DCEFF 2021

Youth V Gov (2020)

Christi Cooper

<p>Directed by filmmaker and scientist Christi Cooper, YOUTH v. GOV is the story of America&#39;s youth taking on the world&#39;s most powerful government. In 2015, twenty one young plaintiffs, ages 8 to 19, filed the lawsuit Juliana vs. United States, asserting a willful violation of their constitutional rights in creating our climate crisis. If they&#39;re successful, they&#39;ll not only make history, they&#39;ll change the future.</p>

Secrets of the Whales Episode 1: Orca Dynasty

Brian Armstrong Andy Mitchell

<p>Orcas across the globe use unique strategies to stay on top of the food chain. Patagonia&#39;s whales catch sea lions off the beach, New Zealand&#39;s orcas root out hidden stingrays, and Norway&#39;s sea giants master the tail slap. Witness five powerful orca matriarchs pass down their family hunting traditions to the next generation, preserving their way of life before the customs are lost forever.</p>

The Sacrifice Zone (2020)

Julie Winokur

<p>If you travel down a one-mile stretch of Doremus Avenue in Newark, NJ, you pass a natural gas plant next to a sewage treatment facility next to an animal fat rendering plant next to a series of ominous looking chemical storage containers behind acres of fencing. Airplanes pass overhead every two minutes, their engines rattling windows, while a putrid smell wafts from the open pools at the sewage treatment plant. This stretch is known as Chemical Corridor, and it&#39;s located just down the road from schools and apartment buildings. It borders the Ironbound neighborhood, where Portuguese, Brazilian, Central American and African American residents are separated from toxic substances by little more than a railroad track. The Ironbound district of Newark, New Jersey, is one of the most toxic neighborhoods in the country. Maria Lopez, a Honduran-American resident there, is waging a war for environmental justice. The Sacrifice Zone follows Maria as she leads a group of warriors who are fighting to break the cycle of poor communities of color serving as dumping grounds, so the rest of us can live in comfortable ignorance.</p>

The Long Coast (2020)

Ian Cheney

<p>A lyrical and artful portrait of seafolk and seafood producers along the coast of Maine.</p>

Ain’t Your Mama’s Heat Wave

Elijah Karriem

<p>&quot;Ain&#39;t Your Mama&#39;s Heat Wave&quot; is a 2019 stand-up comedy special directed by Elijah Karriem. The film features four Black millennial comedians&mdash;Aminah Imani, Clark Jones, Mamoudou N&#39;Diaye, and Kristen Sivills&mdash;who take the stage to &quot;make the climate crisis funny.&quot; Presented by Hip Hop Caucus&#39; Think 100% Films, the special blends humor with environmental activism, highlighting the disproportionate impact of climate change on communities of color.</p>

America’s Heartland: Wild Prairie Reborn

Alex Burr Jeff Turner Tria Thalman

<p>America&rsquo;s Heartland was once an endless sea of grass, where the wind blew for a thousand miles with nothing barring its way and giant herds of animals were free to roam. Today, much of the prairie is plowed over and what little grassland remains is heavily grazed by cattle. The biodiversity of temperate grasslands has plummeted along with their acreage, but now, a new project offers hope. In America&rsquo;s Heartland: Wild Prairie Reborn, we travel to the American Prairie Reserve, a piece of northern Montana that&rsquo;s on track to become the largest protected ecosystem in the continental United States. The ambition is to transform this mosaic of public and private land, by restoring these grasslands to their natural state. With the help of Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute scientists here and scientists in Canada, efforts are underway to bring bison, grizzly bears, swift foxes, and songbirds back to their prairie home on the Northern Great Plains.</p>

An American Ascent

Andy Adkins George Potter

<p>An American Ascent documents the first African American expedition to tackle Denali, North America&#39;s highest peak and explores the complex relationship many African-Americans have with the outdoors. As the United States transitions to a &#39;minority majority&#39; nation, a staggering number of people of color do not identify with America&#39;s wild places. By embarking on the grueling multi-week climb of the 20,327ft Denali, nine African-American climbers set out to bridge this &#39;adventure gap&#39; - challenging outdated notions of what adventure looks like by changing the face of America&#39;s biggest and baddest mountain on the 100th anniversary of its first summit.</p>

