DCEFF 2023

<p>Matthieu Rytz returns to Sundance (<em>Anote&rsquo;s Ark</em>, 2018 Sundance Film Festival) with this up-to-the-minute tale of geopolitical, scientific, and corporate intrigue that exposes the machinations of a secretive organization empowered to greenlight massive extraction of metals from the deep seafloor that are deemed essential to the electric battery revolution.</p> <p>Narrated by Jason Momoa, <em>Deep Rising</em> illuminates the vital relationship between the deep ocean and sustaining life on Earth. The documentary also follows mining startup The Metals Company, as it pursues funding, public favor, and permission from the International Seabed Authority to mine wide swathes of the Pacific Ocean floor.</p> <p>Rytz&rsquo;s fly-on-the-wall access observes extraction companies as they co-opt scientific studies and deliver pitches to investors, proposing how the costs of industrializing our Earth&rsquo;s last pristine environment can be justified to access metals they claim will benefit all of mankind. As oil conglomerates pivot investments to deep-ocean mining, <em>Deep Rising</em> examines humanity&rsquo;s destructive pattern of extracting materials for profit and asks why we don&rsquo;t choose, instead, to develop abundant resources to solve our energy problems.</p>

<p>Two women on a lonely island off the coast of Nova Scotia: Sable Island. Conservationist Zoe Lucas was an art student when she came there for the first time in the 1970s and has been living on this remote strip of land for decades now, mostly alone. Director Jacquelyn Mills films Lucas on her daily trips around the island to observe the local flora and fauna. Her studies of Sable Island&rsquo;s population of wild horses, for which the island is famous, and of the biodiversity there in general have made the self-taught scientist an esteemed expert. Collecting the alarming amounts of plastic washing up also forms part of Lucas&rsquo;s everyday life. Mills films on 16 mm, which lends a special beauty to the barren landscape. Science and art fuse in the two women&rsquo;s activities, each enriching the other. The movements of beetles are made into music. Horse manure provides useful data for Lucas and is just as useful for Mills&rsquo;s experiments in film exposure and developing, along with algae and other vegetation. When Mills loads the final film reel into her camera, it is not just the shoot that is coming to an end, but also a special encounter between two people. A twinge of melancholy is unavoidable.</p>

<p style="text-align:start"><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif"><span style="color:black">Within the idyllic Philippine tourist destination of Palawan, forests and wildlife are being destroyed by illegal loggers and President Duterte&rsquo;s cronies. Despite extreme mortal danger, a small troop of environmental crusaders risk their lives to catch the culprits in the act and prevent the thieving and destruction of their homeland.</span></span></span></p>

<p>Khaled came from war-torn Yemen to Oakland, CA to pursue beekeeping and a better life. But with an increasing amount of uncertainties, life&rsquo;s not always as sweet as honey.</p>

<p>A sequel to 2019&rsquo;s Knock Down the House, To the End follows the intersecting stories of four high profile environmental leaders who are fighting for a Green New Deal&mdash;a bold and ambitious plan to stop the climate crisis and address economic and racial justice in the process. The film&rsquo;s protagonists&mdash;Varshini Prakash (Sunrise Movement), Alexandra Rojas (Justice Democrats), Rhiana Gunn-Wright (Roosevelt Institute), and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez&mdash;are all visionary young women of color who are grappling with new challenges of leadership and power. Over three volatile years of crisis and upheaval, from street protests to the halls of Congress, the film tracks a historic shift in climate politics in the U.S. as these young leaders work together to defend their generation&rsquo;s right to a future. A coming-of-age story for a movement, To The End gives audiences an unflinching look at how power works in today&rsquo;s America, and a front seat view of history in the making.</p>

<p>A story of inheritance and the tension that defines our collective American history which explores coastal South Carolina as a site of pride and racial trauma through Gullah cultural retention and land preservation.</p>

<p>A staggering odyssey told as an essay on grief, and on how humans and nature rebuild after trauma. It moves from the shores of Japan where Sachiko, Yasu and Satoko try to find ways to accept their loss; via rarely seen places thousands of meters below the sea level where new life-forms thrive; to one of the Hawaiian islands where a group of volunteers gather to clean a beach from Japanese trash floating in from the Ocean.</p>

<p>Brothers Saud and Nadeem were raised looking at a sky speckled with black kites, watching as relatives tossed meat up to these birds of prey. Muslim belief held that feeding the kites would expel troubles. Now, birds are falling from the polluted, opaque skies of New Delhi and the two brothers have made it their life&rsquo;s work to care for the injured black kites. Shaunak Sen&rsquo;s intricately layered portrait reveals an evolving city and a fraternal relationship bonded by purpose. The film&rsquo;s patient, roaming camera skillfully uses scale and perspective to draw attention to the interconnectedness of an ecosystem &mdash; one that humans are a part of, not apart from. The social unrest that begins to materialize in the streets is seen through the perspectives of the brothers and their family, as well as the insects and animals that share the urban landscape. There is both cruelty and tenderness in nature, and Sen elegantly captures how they coexist, while emphasizing the ways in which all living beings must evolve to survive.</p>

