The Economics of Happiness
by Helena Norberg-Hodge, Steven Gorelick & John Page
Economic globalization has led to a massive expansion in the scale and power of big business and banking. It has also worsened nearly every problem we face: fundamentalism and ethnic conflict; climate chaos and species extinction; financial instability and unemployment. But even as government and big business continue to promote globalization and the consolidation of corporate power, all around the world people are resisting those policies and coming together to re-build more human scale, ecological economies based on a new paradigm – an economics of localization.
Twilight Becomes Night
by Virginie-Alvine Perrette
Set in New York City, this moving 36-minute film explores the vital role that locally owned businesses play in the social fabric of our communities. It includes profiles of many long-standing businesses, including several that have had to close due to rising rents and an alarming influx of chains in the city. A rare look at this issue in an urban context, Twilight Becomes Night offers hope in the form of neighborhood activism and interviews with academics and community activists who see a better way forward.
Independent America: The Two-Lane Search for Mom-and-Pop
by Hanson Hosein and Heather Hughes (HRH Media)
This 80-minute film follows filmmakers Hanson Hosein and Heather Hughes as they hit the road and travel 13,000 miles through 32 states in search of Independent America. It’s a place populated by hardy souls fighting for the right to remain independent in a land smothered by big-box stores and fast-food chains.
“It’s old-fashioned, kind of shoe leather journalism. . . It’s not an anti Wal-Mart film. They have risen above that.”-ABC News
OurTown: What Kind of Town Do You Want to Live In?
by Doreen Conboy, Wendy Hebb, & Michael Richard (Red Door Media)This 56-minute film follows the story of a group of citizens who challenge Wal-Mart’s
plans to build a supercenter in a small Maine town.
“I enjoyed this film, for its landscapes, and for the kind of controversy it depicts, and above all for the reassurance it offers-that the small and local can now and then prevail against the powerful and multinational.”-Tracy Kidder
Talking to the Wall: The Story of an American Bargain
by Steve Alves (Hometown Productions)
Wal-Mart’s plan to build in a small town goes well until an 11th hour citizens’ rebellion resists the lure of low prices to reveal another side of the bargain-a side which paves over open land, annihilates Main Street businesses, and rolls back wages. The story then goes deeper, following, over seven years, one town’s decision contrasted with another 20 miles away.”A model for other towns facing invation by a rapacious corporate monolith.” -Valley Advocate