ANBESSA

Mo Scarpelli

<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Ten-year-old Asalif and his mother have been displaced from their Ethiopian farmland by the construction of a condominium. Now living on the divide between a new and ancient world, they are reminded that their country&rsquo;s big dream of &ldquo;progress&rdquo; is not for them. Land developers come knocking and Asalif feels his mother&rsquo;s fear of further displacement. On the other side, ferocious hyenas lurk in a dark forest and local farmers speak their lore. To fight back against all that threatens his family, Asalif transforms into a lion (&ldquo;anbessa&rdquo; in Amharic). His newfound power takes him to places he never imagined inside and out of the condo until finally, Asalif must shed the lion persona and find the strength that resides in him as a boy, in order to deal with the tides of change and violence that are usurping his family, his country, and his own identity.&nbsp;</span></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">A stunning observational work, ANBESSA vibrantly mirrors its subject&rsquo;s imagination with a creative approach to non-fiction filmmaking. The film is an urgent and caring portrait of those cast aside by the processes of modernization.</span></span></p>

Barefoot: The Mark Baumer Story

Julie Sokolow

<p>BAREFOOT is a portrait of Mark Baumer, a writer and activist who walked barefoot for over 100 days to protest climate change. In a voice The New Yorker praised as &quot;reminiscent of Andy Kaufman&quot;, Baumer narrates his walk in self-recorded videos, sharing his offbeat take on life and how we all can make a difference.</p>

Občan Nobel (Citizen Nobel)

Stephane Goel

<p>Winning the 2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry turned Jacques Dubochet&#39;s life upside down and thrust him firmly into the limelight. Receiving attention from all sides the Swiss biophysicist wonders how to make best use of being centre-stage, which battles to fight and how to become a Nobel citizen?</p>

Collodion: The Process of Preservation

Eric Overton

<p>The lens of photographer and physician Eric Overton captures a fearless and uncommonly vulnerable self-portrait of American wilderness, our relationship to each other, and the possibility that nature itself may be all we need to find common ground. Following a series of conversations and interviews, the film asks, &ldquo;What happens when all we are left with is a photograph?&rdquo; It is a reminder of the fragility of art, of nature, and the need to ask ourselves questions. Collodion ends as Overton&rsquo;s son begins to photograph landscapes with an innate sense of wonder and exploration. This is where self-discovery becomes legacy. It is a transformation not of political achievements, or battles won (though they must be fought), but an achievement of what wilderness offers so effortlessly: simplicity, connection, curiosity, and presence.</p>

Current Revolution (Episode 1: The Transformation Cannot Be Stopped)

Roger Sorkin

<p>The utilities industry, a driving engine of the U.S. economy, tackles the challenge of modernizing the power grid. Whether they fail, prevail, or adapt, the outcome will profoundly affect us all.</p>

Current Revolution (Episode 2: Nation in Transition)

Roger Sorkin

<p>In this followup to &ldquo;The Transformation Cannot Be Stopped,&rdquo; the coal-to-renewables transition in northern Arizona and across the Navajo Nation serves as a case study for workers and communities navigating toward a carbon-free future.</p>

Earth (2019)

Nikolaus Geyrhalter

<p>Several billion tons of earth are moved annually by humans &ndash; with shovels, excavators or dynamite. Nikolaus Geyrhalter observes people, in mines, quarries and at large construction sites, engaged in a constant struggle to take possession of the planet.</p>

El Father Plays Himself

Mo Scarpelli

<p>A father and son return to the Amazon jungle to shoot a deeply personal film. Fiction and reality clash as father plays himself. A young film director returns to Venezuela, inspired to make a film based on his father&#39;s life in the Amazon jungle. He casts Father to play himself. What starts as an act of love and ambition &mdash; filmmaking to more deeply understand the self, and the other &mdash; spirals into a process which confronts Father&rsquo;s struggles with addiction and his life devoid of his son. EL FATHER PLAYS HIMSELF holds a steady lens to the way the act of cinema unearths, binds, heals and destroys.</p>

Entangled (2020)

David Abel

<p>Entangled is an award-winning, feature-length film about how climate change has accelerated a collision between one of the world&#39;s most endangered species, North America&#39;s most valuable fishery, and a federal agency mandated to protect both. The film chronicles the efforts to protect North Atlantic right whales from extinction, the impacts of those efforts on the lobster industry, and how the National Marine Fisheries Service has struggled to balance the vying interests. Entangled, by the makers of Lobster War and Sacred Cod, won a Jackson Wild award, known as the Oscars of nature films. It also won Best Feature Film at the Water Docs Film Festival, Best Conservation Film at the Mystic Film Festival, and the John de Graaf Environmental Filmmaking Award at the Wild and Scenic Film Festival.</p>

Eye of the Storm (2021)

Anthony Baxter

<p>&quot;Eye of the Storm&quot; follows James Morrison, widely recognized as one of Britain&#39;s finest landscape artists, as he faces his greatest ever challenge. As his eyesight fails him, Morrison must create one final painting.</p>