<p>The Alps, unique and meanwhile also endangered, are stretching across eight European countries. Rural exodus on the one hand and overtourism on the other exist close together and above all hovers the inevitable threat of climate change.</p>

<p>While researching Australia&rsquo;s deteriorating coral reefs, marine biologist Abby receives word of her elderly mother Dora&rsquo;s stroke. As she rushes to her seaside hometown to care for Dora, Abby recalls her childhood years spent living in concert with the ocean, and her mother&rsquo;s efforts to protect the bay from greedy developers and invasive fishermen alike, often to the detriment of their own relationship. Among the coral gardens, Abby also befriends a rare fish, the blue groper &ndash; affectionately named Blueback &ndash; a tether to her environmentalism, and the key to reminding Abby and Dora of their love for one another and the vulnerable waters they call home.</p> <p>Based on Tim Winton&rsquo;s 1997 novella of the same name, <em>Blueback</em> is a complex and emotional film about a mother and daughter&rsquo;s passion for the ocean and each other. Actors Mia Wasikowska, Radha Mitchell, and Eric Bana return to the Sundance Film Festival in this poignant, visually stunning film that serves as a beautiful reminder of the power within all of us to make a difference.</p>

<p>Who are the most inspiring individuals working tirelessly to restore rivers in Europe? Follow these &quot;DamBusters&quot; on a journey through Spain, France, Finland, and beyond.</p>

<p>A visually stunning celebration of what makes Texas unique, its diverse landscapes and remarkable wildlife behavior that cannot be found anywhere else in the world.</p>

<p>A feature film shot over the course of two years intended to capture the changing of the seasons along the river in a town in the Fuyang district of Hangzhou city.</p>

<p>Follows Amy Powney, a daughter of environmental activists, during her trajectory from outsider to industry leader as she sets out to create a fashion collection that&#39;s ethical and sustainable at every level.</p>

<p>Urban India&#39;s escalating waste management problem is choking the natural resources of the cities. Three young women have emerged as role models, offering sustainable solutions, transforming lifestyles and mindsets.</p>

<p>Good Night Oppy tells the inspirational true story of Opportunity, a rover that was sent to Mars for a 90-day mission but ended up surviving for 15 years. The film follows Opportunity&rsquo;s groundbreaking journey on Mars and the remarkable bond forged between a robot and her humans millions of miles away.</p>

<p>An investigative journalist uncovers the money, influence, and alarming rationale behind covert efforts to control the most vital resource on the planet.</p>

<p>As an excursion to the work of botanical and film preservation, &quot;Herbaria&quot; explores in its invisible processes the artistic and political derivations that connect them.<br /> Sustained in a narration where times and spaces seem to merge, the records invite us to the fascinating universe of preserving the beauty and memory of a world that insists on disappearing.</p>

<p>Artist Britta Marakatt-Labba has for decades depicted the indigenous Sam&iacute; people&#39;s mythology, relation to nature and political struggle. Now she is facing one last fight; the battle for her culture against the threats of climate change.</p>

<p>Hollow Tree is about three teenagers coming of age in their sinking homeland of Louisiana. For the first time, they notice the Mississippi River&rsquo;s engineering, stumps of cypress trees, and billowing smokestacks. Their different perspectives &mdash; as Indigenous, white, and Angolan young women &mdash; shape their story of the climate crisis.</p>

<p>INTO THE ICE is a journey of discovery to the vast masses of ice and the secret of our future that the ice harbouring. Director Lars Ostenfeld accompanies three of the world&rsquo;s leading glaciologists on pioneering scientific expeditions to and INTO the Greenland ice sheet. Cool and hardworking Dorthe Dahl-Jensen, sensitive and politically engaged Jason Box, and daring and fearless Alun Hubbard are all working to collect new crucial data that can help us answer some key questions of our time: How fast is the ice melting? How quickly are sea levels rising? How much time do we have left to change the course of the Earth? As the scientists are caught in the dilemma of collecting new evidence to an inconvenient truth while people in power are not prepared to take action to prevent the earth from dying, the film brings us breathtaking images from a place that soon will be lost as we know it now. A documentary tale about science, nature and adventure.</p>

<p>Central Appalachia is a place of mountains and myth. Director Elaine McMillion Sheldon knows this well, calling those mountains home. Coal has had a profound influence on this community&rsquo;s identity, but Sheldon dares to consider what future stories might look like out of the shadow of coal, now that relationships to coal are changing. She takes us on an alluring cinematic journey through the past, present, and future of Appalachia.&nbsp;</p> <p>Sheldon&rsquo;s distinct vision remixes present-day moments of life in a coal-mining town with archival footage and atmospheric invocations of the land to alchemize something new &mdash; a rare, nuanced depiction of this community. A young girl learning the story of coal anchors the journey while Sheldon&rsquo;s poetic voiceover guides us through the experience and an expressive score differentiates the reality of coal from a more imaginative world. The hybrid approach allows Sheldon to explore the act of storytelling itself and is a magical reclamation of the power of stories to shape how a region sees itself. The end of one story welcomes the beginning of another. &nbsp;</p>

