten years resulting in plastic entering into our food chain.*

When Jeb discovers that he and his partner are expecting a child, his plastic odyssey becomes a truly personal one. How can they protect their baby from the health dangers associated with plastics? Jeb looks beyond single-use disposable plastics and discovers that virtually everything in modern society – from baby bottles, to sports equipment, to dental sealants, to personal care products – is either made with plastic or contains potentially harmful chemical additives used in the plastic-making process.

Featuring interviews with scientists and experts from around the world, Bag It is a first-person documentary in the style of Michael Moore, asking how we can incorporate healthy, more environmentally friendly practices into our lives, our cultures, and our communities.

“I didn’t expect a movie about plastic bags to change my life in such a deep and profound way.  Gripping, funny, intelligent, and sure to change your life.”

– Louie Psihoyos, Director of The Cove

Public Television Broadcast of Bag It:
A 56-minute version of Bag It will air nationally on public television stations starting April 17, 2011, just in time for Earth Day. Viewers should check their local PBS stations for showtimes.  Broadcast dates and times will also be posted on the screenings calendar of the Bag It website here: http://www.bagitmovie.com/screenings.html.

Public Community Screening Events During Earth Week:
For Earth Week 2011, Bag It, in partnership with the Plastic Pollution Coalition [http://plasticpollutioncoalition.org], is campaigning for individuals, community groups, institutions and educators to get involved by hosting community screening events featuring the film. Bag It aims to serve as a catalyst for communities to dramatically reduce their reliance on the plastic bag. Earth Day and Earth Week are designated global events that foster appreciation of the earth’s environment and awareness of the issues that threaten it with the purpose of spreading knowledge about how to repair and conserve the environment.  For additional details on hosting a Bag It screening during Earth Week, please the web site or contact bagit@filmsprout.org and/or call 347-682-2483.

Bag It:
A Reel Thing Film
In association with the Telluride Institute
– Executive Producer: Judith Kohin
– Producers: Michelle Hill, Suzan Beraza
– Director: Suzan Beraza
– Cinematography: Leigh Reagan
– Camera, 2nd Unit Director: Jim Hurst
– Film Editing: Casey Nay, Suzan Beraza
– Writer: Michelle Curry Wright
– Original Music: Larry Groupé
– Principal Cast: Jeb Berrier, Anne Reeser
– Genre: Documentary
– Runtime: 78 minutes
– Country: U.S.A.
– Language: English
– Color: Color

Filming Locations:
Bahamas, England, Germany, Ireland, Midway Atoll, and the U.S. (California, Colorado, Hawaii, Michigan, New York, Seattle, Washington DC)

Awards:
The eye-opening film has been making its way around the festival circuit and racking up the honors.  Bag It has to date received awards at the Sedona International Film Festival, Monterey Blue Oceans Film Festival, Princeton Environmental Film Festival, Mountainfilm in Telluride, Port Townsend Film Festival, Eco Focus Film Festival, Wild & Scenic Film Festival, Flagstaff Mountain Film Festival, Hawaii Waimea Ocean Film Festival, and Ashland Independent Film Festival.

– Monterey Blue Oceans Film Festival “Best of Festival Award”
– Princeton Environmental Film Festival “Audience Choice Award”
– Wild & Scenic Film Festival “Special Jury Award”
– Port Townsend Film Festival “Special Jury Award”
– Mountainfilm in Telluride “Audience Choice Award”
– Eco Focus Film Festival “Special Jury Award”
– Flagstaff Mountain Film Festival “Audience Choice Award”
– Hawaii Waimea Ocean Film Festival “Audience Choice Award”
– Ashland Independent Film Festival “Audience Choice Award”
– Sedona International Film Festival “Best Environmental Film”
– Durango Independent Film Festival “Best Documentary”

Suzan Beraza, Director/Reel Things Productions Founder:
Born in Jamaica and raised in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, Suzan Beraza’s films challenge viewers to examine their lives and consider the impact of their choices. Her films have appeared on national public television and at many festivals. Festival awards include Ashland Independent Film Festival, Sedona International Film Festival, Blue Ocean Film Festival, EcoFocus, and Telluride Mountainfilm Festival.

Jeb Berrier:
Jeb Berrier is the host for a morning television show on Plum TV.  Working for Plum, Berrier won an Emmy® award for his coverage of the 2008 Democratic Convention.  Berrier also works as an actor and director, doing theater, film, and television commercials and was a member of the National Shakespeare Company in New York City in the mid-1990s.  He also produces the annual Telluride Comedy Festival.

Bag It Links:
– Official Bag It Site: http://www.bagitmovie.com
– Press Kit: http://www.bagitmovie.com/press_kit/PressKit_02.22.pdf
– Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BagItMovie?ref=ts
– Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/bagitmovie
– Trailer: http://vimeo.com/5645718
– Purchase DVD (for home viewing): http://www.bagitmovie.com/shop.html

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For more information, or to request screeners, images, and interviews, please contact Green Galactic’s Lynn Tejada (née Hasty) at 213-840-1201 or lynn@greengalactic.com.

*
– http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/07/13/eco.plasticbagwaste/index.html
– http://www.savesfbay.org/sites/default/files/bag_factsheet_4.09_final.pdf
– http://www.apmbags.com/bagmyths
– http://www.census.gov/main/www/popclock.html

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See video trailer:

Bag It Intro from Suzan Beraza on Vimeo.