Follow the Drinking Gourd

Shirah Dedman

<p>Family-friendly, funny and moving, this 60-minute documentary about the Black food justice movement connects the legacy of slavery, land loss and climate change to our fight for food security.</p>

Gather (2020)

Sanjay Rawal

<p>Gather is an intimate portrait of a growing movement amongst Indigenous Americans to reclaim their spiritual and cultural identities through obtaining sovereignty over their ancestral food systems, while battling against the historical trauma brought on by centuries of genocide.</p>

The Greatest Good: A Forest Service Centennial Film

Ann Dunsky Dave Steinke Steve Dunsky

<p>The Greatest Good tells the story of the U.S. Forest Service and the public lands the agency manages. Produced by the U.S. Forest Service and distributed by the Forest History Society, the film weaves historic footage and still photographs with interviews with historians, timber industry and environmental leaders, and Forest Service employees to illuminate the past one hundred years of accomplishments and controversies experienced while managing 191 million acres of America&rsquo;s land. Throughout the film, the question is asked: what is the greatest good?</p>

Gunda

Victor Kossakovsky

<p>Where his prior film, the acclaimed epic AQUARELA, was a reminder of the fragility of human tenure on earth, in GUNDA, master filmmaker Viktor Kossakovsky reminds us that we share our planet with billions of other animals. Through encounters with a mother sow (the eponymous Gunda), two ingenious cows, and a scene-stealing, one-legged chicken, Kossakovsky movingly recalibrates our moral universe, reminding us of the inherent value of life and the mystery of all animal consciousness, including our own.</p>

The Hottest August (2019)

Brett Story

<p>Ordinary people in New York are asked to talk about their lives and their hopes for the future in a time marked by political division and climate change.</p>

Inhabitants: An Indigenous Perspective

Anna Palmer Costa Boutsikaris

<p>Follows five Native American Tribes across deserts, coastlines, forests, and prairies as they restore their traditional land management practices. For millennia Native Americans successfully stewarded and shaped their landscapes, but centuries of colonization have disrupted their ability to maintain their traditional life ways. As the climate crisis escalates these time-tested practices of North America&#39;s original inhabitants are becoming increasingly essential in a rapidly changing world.</p>

LIGO

Les Guthman

<p>The thrilling inside story of the discovery that topped NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC&#39;s list of &ldquo;The top 20 Scientific Discoveries of the Decade&quot; -- the discovery of gravitational waves from deep space, 2015-2017. Two discoveries two years apart, first the detection of two colliding black holes and then that of two crashing neutron stars and their spectacular light show revolutionized our understanding of the universe, opening up the 95% of the universe that had been dark to our existing observatories and space telescopes. It is the violent &quot;warped side&quot; of the universe predicted by Einstein -- but never seen until now. Brian Greene, the theoretical physicist and best-selling author, said, &quot;This discovery is the kind of achievement that happens only a few times a century.&quot;</p> <p>Director Les Guthman witnessed and filmed this dramatic and emotional peak in the lives of the 1,000 scientists around the world who risked their careers on a 40-year, $1 billion search for these exquisite messengers from the warped side. The discovery earned the film&#39;s three principal characters, including Kip Thorne, also the creator of the film &quot;INTERSTELLAR,&quot; an immediate 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics.</p> <p>The documentary begins as Guthman did, arriving innocently at the LIGO Louisiana observatory in September 2015 and then almost immediately being swept up in one of the great human experiences, in science or otherwise.</p>

Little Forest: Summer/Autumn (Part 1) (2014)

Mori Junichi

<p>Ichiko (Ai Hashimoto) lived in a big city, but goes back to her small hometown Komori, located on a mountain in the Tohoku region. She is self-sufficient. Ichiko gains energy living among nature and eating foods she makes from seasonal ingredients.</p>

małni—towards the ocean, towards the shore

Sky Hopinka

<p>This film follows Sweetwater Sahme and Jordan Mercier&#39;s wanderings through each of their worlds as they wonder through and contemplate the afterlife, rebirth, and the place in-between. Spoken mostly in chinuk wawa, their stories are departures from the Chinookan origin of death myth, with its distant beginning and circular shape.</p>

Megapožáry: Po Stopách Globální Hrozby (Megafires: Investigating Global Threat)

