Jekyll Island, Ga. – For five years, the EcoFocus Film Festival has brought premiere environmental films to Athens. This year the festival will debut a film on Jekyll Island for coastal Georgia audiences, thanks to support from Georgia Sea Grant, the University of Georgia Marine Extension Service, the Jekyll Island Authority and the Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve’s Coastal Training Program.
On Feb. 16, the inaugural Jekyll Island Green Screen will feature a screening of “Chasing Ice,” an award-winning new documentary about photographing global climate change. The evening will open with a reception showcasing coastal research at 5:30 p.m., followed by the film and a panel discussion at 6:30 p.m. All events are free to the public and will be held at the Jekyll Island Convention Center, 75 North Beachview Drive.
Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Jeff Orlowski, “Chasing Ice” is the story of one man’s mission to change the tide of history by gathering evidence of the changing environment. National Geographic photographer James Balog and a band of young adventurers set out into the Arctic with groundbreaking time-lapse cameras in tow, capturing the brutal and changing climate of the frozen tundra. Their years of footage were then compressed into in an 80-minute film.
Jekyll Island hotels are offering discounts for Green Screen attendees. The hotels included are listed below.
• Beachview Club: Mention the Green Screen special when booking to receive a rate of $99 per night.
• Days Inn & Suites: The February special is $89.95 per night with a two-night minimum stay.
• Hampton Inn & Suites: The February special is $159 per night for suites and $149 per night for standard rooms.
• Jekyll Island Club Hotel: Mention the Winter Getaway special when booking a weekend stay to receive 25 percent off.
• Oceanside Inn & Suites: February specials start at $86 per night.
• Quality Inn & Suites: February special start at $59.99 per night.
• Villas by the Sea: Mention the Green Screen to receive 15 percent off. Rooms start at $99 per night.
Georgia Sea Grant and the Marine Extension Service are UGA Public Service and Outreach units serving the Georgia coast. For more than 40 years, the programs have combined state and federal funding to provide research, education and outreach on coastal Georgia’s most pressing issues, assisting local governments, promoting sustainable development, supporting coastal industries, protecting public health and training the next generation of scientists.
For more information about the Jekyll Island Green Screen, see www.jekyllisland.com/the-jekyll-island-green-screen/.