Environmental Festival Opens Today : Films: The event focuses attention on global problems and solutions. Anti-nuclear activist Helen Caldicott will be among the 100 speakers.

More than 125 environmental films and videos from throughout the world will be shown, and more than 100 speakers will hold post-screening discussions at the 1991 Aveda U.S. Environmental Film Festival today through Sunday in Santa Monica.

A special film presentation and discussion on the aftermath of the Chernobyl nuclear accident--featuring anti-nuclear activist Dr. Helen Caldicott--will kick off the festival tonight at 7 at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, 1700 Ocean Ave. The cost is $10.

A benefit celebration with comedian Chevy Chase as host will be held Friday from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Santa Monica Municipal Pier. Dinner will be served, and the carousel and fun zone will be reserved for guests. The cost is $75 for adults and $50 for children.

Now in its second year, the goal of the festival is to increase public awareness of local, national and global environmental problems and solutions through film and video, according to festival director Richard Skorman.

Among the topics that will be discussed are global warming, endangered species, rain forests and world population trends, pesticides in food, recycling, the fur industry and animal rights, Skorman said.

The film programs will be held at Loews hotel, the Laemmle Monica Theatre at 1332 2nd St. and Mann Criterion Theatre at 1313 Third Street Promenade.

In addition to Caldicott, other scheduled speakers include Cesar Chavez, president of the United Farm Workers; Jim Hightower, former Texas commissioner of agriculture; Randall Hayes, director of Rainforest Action Network, and Winona LaDuke, president of Indigenous Women’s Network.

Daytime programs will be held for elementary schoolchildren, and an outdoor environmental fair will be held on the Third Street Promenade.

Prices are $5.75 for each film program or $100 for a festival “Earth Card,” which will admit holders to all programs. Advance tickets are available in the lobby of the Laemmle. On the day of the performance, they can be purchased at the specific theater box office 45 minutes before the show.

For more information, call (213) 285-8685.