Cosima Dannoritzer

<p>Australia, California, Siberia, Sweden, Portugal, Greece, Amazonia...: for more than a decade, the litany of &quot;megafires&quot; has been in the news, so frequently now that one catastrophe chases the previous one in people&#39;s minds. Many have forgotten that in 2016, in the oil-rich city of Fort McMurray (Canada), uncontrollable forest fires reached the city, causing the evacuation of almost all of the 100,000 inhabitants and the destruction of thousands of homes. Each year, these fires destroy more than 350 million hectares of forest, six times the size of France, and are increasingly spreading to inhabited areas. In this global investigation, Cosima Dannoritzer meets firefighters, scientists and fire experts from Europe to Indonesia, including the United States and Canada.</p>

Le Retour Des Prédateurs - Mozambique, Le Parc National De Gorongosa (Nature’s Fear Factor)

David Murdock

<p>For animals in Mozambique&rsquo;s Gorongosa National Park, the normal balance of competition and predation was upended when a war wiped out the top predators. The remaining animals didn&rsquo;t simply grow in numbers&mdash;they began behaving in unusual ways, veering outside their typical territories and feeding patterns. Could it be that it&rsquo;s not just predators&rsquo; kills that keep other populations in check, but also the fear they inspire? NOVA joins a team of scientists as they reintroduce wild dogs to Gorongosa to find out if restoring the park&rsquo;s &ldquo;landscape of fear&rdquo; can restore balance to an entire ecosystem.</p>

The New West and the Politics of the Environment

-

<p>A quiet, little-known revolution is taking place in American environmental politics in a most surprising place&mdash;Nevada. In this feature-length documentary, Earth Focus tells the story of Harry Reid, a politician who grew up in an Old West mining town, saw the possibility of a New West emerging in Nevada, and rode that change to power. Reid used power in new ways to settle water wars with respect for Native Americans, protect endangered species and wilderness, and usher in a just transition to renewable energy. Could this western green new deal set an example for the nation?</p>

Nuclear Forever (Atomkraft Forever)

Carsten Rau

<p>Germany is turning away from nuclear power in 2022. Yet the country&#39;s nuclear nightmare goes on: with umpteen thousands of tonnes of radioactive waste and the hazardous dismantling of power plants which will take decades. NUCLEAR FOREVER by Carsten Rau takes an equally profound and alarming look at mankind&#39;s dream of atomic energy, in grand scenes that have yet to be portrayed like this, and in six interwoven episodes. In the end, the viewer can and must form their own impression of the mania called nuclear power that has no end.</p>

Érase Una Vez en Venezuela (Once Upon a Time in Venezuela)

Anabel Rodríguez Ríos

<p>Once upon a time, the Venezuelan village of Congo Mirador, floating on stilts just inches above the deep Lake Maracaibo, was prosperous, alive with fishermen and poets. In recent years, it has decayed and disintegrated, rotting beneath pollution and neglect&mdash;a small but prophetic reflection of Venezuela itself.</p> <p>At the center of the village&rsquo;s existential fight for survival stand two female leaders&mdash;Mrs. Tamara, the Chavista government coordinator of the village, and Natalie, a vocal teacher and opponent of Mrs. Tamara and her state-approved practices of bribery and intimidation. As the contentious national elections approach, fear within the community extends beyond the partisan divide of Venezuelan politics; the villagers&rsquo; homes are quite literally vanishing into the sedimented water, displacing families with no means of surviving elsewhere.</p> <p>Director Anabel Rodr&iacute;guez R&iacute;os&rsquo;s striking and mournful ode to her country bears firsthand witness to the irreversible consequences of government corruption, while simultaneously capturing the resilient spirit of those most directly affected by Venezuela&rsquo;s profound economic and political crises.</p>

Peng Yu Sai (2020)

Malaika Vaz Nitye Sood

<p>Peng Yu Sai is an investigative documentary that dives into the illegal trade in Manta Rays from India&rsquo;s oceans. Through this documentary, wildlife presenter Malaika Vaz follows the illegal trade pipeline from fishing vessels in the Indian Ocean, to the Indo-Myanmar border and finally undercover in the wildlife trafficking hubs of Hong Kong and Guangzhou, in China. Along the way - she meets with fishermen, middle men, traffickers, armed forces personnel and wildlife trade kingpins, as she tries to understand what it will take to protect these magnificent ocean giants.</p>

Playing with Sharks

Sally Aitken

<p>Valerie Taylor is a shark fanatic and an Australian icon &ndash; a marine maverick who forged her way as a fearless diver, cinematographer and conservationist. She filmed the real sharks for JAWS and famously wore a chainmail suit, using herself as shark bait, changing our scientific understanding of sharks forever.</p>

A Reindeer's Journey (2018)

Guillaume Maidatchevsky

<p>Vulnerable newborn reindeer Ailo must overcome the challenges that stand in the way of his first year of life in the stunning landscapes of Lapland.</p>

