Make fuel, not war, says eco-crusader Josh Tickell, who has taken his film Fields of Fuel and the message of American energy independence on the road this year. The film, which was introduced on TakePart back in January, won the Audience Award for Best Documentary Film at the Sundance Film Festival, and is now on a 50-city tour across the United States.

“This year, the Fields of Fuel crew will be joined by 10 biofuel-powered vehicles and over 40 professional educators and outreach personnel on a 50-city nationwide tour. The objective of the tour is to bring green energy to the cities and towns of America ““ and just as importantly, to make green energy the #1 issue in the 2008 presidential elections.”

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Since the premiere of “Brother Outsider” at the Sundance Film Festival, millions of people have been introduced to Bayard Rustin, who until now has remained somewhat of an unsung hero of the civil rights movement.

“Brother Outsider” is a film about the life of Bayard Rustin, a mentor to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and one of the major architects of the 1963 March on Washington. His pioneering activist spirit penetrated his personal life as well, as he was an openly gay man in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. The film takes a many-sided approach to Rustin’s life, recreating a chronological and thematic portrait of his 60-year activist career through the use of traditional documentary and interview techniques. Historical research for the film was done by examining Rustin’s personal correspondence, papers, letters, archival footage, government propaganda films, stills, and paintings.

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The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is a compilation of the week’s most notable stories from our entertainment-meets-social-action blogging network. This week we celebrated some of our own favorite top 10 bloggers who work night and day to provide us up-to-date info on films, literature, and feminist news. Don’t miss these exciting and informative blogs, as well as some of our most popular stories of the week.

Katie:

“La Misma Luna Under the Same Moon,” Not the Same Old Movie

Top 5 Eco-Friendly Gadgets for Under $50

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Nicole:

Top 10 Literary and Book Blogs

NBC11 First Wind Powered TV Station

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Giulia:

Top 10 Feminist Blogs

Horton: The New Mascot for Pro-Life

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Gina:

Top 10 Film Blogs

Top 10 Films I Would See If I Was At SXSW

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Kerry:

Our Pharmaceutically Fouled Water Supply

Top 7 New Sins Against God’s Green Earth

La misma luna (Under the Same Moon) is the story of Rosario and her 9 year old son, Carlito, who are separated by the U.S.-Mexico border, but united by love. The film, directed by Patricia Riggen and starring America Ferrera (Ugly Betty, Real Women Have Curves), Eugenio Derbez (Padre Nuestro), Adrian Alonso (The Legend of Zorro) as Carlito, Kate del Castillo (Bordertown) as Rosario, and featuring music by the Golden Globe-winning Los Tigres del Norte comes out on March 19th, but has already met critical acclaim at advanced screenings. It kicked off the 25th Miami International Film Festival, The Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF), The San Diego Latino Film Festival, and received a standing ovation at Sundance. In the film, Rosario leaves her son in Mexico and moves to the United States to work as a maid and to raise enough money to bring her son to The States. As Rosario searches for a better life, Carlito begins a voyage from Mexico to LA, searching for his mother. The story, in which a mother must leave her son in her native Mexico to try to build him a better life in the United States, is not mere fantasy, but is based on the countless true stories in which people risk their lives to cross a border that not only separates Mexico from the U.S., but, poverty from prosperity.

Check out the trailer below.

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The “Breakfast Club” has come to life in Nanette Burstein’s new film “American Teen,” which documents the senior year of four stereotypical high schoolers ““ the jock, the loner, the artsy girl and the homecoming queen. The doc premiered last month at the Sundance Film Festival, and will be released theatrically by Paramount Vantage.

The film’s charm comes from the small town kids’ “lack of guile” and their deviation from the self-conscious and vapid reality television stars we’re used to seeing on shows like “The Hills.” Said Burstein about the film:

“It’s about being 17…I thought going into it that it was all going to be about the pressure of your peers. I realized that was an element of that, but you also had this identity crisis because of the pressure of your parents, and the future decisions you had to make, that you know nothing about.”

and get to know the cast here. You can also by visiting teenactivist.org to see how America’s youth are advocating, volunteering and mobilizing for social action.

So I know everyone has already reported on the Sundance Film Festival..blah blah blah. The reason I’ve held out is that I’m in a perpetual state of confusion when it comes to figuring out how I feel about the festival. Ever since the Sundance craze that came about in the 1990’s, it has become increasingly harder for true independent film to flourish. Narrative filmmakers (things are a bit different for documentaries these days - I’ll explore this later on) that get into Sundance seem to need big stars and bigger and bigger budgets as the years progress. This years winner for dramatic audience award went to Jonathan Levine’s The Wackness - it stars Ben Kingsley, Famke Janssen and Mary-Kate Olsen.

Of course there are exceptions - but ever since Sundance became the brand name for independent cinema and a place “to buy” up supposedly independent films, it has become harder and harder for folks who are really independent - ie. filmmakers who want to own their work and those who experiment - to get their work seen. What it comes down to is that Sundance treats films as a business and not as an art..

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