Reel and Meal at the New Deal Café

The Reel and Meal at the New Deal will show the film " THE CITY DARK: A Search for Night on a Planet that Never Sleeps" at 7 p.m. on Monday, July 16, at the New Deal Café.

This event is one in a series of monthly films that explores environmental, animal rights and social justice issues. Chefs Karim & Maria will prepare an optional vegan buffet for $13 (no credit cards) starting at 6:30 p.m.; the film is free.

THE CITY DARK considers the question, “Do we need the dark?” With the advent of electricity one hundred and twenty years ago, humanity suffered a loss of darkness. In a personal and humorous lament for the stargazing of his childhood, director Ian Cheney (co-creator of King Corn) sets out to explore the spiritual and biological consequences of a lack of night in THE CITY DARK.

With a host of scientific experts and philosophers, Cheney discovers an abundance of planetary changes, from baby sea turtle migration to humankind's sense of place in the universe. Exploring the threat of killer asteroids in Hawaii, tracking hatching turtles along the Florida coast, and rescuing injured birds on Chicago streets, Cheney unravels myriad implications of a globe glittering with lights - including increased breast cancer rates from exposure to light at night, and a generation of kids without a glimpse of the universe above. 

THE CITY DARK is the definitive story of light pollution and the disappearing stars. It premiered at the 2011 South by Southwest Film Festival where it won the Jury Prize for Best Score/Music.

This month’s Reel and Meal is jointly sponsored by Beaverdam Creek Watershed Watch Group (BCWWG) and The Astronomical Society of Greenbelt (ASG). Discussion following the film will be led by members of the Greenbelt Astronomical Society. 

For more information please contact  Martha Gay (ASG) martylou.gay@gmail.com or Susan Barnett (BCWWG) susnbarn@earthlink.net. The New Deal Café is located at 113 Centerway, Roosevelt Center, Greenbelt, MD 20770.