The Seer and the Unseen (2019)

Sara Dosa

<p>A magic realist fable about invisible elves, financial collapse and the surprising power of belief, told through the story of an Icelandic grandmother who speaks on behalf of nature under threat</p>

Smog Town (2020)

Meng Han

<p>Langfang is one of the most air-polluted cities in China. There, the interests of the local environmental protection bureau, which is under political pressure, clash with those of industry. A case study on China&#39;s fight against pollution.</p>

Stray (2020)

Elizabeth Lo

<p>STRAY explores what it means to live as a being without status or security, following three strays as they embark on inconspicuous journeys through Turkish society. Zeytin, fiercely independent, embarks on adventures through the city at night; Nazar, nurturing and protective, easily befriends the humans around her; while Kartal, a shy puppy living on the outskirts of a construction site, finds companions in the security guards who care for her. The strays&rsquo; disparate lives intersect when they each form intimate bonds with a group of young Syrians with whom they share the streets. Director Elizabeth Lo&rsquo;s award-winning film is a critical observation of human civilization through the unfamiliar gaze of dogs and a sensory voyage into new ways of seeing.</p>

Taming the Garden

Salomé Jashi

<p>A powerful man, who is also the former prime minister of Georgia, has developed an exquisite hobby. He collects century old trees along Georgia&#39;s coastline. He commissions his men to uproot them and bring them to his private garden. Some of these trees are as tall as 15-floor-buildings.</p>

Tasmania: Curious Life of Quolls

Simon Plowright

<p>When wildlife expert Simon Plowright discovered an abandoned farm hidden deep in the Tasmanian wilderness it was life-changing experience. Here he found a sanctuary that held a remarkable colony of Eastern Quolls, the undeniably cute but little-known marsupials that today are a threatened species. Simon dubbed this place Quoll Farm, and for the next year he would live and observe these fascinating creatures and the assortment of devils, wombats, eagles and native animals that made this such a special place. Together man and animal would form a special bond &ndash; until the moment came that their sanctuary faced extinction.</p>

A Taste of Sky (2019)

Michael Y. Lei

<p>Danish culinary entrepreneur and Noma co-founder Claus Meyer has kickstarted a gastronomic revolution in Bolivia&rsquo;s capital of La Paz with the opening of Gustu, a fine-dining restaurant and cooking school for the country&rsquo;s impoverished youth. Kenzo, a hunter raised in the Bolivian Amazon, and Maria Claudia, a native of the Andean altiplano, have resettled in La Paz in order to pursue a career in the culinary arts. Under the tutelage of Meyer, these young Bolivians are working towards a better future as they attempt to establish their country as the world&rsquo;s next great culinary destination.</p>

this body is so impermanent…

Peter Sellars

<p>In the 1st year of the global spread of COVID, 3 artists on 3 continents, improvising in 3 different art forms, create a real-time, simultaneous meditation, contemplating a passage from the Vimalakirti Sutra, a 1st century Buddhist text.</p>

Trans Pecos: The Story of Stolen Land and the Loss of America's Last Frontier

Nicol Ragland

<p>A timely intervention weaving together the issues of land and water rights, while painting an honest portrait of what is to come if we allow oil interest to supersede public good. It is a cautionary tale meant to inspire people from every walk of life to take action and work toward change that can happen if informed citizens and those in power hold oil and gas companies accountable. A documentary that uncovers the truth in Far West Texas and one pipeline reflecting the beginning of the invasion of one of the last American frontiers.</p>

The Wadden Sea: Living on the Edge

Ruben Smit

<p>The Wadden Sea, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is one of the most fascinating and unique natural habitats in the world. This four-part documentary series and feature film takes viewers on a journey through the interplay of tides and the rich wildlife that inhabits this stunning coastal region. Home to approximately 5,000 species of flora and fauna, this mysterious, highly dynamic shifting place can host up to 6. 1 million birds at one time, and 10 -12 million each year pass through this marine &ldquo;runway&rdquo;. Packed with emotions, humour and astonishing visuals, the documentary reveals the intricacies of this fragile ecosystem. From the vast flocks of birds that migrate here to the seals and other marine mammals that call this area home, the film captures the beauty of the Wadden Sea and the endless interplay between water and earth in the northern edge of Europe as never seen before.</p>

¿Qué les pasó a las abejas? (What happened to the bees?)

