Date:  February 26, 2008

Contact: Nancy Bender, Public Services Librarian, (310) 458-8922

Citywide Reads Event: Santa Monica Public Library presents a Screening of the Documentary 3 FEET UNDER

Santa Monica, California — Santa Monica Public Library presents a screening of the film 3 FEET UNDER: Digging Deep for the Geoduck Clam on Wednesday, May 7, at 7:30 p.m. in the Main Library’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Auditorium, 601 Santa Monica Blvd.  A discussion with the film’s producer and director, Justin Bookey, will follow the screening.  The event is part of this year’s Citywide Reads program, which features the book The Highest Tide, by Jim Lynch.  To find out more about Santa Monica Citywide Reads, visit the official blog at www.santamonicacitywidereads.blogspot.com. 

3 FEET UNDER explores how the geoduck clam has garnered a devoted following in the Pacific Northwest over the past century.  The geoduck, pronounced “gooey duck,” sports a neck three feet long, and has a life span of 160-plus years.  It’s the world’s largest burrowing clam and is jokingly referred to as the Washington State Bird.  Enthusiasts sing songs, design dolls, and trade folklore about the burrowing bivalve, environmentalists beam about its ocean-cleansing siphoning powers, and diners in Hong Kong restaurants pay more than $100 a plate for imported geoduck.  Learn more about 3 FEET UNDER at www.duckumentary.com.

Justin Bookey is an Emmy-nominated producer and director and comes from an avid clam-digging household outside Seattle, WA.  He holds a B.A. in Communications from UCSD, and a M.S. in Public Relations and law degree from Boston University. He has practiced communications law in Washington, D.C., has taught English in Tokyo, and studied the film industry in India.  He currently lives in Santa Monica.      

This program is free and open to the public.  Seating is limited and on a first arrival basis.  For more information, contact the Santa Monica Public Library at (310) 458-8600; or visit the Library’s web site at www.smpl.org.