<p>Nkashi: Race for the Okavango follows the triumphs and challenges of three mokoro (dugout canoe) polers, Gobonamang &quot;GB&quot; Kgetho, Tjadza &quot;Pretty&quot; Tapologo, and Nkeletsang &quot;Ralf&quot; Moshupa, who are competing in the annual Nkashi Classic, a time-trial mokoro race that since 2018 has attracted people from all over the Okavango Delta - one of the most unique wetlands in the world. As they prepare for race day, they also contend with grief, the local impacts of climate change, and the urgency of preserving the tradition of the mokoro and nkashi (pole) for the next generation. Created by the National Geographic Society&#39;s Impact Story Lab in close collaboration with a team of Batswana filmmakers and in the local language of Setswana, Nkashi: Race for the Okavango is about more than a race to become the Okavango Delta&#39;s fastest poler; it&#39;s also a race to preserve cultural traditions and the waters that sustain the Okavango Delta.</p>

<p>Using trap-motion cameras, wildlife photographer Carlton Ward charts the habitat of the elusive &ndash; and vanishing &ndash; Florida panther. Filmmaker Eric Bendick follows Ward and cohorts as they pursue the perfect photograph that they believe will change the tide of public indifference to government-sanctioned destruction of the Everglades&rsquo; delicately balanced ecosystem and the panther&rsquo;s imminent extinction. Image-making has rarely felt this essential to our planet&rsquo;s survival.</p>

<p>The Plastic Bag Store is a public art installation and immersive film experience that uses humor, craft, and a critical lens to question our culture of consumption and convenience &mdash; specifically, the enduring effects of our single-use plastics. The shelves are stocked with thousands of original, hand-sculpted items &mdash; produce and meat, dry goods and toiletries, cakes and sushi rolls &mdash; all made from discarded, single-use plastics in an endless cacophony of packaging. During timed activations, the store transforms into an immersive, dynamic stage for a film in which inventive puppetry, shadow play, and intricate handmade sets tell the darkly comedic, sometimes tender story of how the overabundance of plastic waste we leave behind might be misinterpreted by future generations. The Plastic Bag Store premiered in Times Square in 2020 and has since traveled to the Adelaide Festival in South Australia, downtown Los Angles and is on its way to Chicago and Austin in 2021.</p>

<p>A young Navajo filmmaker investigates displacement of Indigenous people and devastation of the environment caused by the same chemical companies that have exploited the land where she was born. On this personal and political journey she learns from Indigenous activists across three continents.</p>

<p>Waponahkik (the people of the dawn land) bring gratitude to the sun where it first looks our way. Song and stories invite us to accept the new day and put behind us any harm done the day before.</p>

<p>Was the planting of tamarisk trees along the historically Black Lawrence Crossley neighborhood in Palm Springs a symbol of segregation?</p>

<p>A feature documentary about the 1979 Three Mile Island meltdown--the worst commercial nuclear accident in U.S. history. RADIOACTIVE covers the never-before-told stories of four intrepid homemakers, two lawyers who took the local community&#39;s case all the way to the Supreme Court, and a young female journalist who was caught in the radioactive crossfire. The film features activist and actor Jane Fonda(link is external) - whose film, CHINA SYNDROME (a fictional account of a nuclear meltdown), opened 12 days before the real disaster in Pennsylvania. RADIOACTIVE also breaks the story of a radical new health study (in process) that may finally expose the truth of the meltdown. For over forty years, the nuclear industry has done all in their power to cover up their criminal actions, claiming, as they always do, &quot;No one was harmed and nothing significant happened at Three Mile Island.&quot; In this thrilling feminist documentary, indomitable women fight back against the nuclear industry Goliath to expose one of the worst cover-ups in U.S.</p>

<p>THE SCALE OF HOPE follows former Obama White House Climate Advisor, Molly Kawahata, as she prepares for a climb in the Alaska Range while struggling with mental illness and working to create a new climate narrative framed around systemic change and hope. This is Patagonia&rsquo;s first film release following the bombshell news of founder Yvon Chouinard giving away the company to focus efforts on climate action and the environment.</p>

<p>Elephant families face the challenges of life in the deserts of Namibia.</p>

<p>What is the price some pay for the world&#39;s pork? North Carolina residents take on one of the world&#39;s most powerful companies in a fight for their rights to clean air, pure water, and a life free from the stench of pig feces.</p>

<p>Stewart Udall, America&rsquo;s most famous Secretary of Interior, was also a fighter for racial justice, peace, the arts, and environmental protections.</p>

<p>Upstream, Downriver takes viewers into the heart of the battle for water justice. Powerful stories with frontline community activists are interwoven with historical context about landmark regulations that significantly reduced water pollution in the U.S. but failed to serve disadvantaged communities that are hardest hit by today&rsquo;s climate crisis.</p>

