I had a great time last year at the 2012 Lights Camera Help film festival! As part of the festival, they showed my short film, Native Plant Avengers, which used humor and action to talk about the problems invasive species are causing to our native Texas wildflowers.
I enjoyed talking with all the people at the festival. I learned more about how to make films and the causes and organizations the filmmakers championed. I also talked with the festival goers about my experiences with invasive species, Texas Invasives, and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
Are you interested in creating a film for your nonprofit or do you have a great idea for a good cause? Mr. Aaron Bramley, Executive Director of Lights. Camera. Help., has been creating great webinars to help you with ideas on how to produce your video, from creating your story, to filming, and to assembling your final film.
The afternoon started at the Scottish Rite Theater with an address by the festival’s keynote speaker Turk Pipkin, founder of The Nobelity Project. This project focuses on two things:
Doing good thought the world…including our own backyard right here in central Texas, and
Creating documentary films focusing on these acts of good works.
I really enjoyed his talk.
Commander Ben and Turk Pipkin at the 4th Annual “Lights. Camera. Help.” Focus on Good Film Festival.
Let There Be Sight
One of the Nobelity Project’s films was “Let Their Be Sight”, a joint project with The SEVA Foundation – Compassion in Action, that provides eye care, including eye surgeries, to people living in rural areas of Nepal. Many of the program’s participants were blind and their sight was restored through cataract surgery. It was amazing to see a Nepali woman, who had to be carried through the mountains to see the eye doctor. After the cataract operation, she was able to see and walk home!
Nepalese children Photo credit: The Nobelity Project
1000 Books for Hope
Another cause highlighted by the Nobelity Project was 1000 Books for Hope which provides donated books to children in Kenya. This project asks people to donate just one book…their favorite book. So why one book? Well, when they asked folks to simply donate “books”, they received a lot of junk that no one wanted. One example was How to Build a Swimming Pool! Not a much needed topic in Kenya where the luxury of being able to ever build a swimming pool is highly unlikely!
But once the project focused on asking people to donate just one favorite book, lots of wonderful books came pouring in. What was particularly nice about this project is that all the donated books contain an inscription from the donor to the kids. Mr. Pipkin said that this is the first thing the kids rush to read.
1000 Books for Hope Photo credit: The Nobelity Project
Replanting Fire Burned Bastrop State Park
And what about our own backyard? Well, the Nobelity Project has partnered with none other than one of my favorite organizations, The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, to replant the pine trees in Bastrop State Park that were destroyed in last year’s Texas wildfires. And these aren’t just any ordinary pine trees, these are a species only found in the Bastrop area. Luckily, even though almost all of the trees were destroyed in the fire, there were seeds stored in a seed bank that they are using for replanting.
Bastrop Replant the Park Project Photo credit: The Nobelity Project.
The Last Day of Films
After the keynote address, we all headed over to the Spirit of Texas Theater at the Bob Bullock State History Museum to watch a number of great uplifting films, including Stay: Migration and poverty in rural Mexico. This was an amazing film benefiting Bread for the World.
Stay: Migration and Poverty in Rural Mexico Photo credit: Bread for the World
The Awards Party
After the films were over, we all headed back to the Scottish Rite Theater for an Awards Party…my first cocktail party! But oh man…that ginger brew…soda, that is, was strong! 😉 LOL! Mind you, I was the only middle-schooler at the party but luckily there was plenty of soda! And some great food too. I especially enjoyed the sushi from How Do You Roll.
Commander Ben at “Lights. Camera. Help.” Awards Party Buffet Line
Watch out for the Ginger Brew!
Festival Winners
At the party I had the chance to talk with a lot of great film makers who shared some wonderful advice with me about film making and acting. Once everyone had plenty to eat, we all settled into the theater where the winners of the Film Festival were announced.
Congratulations to the winners of the 2012 “Lights. Camera. Help.” Film Festival:
Thanks to all the great festival sponsors, including the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema and blackbaud. (Their logos were on the cool “photo wall” that we used as a background for photos!)
Best Ever Film Festival and Many Thanks
Overall, the “Lights. Camera. Help.” Focus on Good Film Festival was the best film festival I’ve ever been too…and so far, the only one I’ve ever been too…for now! 😉 But I’m so looking forward to the 2013 5th Annual “Lights. Camera. Help.” Focus on Good Film Festival! As a matter of fact, I’m already planning my next film.
I’m so happy that my video, “Native Plant Avengers”, was selected to be shown at the film festival to entertain and help raise awareness about invasive species and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
If you didn’t get a chance to see it at the festival, here’s the video:
For more information, here are additional posts and pages about the film festival and Native Plant Avengers:
Thanks Texas Bluebonnet, Bitterweed, Indian Paintbrush…and yes, even Bastard Cabbage…for helping me make this great video to entertain kids of all ages about Texas Wildflowers and invasive species!
Commander Ben on stage at the Spirit of Texas Theater during the Q&A after the premiere of his video Native Plant Avengers at the “Lights. Camera. Help.” Focus on Good Film Festival.
Commander Ben and David Neff at “Lights. Camera. Help.” Focus on Good Film Festival.
After the films were viewed by the audience, Aaron Bramley asked the film makers to come up on to the stage for a question and answer session.  It was such an exciting experience to have people from the audience asking me about my film!
I also had the opportunity to see Brandy Amstel again…the woman I first met when we were interviewed together by Robert Sims on his radio show, Lights, Camera, Austin, on KOOP, 97.1 FM. (You can listen to the interview here.) Brandy’s film, In Her Shoes, was so moving about a woman named, Betty, who had everything, then lost it and became homeless. But there is a happy ending. Betty, through the help of some amazing organizations including Mobil Loaves & Fishes, Dress for Success, and Goodwill, among others, allowed her to get back on her feet…and she even went on to coordinate the “In Her Shoes” shoe drive to collect and provide shoes for homeless women.
And I don’t want to forget…To kick-off the evening there was lots of great food and beverages served before the film screening. I was a bit nervous and drank a lot of Ginger Ale and Sprite! Then enjoyed all sorts of tasty hors d’oeuvres and delicious desserts!
In case you missed the first night of the film festival, it’s not too late to join in the fun. It continues tonight and Friday night. You can learn more and buy tickets here.
Mr. Sims is a really nice man and was so kind to me. I was a bit nervous before we went on the air but Mr. Sims assured me that he wouldn’t ask me any “60-Minutes” type questions! A few minutes before our segment of the show was to begin, Mr. Sims lead us into the studio which was amazing. The door leading into the studio is very heavy and I really got a sense of the sound-proof nature of the room once the door closed. Putting on the headphones and positioning the mike in front of me was so cool. All I could think to myself was, “Oh wow! This is big-time!” Once we went “live”, I felt a lot more relaxed and the interview went great. A recording of the interview is posted here.
Thank you, Mr. Sims, for having me on your radio show…and another big thank you to Mr. Bramley for selecting my video to be part of the “Lights. Camera. Help.” Focus on Good Film Festival!
Your friend,
Ben
Update: Thanks Lady Bird Wildflower Center for featuring “Native Plant Avengers” in your September 2012 newsletter. And thanks too iWire, the monthly online newsletter for invasive plants and pests in Texas, for mentioning my video and the “Lights. Camera. Help.” Film Festival in your August 2012 newsletter.
My name is Commander Ben and I'm the Invasive Hunter. I educate kids of all ages - and all learning styles - about invasive species, science, and dyslexia.
Commander Ben 