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QUEEN OF THE SUN opens NY & LA in anticipation of National Pollinator Week!

There have been much going on with QUEEN OF THE SUN over the past few weeks. We are continuing to play in theaters across the country, with wonderful recent theatrical openings in Chicago, Austin, Philadelphia, Madison and many more. (Watch an interview with Taggart Siegel on WTTW Chicago.)

The most exciting news this week, however, is that we will be opening in New York on June 10th & Los Angeles on June 17th in anticipation of National Pollinator Week (June 20-26)! We are eager to bring QUEEN OF THE SUN to the two largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. at last.

We are working with countless organizations in each city including the League of Conservation Voters, Slow Food USA, Pesticide Action Network, Yourgardenshow.com’s Bee Counting Project, Just Food, the Majora Carter Group, and many, many more to cultivate awareness and action. We hope that by bringing the film to these two major urban centers, many more people will hear the word about the bee crisis and that attention will continue to develop about how we can all be part of the solution.

If you would like to be part of the opening in NY or LA please let us know by clicking here. Our grass-roots team will work with you to create awareness in these two great cities!

Other upcoming cities:

See 20 more openings….

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QUEEN OF THE SUN CELEBRATES EARTH DAY IN THE U.S & NEW ZEALAND

Queen of the Sun will be throwing an Earth Day celebration to continue to bring awareness for the honeybee beginning April 22nd! The film will expand to 8 new cities in the U.S. and will be releasing theatrically for the first time OUTSIDE OF THE U.S. to over 45 theaters across NEW ZEALAND!

Queen of the Sun is being distributed in New Zealand by Cloud South Films, who created the Oscar-Short Listed THIS WAY OF LIFE.

Earth Day Openings:

U.S. – Opening EARTH DAY April 22

  • Portland, OR – Hollywood Theatre
  • Salem, OR – Salem Cinemas
  • Eugene, OR – Bijou Art Theatre
  • Ashland, OR – Varsity Theatre
  • Astoria, OR – Columbian Theater
  • Birmingham, MI – Birmingham Uptown 8
  • Santa Fe, NM – Center for Contemporary Arts
  • Ithaca, NY – Cornell Cinemas

New Zealand – Opening APRIL 21

  • Akaroa, NZ – Akaroa Cinecafe
  • New Plymouth, NZ – Arthouse Cinema New Plymouth
  • Ascot, NZ – Ascot Upper Hutt
  • Rotorua, NZ – Basement Rotorua
  • Whakatane, NZ – Cinema 5 Whakatane
  • Te Puke, NZ – Capital Cinema 4, Te Puke
  • Havelock North, NZ – CINEMA GOLD Havelock North
  • Palmerston North, NZ – CINEMA GOLD Palmerston North
  • Martinborough, NZ – Circus Cinema, Martinborough
  • Hokitika, NZ – Crooked Mile Hokitika
  • Wanaka, NZ – Cinema Paradiso Wanaka
  • Dargaville, NZ – Dargaville Cinema Trust
  • Opotiki, NZ – De Luxe Theatre Opotiki
  • Picton, NZ – Ecoworld Picton
  • Feilding, NZ – Focal Point Feilding
  • Levin, NZ – Focal Point Levin
  • Motueka, NZ – Gecko Theatre, Motueka
  • Kaikoura, NZ – Mayfair Kaikoura
  • Methven, NZ – Methven Paradiso
  • Wellington, NZ – Paramount Wellington
  • Ashburton, NZ – Regent 3 Ashburton
  • Waikanae, NZ – ShorelineWaikanae
  • Taupo, NZ – Starlight Cinema Taupo
  • Nelson, NZ – State Cinema Nelson
  • Takaka, NZ – The Village Theatre Takaka
  • Whangamata, NZ – THAMES and WHANGAMATA MULTIPLEX
  • Gisborne, NZ – Dome Cinema Gisborne
  • Tokoroa, NZ – Tokoroa Cinema 3
  • Blenheim, NZ – Top Town Blenheim
  • Waiheke Island, NZ – Waiheke Island Community Cinema

Opening APRIL 22

  • Sumner, NZ – Sumner Hollywood
  • Oamaru, NZ – Movie World 3, Oamaru

Opening APRIL 28

  • Geraldine, NZ – Geraldine Cinema
  • Christchurch, NZ – Rialto Chrischurch
  • Dunedin, NZ – Rialto Dunedin
  • Newmarket, NZ – Rialto Newmarket
  • Tauranga, NZ – Village Theatre Tauranga

Opening APRIL 29

  • Taihape, NZ – Majestic Cinema Taihape
  • Whitianga, NZ – Mercury Twinn Whitianga
  • Odeon, NZ – Odeon Multiplex Theatre

Opening MAY 5

  • Whangarei, NZ – Whangarei Film Club
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Box Office Magazine calls QUEEN OF THE SUN “The feel-good advocacy movie of the year.”

While spring pollination has begun for the bees, we’re busy cross-pollinating with all of you throughout the country and the world to get the message out about the struggles facing honeybees and ALL pollinators.

Here’s some of the latest news from the past exciting month for QUEEN OF THE SUN.

QUEEN OF THE SUN: What Are the Bees Telling Us? is NOW opening in over 50 theaters over the next three months, thanks to the help of all of you and countless wonderful grass-roots organizations who have helped support releases and community events for QUEEN OF THE SUN across the country. There are also a number of wonderful community screenings happening in communities that may not have independent theaters.

CLICK HERE To find where QUEEN OF THE SUN is playing near you.

We’ve been humbled to receive many wonderful reviews in the past few weeks, including a major acknowledgment from Box Office Magazine, who just wrote a glowing review of the film calling QUEEN OF THE SUN “The feel-good advocacy movie of the year.” The Minneapolis Star-Tribune calls the film, “A honey of a documentary” and the Bay Area Reported wisely noted, “Colony Collapse Disorder should be a planetary wake up call akin to Rachel Carson’s 1960s pesticide expose Silent Spring.”