<p>Until she learned about a proposed plastics plant a few miles from her home, Sharon Lavigne was a special education teacher whose favorite pastime was singing in her church choir. Vs Goliath: Cancer Alley follows Sharon, a grandmother of twelve, in her fight against the industries poisoning her community. She lives in the region known as &ldquo;Cancer Alley,&rdquo; a corridor along the Mississippi River that was once the heart of plantation country, and is now petrochemical plant country, still populated largely by the descendents of the enslaved. Receiving a message from God that she must stay and fight the plants, Sharon becomes an internationally renowned activist as she mobilizes her family and wider community.</p>

<p>No weather defines Canada more than cold; it transforms our landscapes and shapes life for wildlife and people, creating both hardship and wonder. Canada has some of the coldest weather on the planet, with recorded temperatures as low as those on the surface of Mars. The Cold episode, the first in the five-part series WILD CANADIAN WEATHER offers an unforgettable cinematic journey through some of Canada&rsquo;s most dangerous and spectacular weather.</p>

<p>A sweeping portrait of conservationists Kris and Doug Tompkins chronicling their fight to preserve one of the last truly wild places on earth.</p>

<p>Wild Port of Europe takes you into the unexpected story of wildlife living in Europe&#39;s largest and busiest port area. In this industrialized environment where man continuously changes everything survival is a challenge: Nature on the edge.</p>

<p>Near us, in the former mines, on mountain tops, on housing estates and at railway stations nature takes back what man stole. Wildlife film-essay about the resilient power and variety of Czech nature. Within the environment of open cast brown coalmines and spoil tips which is a reminder of a lunar landscape, one finds paradoxically a true tale of an impregnable wild countryside. For most people it is a symbol of an ecological catastrophe, same as the abandoned industrial complexes, former army training ranges or dense woods gobbled up by the bark beetle. But for nature they are untamed spots which bring with them a process of recuperation and self-preservation. Just beyond our backyard we see everyday dramas of animals and plants taking place which tend to fascinate us in films that come from the far reaches of our planet.</p>

<p>For many years, Ivan Vasyliovych has been the trade union leader at Ivano-Frankivsk TeploKomunEnergo, a municipal heating company in western Ukraine. His magnum opus is the trade union choir for mechanics, repairmen, dispatchers, book-keepers and other employees. Ivan Vasyliovych is very proud of their creative achievements but is also keen to point out that &quot;the heating comes first - and only then do we sing!&quot;. The rehearsal schedule must be organized around the &quot;heating season&quot;. As the collective are trying to fix the old pipelines, customers are bombarding the hot-line service. Is it possible to warm up their cold radiators with the power of Ukrainian folk song?</p>

<p>A full-scale invasion found the Kyiv director in a small Bedouin village in the Middle East. It was warm, safe, and unbearably far from home. Once the director had a prophetic dream. She decided to return to Kyiv, still the hostilities were unfolding. Despite the condemnation of relatives and the long journey, she finally managed to cross the threshold of her home. But the house itself has now become forever different.</p>

<p>In the face of climate change, developed nations are under pressure to support hard-hit countries such as India. With access to farmers, students, business owners, factory workers and scientists we hear first hand the lasting impact of rising temperatures on working conditions and productivity. The film gave voice to both under represented voices such as domestic workers but also demonstrated positive and constructive solutions to the climate crisis. The film was published during Cop 27 and engaged audiences there at a crucial moment.</p>

<p>While climate changes, ranging from drought to floods, are not driving all migration, they are playing increasingly important roles in the movement of individuals seeking a way to support their families. In recent times, climate change is encouraging individuals seeking work to take dangerous jobs in hot regions with little protections, including the labor-intensive efforts to build Qatar&rsquo;s World Cup stadiums.</p>

<p>High in India&#39;s Himalayan region, Ladakh has long relied on melting glaciers to nourish the short growing season. Those glaciers have been receding and the climate has grown increasingly erratic in recent decades, taking a significant toll on these isolated agrarian communities that cling to the vast mountainside. This film examines one solution designed by prominent local educator Sonam Wangchuk and his students: artificial glaciers, or ice stupas, that store millions of gallons of water available to nourish the terraced fields as spring and the growing season commence.</p>

<p>Our kelp forests are largely unobserved, and now they are vanishing. To understand why, filmmakers Dominic Smith and Andrew Robinson focus on the work of scientists who dive underwater and look down from space. Their research reveals a complex system at risk of collapse. A glimpse into the work of scientists underwater in a fragile ecosystem.</p>

<p>In a collaborative effort, The Seattle Times reporter Hal Bernton and Anchorage Daily News photographers reported from a record-shattering summer sockeye season on Bristol Bay, when more than 72 million sockeye returned from the North Pacific.</p>

<p>Where the Sun Always Shines is a poetic film of nostalgia, the meaning of home, and what happens when everything you know is threatened by climate disaster.</p>

<p>2019. Spring flooding in Mississippi hits record highs. In Louisiana, the residents of Pierre Part are preparing for the worst. Barring an unexpected turn of events, local authorities will soon be forced to open the floodgates of the Morganza Spillway, in order to save the cities of New Orleans and Baton Rouge from further uncontrolled flooding. Faith and resilience are the two best weapons they still have in the face of uncertainty.</p>

