A series of three documentaries connecting Peter Jackson’s film trilogy of The Lord Of The Rings to environmental challenges facing New Zealand will be launched today. The three films, called The Middle-earth Connection, are directed and produced by Auckland film-maker David Jacobs, and focus on forests, agriculture and cities. Jacobs has used clips from Jackson’s films as a frame of reference. “The author of the Rings, J R R Tolkien, was an environmentalist and there are clear environmental values in the Rings,” he told NZPA. “The books promote what we would nowadays call sustainability. [More]