Adriana Otero Robin Canul

<p>In 2012, millions of bees died in Mayan indigenous communities in the state of Campeche. After knowing about the causes and effects on the environment, health and culture, Mayan communities, led by Gustavo Huchin and Leydi Pech, will face racial prejudice, the collusion of entrepre-neurs, Mennonite communities, Mexican authorities and the multinational com- pany Monsanto, which has put at risk the subsistence of these communities because of sowing of transgenic soy in its terri- tory.</p>

Wood (2020)

Ebba Sinzinger Michaela Kirst Monica Lăzurean

<p>Environmental spies infiltrate the global syndicate for illegal timber trading. With the aid of a hidden camera they document the chain of illegal activities, from harvesting of the wood to the marketing of &quot;washed&quot; products in our stores.</p>

Happening: A Clean Energy Revolution

James Redford

<p>Jamie Redford embarks on a colorful personal journey into the dawn of the clean energy era as it creates jobs, turns profits, and makes communities stronger and healthier across the US.</p>

Toxic Hot Seat (2013)

Kirby Walker James Redford

<p>TOXIC HOT SEAT follows a courageous group of firefighters and mothers, journalists and scientists, politicians and activists as they fight to expose a shadowy campaign of deception that left a toxic legacy in our homes and bodies - a campaign so cunning, it&#39;s taken nearly 40 years to unravel.</p>

Watershed: Exploring a New Water Ethic for the New West

Mark Decena

<p>Whiskey is for drinking, water is for fighting is a well-worn saying when it comes to water politics, but in the Colorado River Basin, where the most dammed, dibbed, and diverted river in the world struggles to flow, some think fighting may be the only way left to reclaim this valuable resource. Robert Redford&rsquo;s voice hones the narrative of the threats to the once-mighty Colorado River, but Watershed is not all doom and gloom. It renders light moments that illuminate how letting go of the ways of old can lead to a convincing new water ethic &ndash; where, again, there can be enough for all.</p>

Behind These Walls (2020)

Caitlyn Hynes

<p>Behind These Walls is a documentary short that offers an unprecedented lens into a South-Central Los Angeles neighborhood&rsquo;s arduous five-year campaign to end operations at their neighborhood oil drilling site &ndash; a site that is part of the largest urban oil field in the nation. Told through the perspective of local residents and community activists, this documentary explores the harsh realities and health consequences of urban oil drilling, while highlighting the perseverance of these activists in the face of adversities and setbacks.</p>

On the Fenceline: A Fight for Clean Air

Alisha Tamarchenko Alex Klein Kristen Harrison Tara Eng

<p>On the Fenceline: A Fight for Clean Air is an urgent call for justice for Philadelphia&#39;s low-income communities. After years of living on the fenceline of the east coast&rsquo;s largest oil refinery and suffering from several critical health issues &ndash; including cancer, asthma, and COPD &ndash; residents have come together to stand up to CEOs and fight for their right to breathe.</p>

Border Nation (2020)

Jason Jaacks

<p>Ofelia Rivas was born just north of the U.S.-Mexico border, a place her ancestors have called home since time immemorial. Today Tohono O&rsquo;odham tribal members live on both sides of the border. But with an increasingly militarized border and the threat of a new surveillance towers, can Ofelia&rsquo;s traditional way of life survive?</p>

Matagi Mālohi: Strong Winds

Aidan Haley Canyon Woodward Forest Woodward

<p>Tuvalu, the fourth-smallest country in the world by area, is a delicate ribbon of land in the Pacific Ocean whose inhabitants&rsquo; lives have long been intertwined with the sea. With climate change, however, that sea might swallow their homeland; climate models predict the island&rsquo;s current children may be the last native Tuvaluans. This short but striking film follows the activists working to change that fate. Their rally cry? &ldquo;We are not drowning, we are fighting.&rdquo;</p>

Into the Dark (2019)

Michael O. Snyder

<p>Battling subzero temperatures and forty-foot seas, a team of scientists embark on a perilous winter expedition into the darkest regions of the Arctic. Their mission: to understand how trace amounts of light may be radically altering the mysterious world of the polar night. What they discover has implications for the global climate and the future of the Arctic.</p>

Along the Winisk River (2020)

Janna Kyllästinen

<p>In Canada, a remote Indigenous community is fighting for its survival in the age of climate change. Extreme weather, changes in ice formation, and wildfires have made hunting and gathering for traditional food more and more dangerous and difficult. Along the Winisk River is a portrait of a community as it comes together to embark on a caribou hunt in the freezing subarctic winter of Canada. The film explores the impacts of this struggle against a backdrop of systemic discrimination and calls for the government of Canada to do better to protect Indigenous communities.</p>

How to Count a Wolf

Sara Joy Steele Benjamin Drummond

<p>Wolves are recolonizing Washington. This film follows three wildlife biologists who try to find them as they get here. Learn about the methods they use, and the risks they take, to monitor recovery.</p>