<p>Tyronne Edwards is a pastor and a 5th generation resident in a small, southern Louisiana town. His ancestors fought for the right for his family to live in the town of Phoenix, so when Katrina devastated the community, it became Tyronne&rsquo;s mission to rebuild. But building houses and churches was just half the battle. After a lifetime of community organizing, climate activism and protecting future generations from storm surge has become his new calling.</p>

<p>In 2020, Chloe Maxmin, a 28-year-old climate activist, became the youngest woman elected to the state senate in Maine history. Chloe and her campaign manager, Canyon Woodward, rewrote the strategy for progressive success in rural America and won two campaigns in red districts where they were expected to lose. Rural Runners follows Chloe and Canyon on the campaign trail alongside Canyon&rsquo;s burgeoning rise as a champion ultra-distance runner. Their approach rehumanizes our deeply divided political system, offering hope and a path toward a healthier democracy.</p>

<p>While campaigning for the Presidency, Joe Biden promised that climate change would be part and parcel of everything his Administration did. The film visits front line activists in New Jersey, Virginia, Louisiana, Texas and Iowa to see how he&rsquo;s doing.</p>

<p>FIRE TENDER tells the story of Yurok tribal members returning to traditional fire ways. Margo Robbins is a grandmother, cultural educator, healer, and Indigenous fire practitioner who is fighting for the Yurok Tribe&rsquo;s return of fire sovereignty&mdash;the right to utilize fire for tribal land stewardship outlawed by settlers. Margo works to overturn one hundred years of environmentally devastating anti-fire policies that have put Yurok lands at risk and prevented access to the natural resources needed for clean water, foodstuff, and materials needed for traditional lifeways.</p>

<p>On 4,000 acres in Illinois, first worn out by farms, roads and parking lots, Americans try to rebuild - with fire, beast and seed - what is lost elsewhere. On this restored prairie habitat they seek and still find a connection to the land.</p>

<p>Whitebark pine trees are icons of North America&#39;s mountain landscape. They provide a host of ecosystem services and are considered a foundational and keystone species for the critical role they play in the places where they occur. They stand at the center of a web of life that supports dozens of plants and animals, including the grizzly bear, red squirrel, and Clark&rsquo;s nutcracker. Over the past several decades whitebark pine has experienced severe declines and today faces the very real threat of extinction.</p>

<p>Across the American West, an unheralded movement is taking shape. People are coming together - in the face of drought, climate change, and the changing needs of communities - to rethink how they manage the West&#39;s most important resource: water. Restoring Our Rivers takes us on a journey across landscapes and watersheds to meet people who are making real change in a changing world.</p>

<p>Tampa Bay is one of the areas in our nation most vulnerable to climate change. Referred to as an area with high risk and low readiness, the region has large populations, including communities with high social vulnerability, and extensive development in flood-prone areas. But Tampa Bay isn&rsquo;t alone, communities across the Gulf coast face similar climate impacts. From sea-level rise, storm surge, extreme rainfall, and water quality and quantity, communities in coastal Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and Florida share their lessons learned and solutions employed. Together we can build resilience to a changing climate.</p>

<p>The felling of sitka trees is dramatic. Seemingly a death knell to the landscape, this particular deforestation is in fact the precursor to new life.</p>

<p>Heart Valley is a short documentary following a day in the life of Welsh shepherd Wilf Davies. Winner of Tribeca Film Festival and the BAFTA Cymru Award for Best Short Film.</p>

<p>Geamăna village, once home to 1000 people, lies buried beneath a copper mine&rsquo;s toxic waste. Only the church spire rises from the poisoned lake.</p> <p>Valeria lives alone with her dog and an ageing cow in what once was the village of Geamăna. Her life seems tranquil, but just beyond her garden gate lies a rising lake of industrial sludge that will eventually bury her house.</p> <p>In the 1970s the government of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu decided to open a copper mine above the village, and ever since the mine&rsquo;s toxic runoff has been filling the valley. Powerless to stop it, Valeria must begin to say goodbye to the land she grew up on.</p>

<p>Three weeks on, three weeks off. Offshore brings together oil workers&rsquo; unique perspectives on the coming energy transition and explores what climate justice really looks like for workers and communities around the UK North Sea. The film looks at how communities and regions have been impacted by past industrial decline, the risks workers face in an increasingly precarious industry and how they can organise for the future.</p>

<p>Set in the heart of the Amazon, a young Ash&eacute;ninka boy must face his fears and catch a giant catfish, signaling his journey into manhood.</p>

<p>Last human stories from the glittering bottom of dying Aral Sea. Svetlana stares into the salt desert with her only eye. Gulshat runs an empty hotel. Captain records traces of the vanishing sea, and Sergei drives tourists across its bare, glittering seabed. The last people of Mo&acute;ynoq who remember the original shore of drying Aral Sea&hellip; Their days are intertwined with memories of the glorious past of the fishing power and dreams of the return of the great water. The present is a cemetery of ships that will never set sail from the port again.</p>

<p>On a remote coast of the Russian Arctic in a wind-battered hut, a lonely man waits to witness an ancient gathering. But warming seas and rising temperatures bring an unexpected change, and he soon finds himself overwhelmed.</p>

