Last Call at The Oasis

"Water is the driving force of all nature."

 -Leonardo DaVinci

This season, The Paramount begins a new series to their lineup. The Beautiful World Series is a four film series this year brought to you in conjunction with The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation. These events are designed to celebrate, preserve and protect our delicate planet.

The first film in this series, LAST CALL AT THE OASIS, emphasizes how water truly is the life blood to our world's well being. Directed by Academy Ward-winning documentary director Jennifer Yu, the film brings to light the perils and misconceptions we have about water's long-term sustainability. Developed by the same team that brought us awareness-raising documentaries as AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, WAITING FOR SUPERMAN and FOOD, INC., this film is an alarm clock that we cannot afford to snooze.


While the centerpiece will be the presentation of this film, the entire evening will be informative and captivating. Before the screening, the lobby will host booths by the Texas Rainwater Catchment Association, Austin Eco Network information and local farmers. After the show, a post-film panel will convene on stage to discuss this urgent topic. The panelists will include author Robert Glennon, Andy Sansom from the Texas Water Institute, Laura Huffman from The Nature Conservancy of Texas, and Marilu Hastings of The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation.

Robert Glennon is a highly acclaimed author of environmental books such as Water Follies: Groundwater Pumping and the Fate of America’s Fresh Waters and Unquenchable: America’s Water Crisis and What To Do About It. He also has advocated on NPR, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, C-SPAN2’s Book TV, and many others.

Andy Sansom is a former executive director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and a founder of The Parks and Wildlife Foundation of Texas. Sansom also is the executive director of the Texas Nature Conservancy. A distinguished award winner for his efforts, he has been the recipient of numerous accolades from the likes of National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, The National Park Foundation and also the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.

Laura Huffman, director for The Nature Conservancy of Texas, leads and ordinated teams of scientists and conservation experts to help protect the Lone Star state. Locally, she has been instrumental in helping to secure the Edward’s Aquifer.

Marilu Hastings currently serves the Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation as the Environment Program Director. She has focused efforts on climate change, water conservation, waste management, and development of recycled products.

Awareness and focus on such a pressing issue is the first step, and with the information provided at The Paramount perhaps we can all do our part to prevent the constant wasteful drip of our future's supply. Together, we can turn the thriftless faucet off, and save plenty of water for all of us on this precious oasis of life we know as our Earth.

The time to open our eyes is now. After all, it is not an issue of whether the glass is half empty or half full; it's a matter whether we're going to have any water in the glass to make such a judgment at all.


LAST CALL AT THE OASIS will quench your thirst for knowledge on Wednesday, November 28, 2012. Pre-show event at 6:30 p.m. with the screening at 7:30 p.m.