Is it possible to live a year making zero impact on the environment? Is it possible to do this from the 11th story of a New York City apartment? Accomplished author Colin Beavan is determined to find out, and to take his wife and toddler along for the ride. For his next book, Colin proposes that he address global warming head on and become “No Impact Man,” forgoing electricity, cars, even toilet paper in an effort to reduce, in fact annihilate, his impact on the environment. The only catch is that to do this successfully, he needs his wife, Michelle—a self-proclaimed coffee and shopping addict who writes for BusinessWeek—and their 3-year-old daughter to join him in the endeavor. Takeout restaurants are replaced with local farmers markets, subways with bicycles, elevators with staircases, washing machines with soap-filled bathtubs, electric lights with candles, refrigeration with clay pots and garbage cans with compost heaps. Once the novelty of their new situation wears off, Michelle must adjust herself to living someone else’s dream, all while contending with dreams of her own. If a Starbucks venti, sugar- free, nonfat, vanilla soy, double-shot, decaf, no-foam, extra-hot mocha has too much impact on the environment, what about a second child? On a bumpy road less traveled in modern society, where the destination is not greater industry, efficiency and gadgetry, but rather sustainability and simplicity, NO IMPACT MAN is a delightful, inspiring and unexpectedly moving exploration of contemporary marriage and how one person can change his life, and in doing so possibly change the world.

Post-screening discussion after the 6-18 screening moderated by Award-winning NPR national correspondent Daniel Zwerdling featuring filmmakers Laura Gabbert and Justin Schein and film subject Business Week senior writer Michelle Conlin.

Filmmaker Q&A

Introduce yourself:
Justin Schein is a documentary director and cinematographer who has shot over 60 films internationally for broadcasters including HBO, National Geographic, The BBC, The Discovery Channel and PBS. Justin currently shooting Upside-down and Backwards a hybrid documentary and animated film about dyslexia with Academy Award winning producer Peggy Stern. Justin recently served as co-director of photography with Albert Maysles on The Four Seasons, a film about a group of Holocaust survivors’ final summer together in the Catskills. He also lensed Pressure Cooker a film about lower income kids competing for scholarships to cooking schools, which premiered at the 2008 LA Film Festival and will is in theaters this spring. Justin received his Masters in Documentary Filmmaking from Stanford University and went on to found Shadowbox Films with fellow graduate David Mehlman in 1998. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife, filmmaker Eden Wurmfeld and their son Micah.    

What inspired this film?  How did you find your subjects?
As a documentary filmmaker I am always looking for interesting character driven stores that can illuminate issues that concern me. Living in NYC, the issues of the urban environment, recycling, transportation confront me every day and I had been thinking about the film possibilities for quite awhile.  

My co director Laura had known Michelle Conlin (No Impact Man’s wife) from high school and had introduced me to them long before the No Impact project.  

When we learned that Colin and Michelle were about to start their no impact year we knew that it had the ingredients to bring these issues to life on the screen.  

What were some of the biggest challenges/surprises? 
One of the conditions that Colin (aka No Impact Man) asked for -in return for giving us permission to make the film- was that we would strive to make it in the most environmentally sustainable way possible. Shooting with no lights, particularly when the No Impact family turned off the electricity in their house, was a challenge. Also, no cars were used in the production… so all of the biking footage had to be shot from another bike. I had to learn to ride and shoot at the same time.    

Who are some of your favorite filmmakers? 
I love all types of documentary… from the more experimental filmmakers of the 1920s and 1930s such as Joris Ivans and Vertov, the classic verite of the 1960s and 70s like Pennebaker and Richard Leacock to some of the beautiful and moving work of more contemporary filmmakers such as James Longley and Hubert Sauper.  

What is your all time favorite documentary?
Too hard to pick one but to name a few: Brother’s Keeper by Sinofsky and Berlinger, Rain by Ivans, Lets Get Lost Bruce Webber, and Eyes on the Prize by Henry Hampton  

  What other projects are in the pipeline?
Among other things I am currently shooting a co-directing a film about Dyslexia with Oscar winning filmmakers Peggy Stern and John Canemaker.  

Why did you become a filmmaker?
Documentary filmmaking brings together a love of photography and an obsession with the news that I have had since childhood.  

I am dyslexic, so at a young age photography became an important way for me to express myself.  

Some of my earliest memories are of watching television documentaries and news with my father in the early 1970s. The World at War and Wild Kingdom, 60 Minutes and news footage from Viet Nam and Watergate showed me, as a young child, the power of telling stories through images.  

What are some of your creative influences?
I have been greatly influenced by documentary photographers such as Danny Lyon, Robert Frank, Walker Evans, Helen Levitt and Bruce Davidson.  

The films of John Cassavetes showed me that documentary didn’t have the corner on emotional truth.  

Did you go to film school?
I studied for a year at the London International Film School and then got my Masters in Documentary Film at Stanford University.  

What do you shoot on?
I am much more inclined to put energy toward my relationship with my subject than with achieving the highest technical standard.  I usually shoot on small unobtrusive cameras. I now use the Sony Ex1.  

No Impact Man was shot on the DVX100a because, in the spirit of the No Impact project, we vowed not to buy anything new for the production…. And, as Iraq in Fragments showed me, the 100a can produce beautiful images.  

What has been the most unexpected thing to happen since taking the film on the festival circuit? 
I can’t tell you the number of people who want to talk to us after screenings about the changes they are making in their lives to live more sustainibly. I am hartened by a growing awareness of the need to make fundamental change.  

It has been so heartening to talk to people who are making changes in their lives want to talk about the changes they are making in their lives.  

  Why did you want to screen your film at SILVERDOCS? 
I have always heard wonderful things about the community of filmmakers and film lovers that come together at SILVERDOCS and I wanted to be a part of it. Also, we were humbled by Sky’s appreciation of NIM.