<p>Following the sudden and unimaginable loss of his wife during the 2011 tsunami in Northern Japan, a man learns to scuba dive. Under the murky depths of the sea, his search for her - and for solace from grief - continues.</p>

<p>A story of three siblings building a tree house together over the course of a year. We experience the beauty and brutality of the seasons, as we follow them through their struggles and moments of joy.</p>

<p>In the 1970&#39;s the Patuxent River&#39;s poor water quality spawned a Chesapeake Bay-wide conservation movement, but after decades of costly cleanup efforts the river still earns a near failing D- grade.</p>

<p>Tells the story of four teenagers challenged to find the source of the Cooper River that runs through Camden County, NJ. They kayaked, hiked, mucked, and bushwhacked over six days and 17 miles on this unprecedented journey of discovery - of a river, and themselves. The film is about a specific river, but it could be about any neglected, forgotten urban river.</p>

<p>Unlikely friends Conrad Anker and Malik Martin bring something unique to each others lives as their paths cross within the world of climbing.</p>

<p>Eeland Stribling is many things: fly fisherman, wildlife biologist, Colorado native &ndash; but most notably, he is an avid stand-up comedian. Born and raised in Colorado, Eeland is doing his part by exposing the outdoors world to those who have historically not grown up with it. As a man of color himself, he is redefining what it means to be an outdoorsman in America &ndash; but more importantly, an advocate for preserving the world&rsquo;s natural wonders.</p>

<p>J.R. Harris is an explorer, psychologist, and self proclaimed &quot;curious dude.&quot; Always has been, always will be. Even now at &quot;like, a hundred and twenty years old&quot; he&#39;s not really a sit on the beach sipping margaritas kind of guy. He unwinds by getting WAY out there. Which is a little unusual for Queens kid from the projects, he knows. Filmed in J.R&#39;s beloved New York City, BORN CURIOUS explorers the life of the explorer. It is in turns comedic and lyrical, tense and heartwarming and will inspire even the most timid among us to live braver and bolder every day.</p>

<p>Explores how the widespread anxieties and lack of purposefulness of modern life are deeply rooted in our physical and spiritual distancing from the natural world.</p>

<p>Effective communication is a challenge every climber faces. It&rsquo;s a sport that requires intense focus, dedication, and overcoming fear. For Deaf climber Sonya Wilson, communication and community is of vital importance. Elevated is a non-verbal film sharing Sonya&rsquo;s experience as a Deaf woman and outdoor advocate working to bridge the gap between the Deaf community and the outdoor industry, one crag at a time.</p>

<p>Natasha didn&rsquo;t grow up believing that &ldquo;Black people don&rsquo;t do that,&rdquo; was going to be a limiting factor in her life. Not only does she ride dirt bikes, skate, and surf, she is passionate about sharing those skills with others.</p>

<p>Elite South African surfer Michael February retraces his surfing career and impact on afrosurf - a career made possible by his father&#39;s sacrifice and commitment.</p>

<p>DeVaughn is a 15-year-old kid from New York City who loves skateboarding and craves a &quot;quiet place&quot; to escape the chaos of his home, the city, and kids that steal from him. The film follows DeVaughn on a weekend-long group camping trip with Camping to Connect, a BIPOC-led mentorship program that teaches leadership, brotherhood, and inclusion in the outdoors. One leader states, &quot;these kinds of conversations are rare for men that look like us,&quot; and as the film weaves between the city and the woods, a place that is unfamiliar and historically inaccessible to these kids, we witness the joy and growth that is possible when kids have an opportunity to find that &quot;quiet place.&quot;</p>

<p>Emily Ford and sled dog Diggins attempt to cross the secluded Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in winter during subzero temperatures to raise awareness about copper mining threats.</p>

<p>Trans trail runner Perry Cohen forms a team with fellow trans men with the aim to compete in trail races in states proposing and passing hateful anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.</p>

<p>As one of only 30 fluent Squamish language speakers left in Squamish Nation, Myia Antone teaches as a way to preserve her language for generations to come. Seeking to learn more, Myia uses her mountain bike as a needle weaving through her ancestral lands and language.</p>

<p>For Latino conservationist and angler Jr Rodriguez to become &ldquo;like the pictures he saw in magazines,&rdquo; he had to leave behind what he loved the most. By juxtaposing Jr&rsquo;s origins in Houston, Texas, and his current home in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, we share his journey of learning to love the outdoors and what it can be like to participate in outdoor sports in Western mountain towns as a person of color.</p>

<p>For her entire professional life, renowned ecologist Nalini Nadkarni pioneered climbing techniques to study &quot;what grows back&rdquo; after an ecological disturbance in the rainforest canopy. Now, after surviving a life-threatening fall from a tree, she must turn her research question onto herself in order to understand the effects of disturbance and recovery throughout her life.</p>

<p>Following Matti Palonen and Jurgita Žvinklytė as they construct &lsquo;tree harps&rsquo; in the woods surrounding an unoccupied summer camp.</p>

