Films That Work
At Green Wish, the most visible outcome of our work is film. We believe our documentaries not only educate and inform but also serve as humanistic guideposts for nonprofits and for-profits seeking to address important issues for their cities and regions. In an age in which video distribution is always available for viewing on many devices, the power of video to inform, inspire and lead change is greater than ever.
ONLY IN THEATERS, a film by actor/director Raphael Sbarge, is an intimate and moving journey taken with the Laemmle family, spanning nearly three years of challenges, losses, and personal triumphs.
Laemmle Theatres, the beloved 84-year-old arthouse cinema chain in Los Angeles, is facing seismic change and financial pressure. Yet the family behind this multigenerational business – whose sole mission has been to support the art of film – is determined to survive.
Featuring: Greg Laemmle, Tish Laemmle, Allison Anders, Cameron Crowe, Ava DuVernay, Nicole Holofcener, James Ivory, Kenneth Turan, Bruce Joel Rubin, Leaonard Maltin, Michael Renov, Mark Ulano and more.
Only in Theaters is available on Amazon and On Demand
In February 2023, “10 DAYS IN WATTS” premiered on KCET and PBS SoCal in collaboration with Wishing Well Entertainment and KCET Los Angeles. This 4-part series, which is now available for streaming on PBS SoCal, PBS, and KCET, explores the theme of resilience and hope in the underserved neighborhood of Watts, Los Angeles. Using a verité-style approach, the series delves into the lives of the diverse and complex individuals who not only survive but also strive to see their community thrive. The series showcases the opening of Mudtown Farms, an educational and healing community garden where people of all ages gather to connect with their historical roots.
LA Foodways is a a six-part documentary series and one-hour feature film for KCET/PBS that debuted in spring 2019. Foodways was first coined in 1942 by anthropologists, folklorists and food scholars to describe the study of why we eat what we eat, and what it means: “Food at the intersection of culture, tradition and history.” Our attitudes, practices and rituals around food are a window onto our most basic beliefs about the world and ourselves.
In each episode, we use the past to frame where we are today, to understand the food we grow and the land beneath our feet. We span 150 years of change, from 1870 to the present, focusing on the land in and around Los Angeles, how it has been used and developed into either farms, freeways or front lawns. Over the course of these stories, with this historic view of the change that has come before us, we gain a greater understanding of what Los Angeles is today and invite viewers to consider the future.
Food Forward, produced by Green Wish and directed by Raphael Sbarge, is a short documentary that features interviews with staff and volunteers and highlights Food Forward’s work to fight hunger and food waste across Southern California.
A Concrete River: Reviving The Waters of Los Angeles is a film on the history of the Los Angeles River that has aired on KCET/PBS and was highlighted as part of the station’s spring fundraising drive. It currently plays regularly on KCET’s broadcast schedule. The film chronicles the importance of the Los Angeles River culturally, economically and ecologically, tracing the extraordinary story of the Los Angeles River, starting with the native Tongva tribes that lived along its banks before the Spanish arrived, all the way through to the present day. This documentary takes you on a journey from the origins of Los Angeles to the present; through floods, waterways and the building of the miles-long concrete water basin that protects Los Angeles from seasonal floods. Today, with the enthusiasm and support of many Angelinos, the river is roaring back, new, revived and redesigned so it will serve its purpose as a protective waterway, but also, as an ecosystem: a place for wildlife, fish, recreation and where people may gather.
Is There Hope for Planet Earth? was produced with world-renowned science and engineering institute California Institute of Technology (Caltech). This film aired on KCET/PBS, featured as part of the station’s Emmy and Peabody award-winning news program SoCalConnected. The film explores the causes and long- term effects of climate change with paleoclimatologist Jess Adkins.
On Begley Street explores the building of North America’s greenest, most sustainable home by noted actor and environmentalist Ed Begley Jr. and his wife, Rachelle Carson-Begley. Featuring visits from Jeff Goldblum and Sharon Lawrence, the streaming series won several awards, including honors from the Burbank Film Festival (Best New Media), the Aurora Awards (Best of Show) and LA Web Fest (Outstanding Reality Series). It was also nominated for an Environmental Media Association award (Best Reality/Documentary Series).
