Aug 04 2007
ESCAPE FROM SUBURBIA: A DOCUMENTARY REVIEW
Cyrano’s Journal Online and its semi-autonomous subsections (Thomas Paine’s Corner, The Greanville Journal, CJO Avenger, and VoxPop) would be delighted to periodically email you links to the most recent material and timeless classics available on our diverse and comprehensive site. If you would like to subscribe, type “CJO subscription” in the subject line and send your email to
“For me, the most riveting and wrenching footage in the film was the destruction by the Los Angeles police of South Central L.A.’s community gardens in 2006.”
By Carolyn Baker
8/4/07
The 2004 documentary, “End Of Suburbia”, produced and edited by Barry Silverthorn and written and directed by Greg Greene, was a stunning and chilling cinematic landmark which placed the issue of Peak Oil and its consequences squarely on the world stage and connected the dots between the unsustainable suburban lifestyle and perilous issues of the twenty-first century such as food production, population die-off, and economic meltdown. Recently, Greene and producer, Dara Rowland, have released the sequel, “Escape From Suburbia” which examines the journeys of several individuals who have fled or are in the process of fleeing from civilization. It highlights how they are building new lives and new subcultures which offer the possibilities of deepened humanity and sustainability. Unlike “End Of Suburbia”, “Escape” spends less time interviewing the usual Peak Oil experts and follows the escape routes of ordinary people who are passionate about removing themselves from a culture of over-consumption and extinction.
After a brief explanation of Peak Oil, the film opens with the departure of a baby-boomer man and woman from their suburban home in Portland to an ecovillage in Canada, then moves into focusing on two gay men from New York City, Philip and Tom, who are eagerly planning their escape from the Big Apple to a venue where they can utilize the plethora of farming and permaculture skills they have intentionally acquired over the past few years. Juxtaposing these “escapees” is Kate from Toronto who strongly believes that her calling is not to escape but remain in suburbia and dig in to green it and make it truly sustainable. Interwoven with the various vignettes is Philip’s personal experiences with the 2005 Petrocollapse conference in New York and the 2006 Local Solutions To The Energy Dilemma conference in that city which he helped produce, Philip adamantly insisting that New York and cities like it are not only unsustainable but are self-destructing before his eyes. On the opposite coast in Willits, California, the film highlights a number of its residents engaged in creating a relocalized, sustainable town of 13,000 people who are energy self-sufficient and passionately involved in community building.
Click here for the article in its entirety.
As producer of Escape from Suburbia I’d like to thank Carolyn for her fine review but I need to address a glaring inaccuracy in her article.
The screening fee of $1500 quoted is not correct, nor does it reflect the nature of the presentations taking place for the launch of our film. These are premiere screenings that would not be available to the public at all if we were not taking on the risk of self-distribution. That the DVDs of new independent films are available to the general public at all is a luxury in this day of big box office productions and distributors coming on line to represent green films.
Gregory Greene and I made Escape from Suburbia because we’re passionate about the subject matter and we’re committed to the advancement of public knowledge and quality filmmaking. However, filmmaking is a business not a charity and as independent filmmakers who rely on the sales of our DVDs and screening fees to survive, we must release our films responsibly. If through piracy or the actions of others who feel they have the right to co-opt our copyrighted work, we cannot make a living, future films will be the property of distributors who regulate the market. If we had not released Escape independently, it is unlikely that environmental groups and other screening hosts would be presenting the film to raise funds for their causes.
A few people have written us to say they think our message is much more important than our making money from selling the DVD or selling screening licenses. I can only surmise that whatever they do for a living is of benefit to mankind and that they provide their service free. And for the folks who suffer from the delusion that it’s just fine to purchase a DVD and screen it without our permission, I can only shake my head in wonderment. Some are merely confused because The End of Suburbia was released in a different way than our new film. In any case, we choose to focus on the amazing array of people, organizations and activists who are working with us to bring Escape to the world and work within their communities to create a better future.
One last note about taking clips from our film. Since some segments of our film, such as the destruction of South Central, are not our property, you should clear your clips with us in advance.
Therefore the clip appearing above, must be removed, it is not the property of Escape from Suburbia but an independent filmmaker from Los Angles. You need to ask his permission to use his film footage.
Please know that the footage you have excerpted of South Central L.A. farm is not owned by Escape from Suburbia Inc and we cannot offer our permission for you to make this public. Legally you should request permission from the filmmaker who shot and owns it.