<p>Incarcerated participants in a mental health experiment watch videos of sunset-soaked beaches, wildflowers, and forests on loop, prompting them to reflect on isolation and wilderness.</p>

<p>Fight or Flight chronicles the journey of the first female pilot employed by Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Drawn to nature as a means to flee early trauma, Denise Joi takes to the skies and the mountains below. Pursuing her lifelong dream of becoming a professional pilot, she discovers she first has to face her past - both to heal and to excel as a backcountry aviator. Amidst sweeping vistas, calculating precision maneuvers above alpine lakes and remote wildlife, she forges her own story.</p>

<p>People Rising: Ivy City, chronicles the active fight to close National Engineering Products (NEP), a chemical facility that has polluted the air with the smell of formaldehyde and burning tar since the 1930s. It inconspicuously operates in a poor, Black residential neighborhood and even shares a wall with a family home - including 6 children - all of whom have had negative health impacts since moving in. This short documentary follows Sebrena Rhodes, Ivy City resident and community organizer, as she and partners combine the power of law with the power of organizing in the fight to close NEP. Produced by Namati in partnership with Empower DC.</p>

<p>What started as one man&#39;s quixotic dream has turned to reality. For the past three years, the 65-foot Schooner Apollonia has been delivering goods up and down the Hudson River by sail sans fossils fuels - a throwback to a day when there were 1200 such boats on the river each day. It turns out buyers prefer the non-polluting, anti-Amazon way of making deliveries.</p>

<p>For Shawn Hayes, the ancient practice of falconry is more than a deep connection with raptors. It&#39;s his life&#39;s work, carving a place for himself where people of color haven&#39;t always been welcome.</p>

<p>For Jason Reed, salmon are synonymous with life. He has grown up on the banks of California&rsquo;s Klamath River where the Karuk Tribe have depended on these salmon since time immemorial. But in recent years, nearly all the salmon have stopped returning to the river to spawn. To save the salmon and his cultural identity, Jason is turning to natural inspiration &ndash; the beaver. Historically, the pools created by beaver dams have provided lifesaving refuge to salmon before they venture out to the ocean. But beavers have been wiped out by hunting and due to California law, the Karuk people are forbidden from reintroducing beavers to their land. So Jason and his colleagues are working on a plan to save the salmon and attract beaver back to the area &ndash; they&rsquo;re building dams themselves. If he succeeds, Jason will not only save the fate of the salmon, but the fate of his tribe.</p>

<p>&quot;Mapping Love&quot; is a documentary film about a family of women coping with the cancer-causing generational effects of toxic waste from the United State&#39;s first Superfund site.</p>

<p>Filmed in Colombia, South America, Johnny Holder&#39;s film, Sonora, floats through the perspectives of Juan Pablo Culasso, a sightless birder. The film takes an experimental and reflective approach to observe changing soundscapes in nature and what it&#39;s like for someone without sight to navigate these changes through sound, touch, and smell. The written thesis discusses the origins, inspiration, and production of the film.</p>

<p>Trashman is a personal exploration of the filmmaker&rsquo;s neighborhood trash pollution problem and what community activists in Ward 8 Washington, D.C. are doing to solve this issue. Trashman spotlights Ward 8 Woods, a Washington, D.C. based non-profit organization and their dedicated staff and volunteers as they restore woodlands and clean city streets filled with trash. Trashman compares the stark differences between the maintenance of Rock Creek Park located in a wealthier section of Washington, D.C. to parklands in Ward 8, a less affluent area of the city. Trashman dives into whether environmental issues are important in Ward 8 and who&rsquo;s responsible for the filmmaker&rsquo;s neighborhood trash pollution problem.</p>

<p>&quot;Our Coast&quot; is a short documentary that delves into the life of James Lawson, a young fisherman deeply connected to British Columbia&#39;s coastal waters. The film explores the challenges he faces due to declining fish stocks and regulatory frameworks that often favor corporate interests over local fishing communities. Through James&#39;s preparations for the upcoming fishing season and his reflections on his experiences, the documentary paints a vivid portrait of a way of life under threat and underscores the cultural and ecological significance of community-based fisheries.</p>

<p>In the summer of 1988 dry lightning sparked a fire in the parched and drought ridden landscape of Yellowstone National Park igniting a blaze that would scorch over 1.5 million perimeter acres. This is the story of a conflagration that raged unabated for months until a snow of intense severity extinguished the flames. That winter surviving Fauna, exhausted from fire and weakened by hunger, die in greater numbers than those claimed by the fire. This sparkling gem has played in over 150 film festivals world-wide and been awarded many accolades - Best Animation, Best Music and Original Composition, Best Narration and Voice-Over and multiple awards for Best Video Poetry. Thanking Mark Murphy of Secrets &amp; Machines for the music, Peter Coyote for Narration, Betsy De Fries for the Poem, Song of Fire, and our very own Creative director, Jerry van de Beek of Little Fluffy Clouds for Animation and Design.</p>