The Climate Limbo (2019)

Francesco Ferri Paolo Caselli Elena Brunello

<p>The Climate Limbo explores how climate change impacts migrations and fuels poverty and wars. By 2050, climate-change related disasters could displace up to 250 million people. A journey led by the voices of scientists, climate refugees, and Mediterranean farmers who shed light on how their lives have been affected by the change of climate.</p>

The Whelming Sea

Sean Hanley

<p>Three animal lives entangle at the edge of the sea. Horseshoe crabs spawn on eroded urban beaches, migrating shorebirds seek sustenance at a midpoint, and humans attempt to make a difference in this age of mass extinction.</p>

Wildlife Killing Contests

Filipe DeAndrade

<p>WILDLIFE KILLING CONTESTS is a documentary film exposing the inhumane practice of predator competitions taking place throughout the United States. Predator competitions are point-based contests where the goal is to kill as many predator species as possible in a set amount of time, resulting in money and prizes. Wolves, pumas, bobcats, foxes, and coyotes are the most targeted animals, often hunted without a plan for harvest and discarded in a pit to be burned. Through the documentary film, an impact campaign, written articles, and a call to action, WILDLIFE KILLING CONTESTS provides viewers with direction and actionable steps to help end inhumane predator competitions.</p>

The Last Herd (2018)

Joe Flannery

<p>The Henry Mountains bison herd roams over 385,000 acres of Southern Utah &ndash;free from fences, culling, or roundups. Despite all this space, Henry Mountains bison are caught within a complex web of public land, ranching, and government agencies. The Last Herd documents the balance between free-roaming bison and private interests.</p>

L’ocelot, Un Félin En Danger (The Ocelot, A Feline in Danger)

Ben Masters

<p><span data-sheets-root="1"> "American Ocelot" chronicles the history, current challenges, and hopeful future of one of the United States' most endangered wild cats&mdash;the ocelot. With fewer than 120 individuals remaining in the U.S., primarily in South Texas, the film delves into conservation efforts by biologists, ranchers, and government agencies to protect and restore ocelot populations. Through camera trap cinematography, it offers a rare glimpse into the life of a mother ocelot raising her young, highlighting the species' struggle for survival and the collaborative efforts required to ensure their future.</span></p>

Where I Belong (2019)

Chris Cresci

<p>Chris Hill, an angler and environmental lobbyist, has long found solace in the outdoors. And yet she didn&rsquo;t see people like herself out there until recently. Through Instagram and other social media platforms, she says, underrepresented voices are creating a new kind of conservation movement. &ldquo;People who are of marginalized communities have just banded together and said, &lsquo;we&rsquo;re gonna do it ourselves, we&rsquo;re gonna create space in the outdoors for people who look like us.&rsquo;&rdquo; Produced in partnership with The Outbound Collective as a part of their #EveryoneOutside campaign.</p>

Here We Stand (2019)

Chris Cresci

<p>In 2018, Save the Redwoods League purchased a magical 700-acre stand of old-growth redwoods in Sonoma County. Conservation has long been about keeping people out of places, but with help from communities of color, the organization is reimagining its role in a diverse, inclusive California. The area will soon be opened to the public and anyone can walk among these ambassadors from another time &mdash; some of which have been around since before the fall of the Roman Empire.</p>

The Wild Divide (2020)

Danny Schmidt Eric Bendick

<p>By horseback, foot, and paddleboard, three friends trek across Florida&rsquo;s imperiled backbone. The Lake Wales Ridge is an ancient ribbon of sand dunes that is a hotspot for biodiversity found nowhere else in the world. It is also a place steeped in a long tradition of agricultural heritage. Both are threatened by the rapid pace of change in Florida&rsquo;s wild interior. But can the backbone be held together? To experience this place and meet the passionate stewards who call it home offers incite and inspiration on how we may one day bridge THE WILD DIVIDE.</p>

Bayou City (2020)

Olivia Haun

<p>Bayou City is a short film produced by Olivia Haun (Schmidt), the 2018 Wild Texas Film Tour Grant Recipient and Outreach Specialist for the TPWD Wildlife Diversity Program. Over the past two years, Olivia has been traveling to Houston to capture stories from some of Houston&rsquo;s most passionate and dedicated bayou conservationists. She hopes to shed light on the issues the bayou ecosystem have faced over the past century, and to share the successes that provide an alternative vision and relationship between Houston and its bayous.</p>

