The Oscar-nominated films “The Warriors of Qiugang” and “Gasland” will screen as the next installment in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 30th annual “Contemporary Documentaries” series on Wednesday, May 2, at 7 p.m. at the Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood. Admission to all screenings in the series is free.

Directed by Ruby Yang, who produced the film with Thomas Lennon, “The Warriors of Qiugang” follows the villagers of Qiugang, China, as they fight for a safer living environment when a chemical company begins to poison their air and water. The film earned a 2010 Academy Award nomination for Documentary Short Subject.

When director Josh Fox was approached by a company requesting to drill for natural gas on his property, he began a disturbing investigation into the environmental repercussions of the process. “Gasland” documents evidence of serious pollution and contamination across the United States caused by drilling methods that have been exempted from the standards required by the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts.

Fox produced the film with Trish Adlesic and Molly Gandour. “Gasland” earned a 2010 Academy Award nomination for Documentary Feature. Editor Matthew Sanchez will be present to take questions from the audience following the screening.

The 30th annual “Contemporary Documentaries” series continues through May 30, showcasing feature-length and short documentaries drawn from the 2010 Academy Award nominations, including the winners, as well as other important and innovative films considered by the Academy that year.

All films will screen at the Linwood Dunn Theater at the Academy’s Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study on Wednesdays at 7 p.m.  Doors open at 6 p.m. Seating is unreserved. The filmmakers will be present at screenings whenever possible.

Image Courtesy of    http://www.warriorsofqiugang.com

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Academy Film Scholar Peter Decherney, author of Hollywood’s Copyright Wars: From Edison to the Internet, will present highlights from his upcoming book on Monday, March 19, at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood, according to the latest press release. Hollywood’s Copyright Wars will be released in April; advance copies will be available at the event. Admission is free.

Decherney will frame the current debate about technology and intellectual property in historical and political terms, discussing such issues as piracy, plagiarism, Hollywood’s love-hate relationship with fair use, and how the industry has responded to its intellectual property issues through self-regulation.

Decherney, who was named an Academy Film Scholar in 2009, is associate professor of cinema studies, English and communication at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of Hollywood and the Culture Elite: How the Movies Became American (2005) and many articles on the film industry, including an October 2011 New York Times op-ed piece titled “Will Copyright Stifle Hollywood?”

Established in 1999, the Academy Film Scholars program is designed to stimulate and support the creation of new and significant works of film scholarship about aesthetic, cultural, educational, historical, theoretical or scientific aspects of theatrical motion pictures. Film scholars receive $25,000 to research and produce such works, which can take the form of books, multimedia presentations, curatorial projects, DVDs or Internet sites.

For grant guidelines and information about the Academy Film Scholars program, visit the official website.

Admission to the Academy Film Scholars presentation is free, but tickets are required. Tickets are available by mail, at the Academy box office, or online at www.oscars.org. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. All seating is unreserved.

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