ALMA by Patrick Rouxel

Beautifully shot, alternately joyful and horrifying, Alma captures the ecological, and even spiritual, cost of meat, dairy, and leather production in the Amazon Since 2003, Patrick Rouxel has dedicated his time to making films aimed at raising awareness of deforestation, loss of biodiversity, and the ethical treatment of animals. The multi-award winning GREEN presented a heartrending account of the life of an Orangutan against a backdrop of palm oil production and natural habitat loss. WATCH NOW ON THESE PLATFORMS In Alma, Rouxel continues his visual poetry into the world’s forests and the industries that are destroying them, this time heading to Brazil to explore the devastating impacts of the cattle industry. Here he creates a powerful statement about the global industrial economy and the speed with which virgin forests are being cleared for timber and new grazing land. The film offers a unique and visually stunning exposition of a colorful cowboy culture and the millions of animals used to satisfy our voracious global appetite for meat and dairy products. In almost-wordless contemplation, the film wanders from forest to pasture to rodeo to slaughterhouse to market to tannery. In essence, ALMA is a journey into the soul of humanity and a testimony of the damage inflicted by humans on the natural world. ~ Rachel Caplan San Francisco Green FIlm Festival NTSC DVD All Regions Patrick Rouxel France, 2011, 65 mins. No narration FILMMAKER'S STATEMENT about his films All my films are about deforestation, loss of biodiversity, animal and human suffering, consumerism and economic development. I like to make them independently, free of all political or commercial interest. They are my way of helping the forest, the wildlife and the victims of human greed. My films are a citizen act driven by empathy and by the guilt of being myself a part of the problem.     Patrick is one of the most compassionate visual storytellers of our time. His next film will the life of sun bears in part, but before he returns to Paris to edit the film, he wants to complete an enclosure for 3 captive sun bears that have welcomed him as a friend. Please visit his webpage about the project and contribute if you can. A short video is below..and meet the sun bears! http://help3sunbears.blogspot.com/2014_02_01_archive.html 0