<p>In the &ldquo;Black Summer&rdquo; of 2019/2020, Australia had some of the worst bushfires in its history. More than 20% of the forested area of the continent was destroyed, more than a billion animals were killed along with significant human casualties. The meteorological satellite Himawari-8 observed this catastrophe from the far distance.<br /> For this experimental animated documentary, terabytes of satellite data were processed with specially developed algorithms, combining visible light and infrared measurements with heat detection. Animated, the rendered images form a hypnotic stream, documenting the catastrophe like never seen before.</p> <p>The work &quot;Black Summer&quot; is presented as a hybrid short film or as a video installation (one, two or three channels).</p>

<p>An abstract exploration of the Earth&rsquo;s striking textures and cyclical rhythms. Unwitnessed lays bare the Earth&#39;s imposing elements and mesmerizing patterns, and reminds us that all life is deeply interconnected, and that the Earth herself is a living, breathing organism. Filmed all over Icleand, including at the Fagradalsfjall Volcano.</p>

<p>Listen Closely is a poetic, ecologically conscious short film celebrating the biodiverse soundscapes and more-than-human voices of Taiwan. From the ethereal chirp of cicadas to the raucous cackle of Blue Magpies, Taiwan&rsquo;s forests, mountains and seas have been enriched by a melodic soundtrack for centuries. Organic soundscapes highlight our interconnectedness with the world around us and provide a sense of tranquility in an age of noise. Listen Closely germinated through transdisciplinary research investigations with the Soundscape Association of Taiwan and the Eco-Acoustics and Spatial Ecology [EASE] lab at the Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica. These conservations underlined Taiwan&rsquo;s leading role in acoustic conservation and the inspirational researchers and conservationists championing and caring for Taiwan&rsquo;s natural symphony. Using sounds and signage from the world&rsquo;s first Quiet Trail (Cueifong Lake) and Quiet Urban Park (Yangmingshan) as starting points, Listen Closely invites audiences to connect with the sonic beauty of Taiwan&rsquo;s delicate ecosystems and encourages the act of listening to non-humans and each other in order to create a more harmonious future.</p>

<p>This tranquil and inventive cinematic essay, focussing on the Japanese art of flower arranging, regards plants as a language of expression, channelling the past, present and future.</p> <p>A flower blows in the wind and a gentle voice floats in: &ldquo;soil is a bodily gift of the dead to the living&rdquo;. This poetic film fabulously matches its precise and caring form to the topic it revolves around: Ikebana, the ancient Japanese art of flower arranging. What might at first appear to be a simple pastime, is revealed as a profound vehicle for exploring the ephemerality of existence, the arrangement of creative expression, and the many languages of plants.</p>

<p>A stunning visual exploration of matter in various states of microbial transformation begs fundamental questions about our complicated relationships with other species.</p> <p>Wrought begins with that universal moment of disappointment: despite all best efforts, our food has gone bad. But instead of turning away in disgust, Wrought zooms in, approaching the usually hidden world of decay with curiosity and stunning time lapse photography. Spoiling dinner leftovers bloom with successions of geometric bacterial colonies. Yeasts churn and froth in the torrential flood of juice leaking from a decaying melon. Cheese is slowly engulfed by carpets of furry, green mould. But, the film asks, would rot by any other name still reek?&nbsp;</p> <p>In answering this question, Wrought unfolds a larger story about the ways we humans construct categories for the world around us that can be limiting. It explores (and challenges) terms like spoil, ferment, compost and rot as it coaxes audiences to decompose these categories and their associated binaries: self and other, human and non-human, and nature and culture. As the film title implies, we are all forged out of the relationships that transgress such binaries; we are all, indeed, wrought.</p>

<p>A collection of biologists inventively save desert tortoises with a brilliant hack! (USA, 17 MIN)</p>

<p>&ldquo;Bring the Salmon Home&rdquo; is a story about the Klamath River Tribal communities as they host a 300+ mile run from ocean to headwaters to cultivate support for the removal of the four lower Klamath River dams. The Klamath Salmon Run was started by local youth in 2003, a year after dams, diversions, and drought led to a traumatizing fish kill that littered the banks of the Klamath with dead salmon for miles. The event has become an important way for the many small communities along this remote river in far northern California to find solidarity in the struggle to protect their salmon and their way of life. With regulators poised to approve dam removal plans later this year, runners are now racing into a future of hope and optimism.</p>

<p>As wolves repopulate Washington State, conflict is heating up with rural ranching communities. Range rider Daniel Curry&#39;s job is to patrol wild areas on horseback, creating a buffer between wolves and the cattle herds that graze on public lands. When these wild carnivores are suspected of killing livestock, the consequences for packs can be fatal. As illegal poaching and state sponsored kills take their toll, can Daniel prove that coexistence between ranchers and wolves is possible?</p>

<p>This short National Park Service documentary film follows two biologists working to save rare and endemic forest birds in Haleakalā National Park.</p>

<p>&quot;Joy&quot; is a documentary short that tells the story of Joyleen Tugume, a young ranger in Uganda who balances her role as a mother to her two children, Favour and Abie, with her commitment to protecting the Nyakagezi family&mdash;the only group of mountain gorillas residing in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. The film explores her dedication to wildlife conservation and her efforts to pass on this legacy to her children.</p>