Coastal development, storm risk documentary to screen in Rumson Saturday
(Image courtesy of Shored Up)
The documentary film Shored Up, which examines the collision between coastal development and severe weather in New Jersey and North Carolina, will screen in Rumson on Saturday, Sept. 20, according to event sponsor New Jersey Future.
Shored Up explores a variety of questions about coastal communities and how people interact with the land.
“This film does an excellent job of examining all sides of the issues surrounding the best way to develop and redevelop our shoreline,” said Steve Nelson, the local recovery planning manager from New Jersey Future, a non-profit organization that is working in Sea Bright and Highlands. “We hope as many community members as possible will come to see it, and will engage in the conversation afterward. While there are no easy answers to the questions raised by the film, it’s important that the entire community be involved in the dialogue, and we want this film to provide a well-informed start to the conversation.”
Filmmaker Ben Kalina said the film exposes the continuing risks that coastal residents face.
“I made Shored Up to explore what it means to live beside the beauty of the ocean where, as we saw with Hurricane Sandy, we are always just one storm away from catastrophe,” said the film’s director, Ben Kalina. “In the wake of the storm, I believe that only by gaining a greater understanding of the coastal environment can we develop effective recovery strategies that will meet the diverse, long-term needs of each community.”
There will be a panel discussion and question-and-answer session featuring the film’s director and several local coastal and environmental scientists after the free screening, which is hosted by Sea Bright Mayor Dina Long.
In addition to Kalina, panelists include Cindy Zipf, executive director of Clean Ocean Action; Tim Dillingham, executive director of the American Littoral Society; and Norbert Psuty, professor (emeritus) of coastal geomorphology at the Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences at Rutgers University. Dillingham and Psuty are both featured in the film. Tony MacDonald, director of the Urban Coast Institute at Monmouth University, will moderate the panel. Audience members will have the opportunity to ask questions.
NewsWorks interviewed the film’s director in June 2013. Read it here.
IF YOU GO
When: Saturday, Sept. 20, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Where: Holy Cross School, 40 Rumson Road, Rumson
Admission: Free
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