Recently, the U.N. released a scientific study confirming that bee decline is a global issue. “Of the 100 crop species that provide 90 percent of the world’s food, over 70 are pollinated by bees.” The head of the U.N. Environmental Programme warns. “The writing is on the wall. We have to do something to ensure pollination for future generations.”

This U.N. report signals a renewed urge for all of us to spread the word about the problems facing the bees in an effort to wake the world up to the systemic problems of industrialized agriculture, beekeeping, and to the ever increasing problem of habitat loss and pesticide use to our pollinators.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE U.N. STUDY

There are many ways to help the bees, visit our 10 Ways to Help page to learn many different ways you can contribute. With spring in the air, perhaps a good start is just to go out and plant some wildflowers and flowering herbs. The bees will appreciate it!

Warm Regards,

Taggart, Jon & The Queen of the Sun Team

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QUEEN OF THE SUN is now in theaters! Over 50 U.S. Cities March through June.

QUEEN OF THE SUN: What Are the Bees Telling Us? is in theaters now! Over 50 Cities are booked for March – June.

Additionally we are opening across New Zealand during the month of April.

A schedule of U.S. cities can be found below.

Check here for a complete list of theaters, dates and showtimes.

THEATER DATES:

  • Opens MAR 25 : SAN FRANCISCO, CA / LARKSPUR, CA /
  • Opens MAR 25 : PORTLAND, ME / COLUMBIA, SC / NEVADA CITY, CA
  • Opens MAR 28 : MILWAUKEE, WI / ALBUQUERQUE, NM
  • Opens MAR 30 : PAONIA, CO
  • Opens APR 8 : BERKELEY, CA / SANTA ROSA, CA / CONCORD, NH
  • Opens APR 9 : BAINBRIDGE ISLAND, WA
  • Opens APR 14 : NEWPORT, RI
  • Opens APR 16 : ROSENDALE, NY
  • Opens EARTH DAY – APR 22 : PORTLAND, OR / ASTORIA, OR / SALEM, OR / EUGENE, OR / ASHLAND, OR
  • Opens EARTH DAY – APR 22 : SANTA FE, NM / ITHACA, NY / BIRMINGHAM, MI
  • Opens APR 23 : BRUNSWICK, ME
  • Opens APR 26 : ANN ARBOR, MI
  • Opens APR 27 : TUCSON, AZ
  • Opens APR 29 : CHICAGO, IL / MADISON, WI / HARTFORD, CT
  • Opens MAY 4 : AMHERST, MA
  • Opens MAY 6 : PHOENIXVILLE, PA / LANSDOWNE, PA
  • Opens MAY 8 : AUSTIN, TX
  • Opens MAY 11: UTICA, NY
  • Opens MAY 13 : LINCOLN, NE
  • Opens MAY 15: CUPERTINO, CA
  • Opens MAY 17 : HONOLULU, HI
  • Opens MAY 20: HELENA, MT
  • Opens MAY 21: PITTSBURGH, PA
  • Opens MAY 26 : PLEASANTVILLE, NY
  • Opens JUNE 10: MANHATTAN, NYC

For theaters and exact screening times visit our screenings page.

Recommend a theater to us HERE.

Thanks to all of you, we are expanding to new theaters every week!

No theatrical bookings in your area? Check our screening page for special one-night events that may be happening near you.

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EPA knowingly allowed bee-killing pesticide onto the market

A leaked document from the EPA shows that the agency has knowingly allowed a highly toxic pesticide for bees, to be sold and used nationwide by Bayer, the third-largest producer of pesticides in the world.

Below is an except from Tom Philpott’s in-depth Grist.org article on the recent leak which came into the hands of a Colorado beekeeper.

“An internal EPA memo released Wednesday confirms that the very agency charged with protecting the environment is ignoring the warnings of its own scientists about clothianidin, a pesticide from which Bayer racked up €183 million (about $262 million) in sales in 2009.”

Shocking is the clarity of their scientists language in the leaked study itself–

“Clothianidin’s major risk concern is to nontarget insects (that is, honey bees). Clothianidin is a neonicotinoid insecticide that is both persistent and systemic. Acute toxicity studies to honey bees show that clothianidin is highly toxic on both a contact and an oral basis.”

And perhaps most frightening:

“On Thursday, I asked an EPA press spokesperson via email if the scientists’ opinion would inspire the agency to remove clothianidin from the market. The spokesperson, who asked not to be named but who communicated on the record on behalf of the agency, replied that clothianidin would retain its registration and be available for use in the spring.”

As a reaction to this report, Pesticide Action Network has issued a petition straight to the the head of the EPA herself. Please click to sign this important petition: http://action.panna.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=5370

And, over 1 million people have signed a petition to ban neonicotinoid pesticides around the globe, please sign this important petition as well: https://secure.avaaz.org/en/save_the_bees/?vl

Help the U.S. join a the governments of France, Germany, Italy and Slovenia who have banned forms of neonicotinoid pesticides.

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The full report on the leak from Grist.org: http://www.grist.org/article/food-2010-12-10-leaked-documents-show-epa-allowed-bee-toxic-pesticide-

A shorter take on the leak from Natural News: http://www.naturalnews.com/030921_EPA_pesticides.html

Queen of The Sun: What Are the Bees Telling Us? is a new film from Taggart Siegel, acclaimed director of the grassroots hit THE REAL DIRT ON FARMER JOHN. Queen of The Sun is a profound, alternative lookat the global bee crisis which reveals both the problems and the solutions in renewing a culture in balance with nature.