A screening and community dialogue about the new film, The New Metropolis, which explores land use policy issues through stories from America's cities and first suburbs will take place at Rialto Cinemas Cerrito on Saturday, February 4, 10:00 A.M-12:30 P.M. (doors open at 9:30 A.M.)  A light lunch and Community discussion continues from 12:30 P.M-2:00 P.M. at Nong Thon Vietnamese restaurant in El Cerrito, following the screening. The event is free and open to the public. The forum is being presented by the City of El Cerrito Environmental Quality Committee in strategic partnership with the League of Women Voters and Torrice Productions. Registration is encouraged.

“THE NEW METROPOLIS: Building a Sustainable and Healthy Bay Area in the Age of Global Warming” will bring together policy makers and community members to discuss strategies for urban and suburban revitalization and environmental sustainability in the Bay Area.

Award-winning filmmaker Andrea Torrice will show segments from her recent PBS series, The New Metropolis, as well as premiere a new segment about the Bay Area.

Invited panelists include:

Janet Abelson, Council member and Transit Policy expert

John Gioia, County Supervisor – Contra Costa County

 Rebecca Kaplan, City Council Oakland and Jason Overman (Communications Director)

 Mark Desaulniers, State Senator

 Ann Cheng, Mayor, El Cerrito

 Jeff Ritterman, MD, City Council member Richmond

Julie Pierce, Mayor, City of Clayton, member of CCTA

Documentary director Andrea Torrice remarked, "I hope The New Metropolis helps inspire people to move beyond talking to taking concrete action in the Bay Area,” Torrice said. “The films have been amazing tools for communities to get together and create change for the better, and they put a human face on complex issues: land use, race, and climate change.”

This event is part of a series of dialogues taking place across the country about community revitalization. It is made possible in part through the generous support of the Ford and Surdna Foundations.

This event is also part of the Environmental Quality Committee’s Eco-Film series. The Eco-Film series was developed to educate, inspire and encourage community participation in a wide range of environmental quality and sustainability issues.

Tickets: Free, but registration is encouraged. Register by sending your name and number of tickets to green@ci.el-cerrito.ca.us

For information: www.el-cerrito.org/eqc/newmetropolis or (510) 215-4318

This event is wheelchair accessible.