Press Reviews for Arid Lands

"A smart, comprehensive, and beautiful film." Willamette Week

"Stunning documentary...a provocative, complex portrait of Eastern Washington." Crosscut Magazine

"An insightful look into...the concerns of the people who work and develop the land." City Pages

"Creatively ecological...[one of] today's best environmental films." The Chronicle of Higher Education

"A love song for the ailing, if resilient, expanse of sagebrush and bunch grass that still thrives on the Hanford nuclear site...a comprehensive and, at times, profound and entertaining narrative." Minnesota Daily

"In this age of golf courses in the desert, this honest look at the state of the west is as refreshing as a tall drink of water." Missoula Independent

"I'll let you in on a little secret...I was leery of reviewing this film. I was afraid it might be dry and boring, or cornponishly hokey, or off-puttingly biased, and that I'd have to slag on it like some sort of bone-chewing, Tri-Cities-hating ogre. I was cleared of those doubts within about two minutes. Well-shot, well-edited and refreshingly even-handed, Arid Lands finds wider meaning through a close look at a unique place." The Tri-City Herald (www.atomictown.com)

Educators' Reviews

"Exquisitely filmed and carefully crafted...The multiple perspectives showcased in the film highlight debates and issues that go far beyond the local environs -- land development vs. ecology; science vs. real-world experience; and how to determine 'acceptable risk.' Minimal narration allows viewers to weigh the various economic, ecological, cultural and political vectors of the problems facing the Hanford area and reach their own conclusions, making this film an excellent launching point for classroom debates." Melissa Checker, Assistant Professor of Urban Studies, City University of New York, Queens College

"Arid Lands is an engaging and thought-provoking film about shifting human adaptations and transformations of a particular landscape, and the incongruous absurdities sometimes generated in the process...[The film] provides a compelling springboard for discussion of some of the most important issues defining our times." Dr. Lene Pedersen, Dept. of Anthropology and Museum, Central Washington University

"Arid Lands does not offer easy answers. Is it truly safe? What does it mean if a town is desensitized to nuclear waste? When will the federal money run out? Will tourism be the answer to economic development and at what cost? The film presents a richly textured view on a community that battles nuclear waste, wrestles with development, and worries about the water. Arid Lands does what most sociology professors want to teach: the ultimate sociological paradox of examining how societal influences shape individuals and, at the same time, how individuals shape the outcome of community, institutions, and society." Dr. Marisol Clark-Ibáñez, Assistant Professor of Sociology, California State University - San Marcos