UNDERSTORY – A Journey into the Tongass

Colin Arisman

<p>Three women set sail on a 350 mile expedition through Alaska&rsquo;s massive Tongass National Forest, exploring how clearcut logging in this coastal rainforest could affect wildlife, local communities and our planet&rsquo;s climate. &ldquo;Understory&rdquo; is now on tour at film festivals and select online events. Take action &amp; learn more www.TongassFilm.com</p>

Plant Heist (2020)

Chelsi de Cuba Gabriel de Cuba

<p>California&#39;s fight to protect native succulents from an international poaching ring worth millions.</p>

Shoulders Deep (2020)

John Fiege

<p>Aniya Wingate is a radiant and talented African American dancer in high school in Houston, who was displaced from her home for half a year by Hurricane Harvey. SHOULDERSDEEP translates her experience of displacement through dance, poetry, and performance. This film screens as part of the shorts program, &quot;Music and Movement,&quot; which begins at the dates and times listed here.</p>

The Linesman: Both Sides Matter

Dominic Gill

<p>The Linesman is a story of one man&#39;s mission to end human-elephant conflict in his homeland (Myanmar). An unprecedented view of the plight of threatened villagers and their massive, majestic foes - the Asian Elephant.</p>

Mother of the Air (2020)

Murat Eyuboglu

<p>August 2019 fires in Amazonia reached unprecedented levels. This is a meditation on their aftermath.</p>

When Glaciers Go (2020)

Corey Robinson

<p>A diminishing water supply is driving people from their land in a remote region of Nepal. The younger generation of the Gurung family adapts by commuting from their ancestral home, where subsistence depends on grazing goats and cows, to a village that has a commercial apple orchard, fed by irrigation. &quot;We cannot give up cultivating our fields,&quot; a elderly man explains. &quot;The apple farm is not going to be able to feed us easily.&quot; The older generation believes that water shortages stem from road building and bulldozing, upsetting the natural order, a young man explains. Both generations fly prayer flags, beseeching water.</p>

The Outlaw Ocean: Trouble in West Africa (2020)

Ryan Ffrench

<p>Environmental Journalism, Illegal Fishing, Marine Conservation, West Africa, Short Documentary</p>

Dive Tierra Bomba Dive

Lucy Jane Joya Berrow

<p>A young woman emerges as a leader on her Colombian island to save the reef that&rsquo;s vital to its survival. A 19 year-old woman, Yassandra Barrios who emerges as the environmental leader of her island. She learns to dive, studies Marine Biology, rallies the fishermen and young people to bring awareness to protecting their marine ecosystem. She inspires those around her with a vision of a more secure future for their island home.</p>

Aguilucho: Dance of the Harpy Eagle

Daniel Byers

<p>In the remote Dari&eacute;n Gap rainforest, indigenous communities face the advance of loggers and cattle ranchers, an existential threat to their way of life and the ecosystem upon which they rely. When a rare Harpy Eagle nest is discovered near their community, the Ember&aacute; tribe of Playa Muerto find an unlikely ally. By protecting their lands and the Eagle&#39;s habitat, they can benefit from the ecotourism she attracts, and reconnect with their own traditional heritage.</p>

They Keep Quiet So We Make Noise

Marlena Skrobe

<p>In Jenjarom, a small palm plantation town approximately 50 kilometers outside of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the smell of burnt plastic crept across the town every night entering the homes of residents, stirring them awake. After months of sleepless nights, a few local residents decided to investigate the source of the smell, forming The Environmental Protection Agency of Kuala Langat. In the documentary short They Keep Quiet So We Make Noise, follow two activists in The Environmental Protection Agency of Kuala Langat, Pua Lay Peng and CK Lee, during a night drive searching for illegal recycling facilities while learning about their fight against the tide of plastic waste being sent to Malaysia from overseas.</p>

Stolen Fish

Gosia Juszczak

<p>In the Gambia, the smallest country of mainland Africa, fish is now being powdered up by Chinese corporations and exported to Europe and China to feed animals in industrial farming. As a result, Gambians are being deprived of their primary source of protein, overfishing is depleting marine ecosystems. The film follows Abou, Mariama and Paul, three Gambians who share intimate stories of daily struggle, anger, hope and longing for their loved ones.<br /> <br /> The first film on Gambia&rsquo;s fishmeal factories offering a unique insight into untold drivers of migration and the role played by women in new economic systems. There&rsquo;s so much to worry about in the world but Stolen Fish is a 30 minute microcosm of what is wrong with it.</p>

Riafn (2019)

Hannes Lang

<p>Riafn is a cinematic journey into the soundscape of the Alps. Idiom, song, as well as calls and commands of shepherds are condensed to create a musical film between artistic ideal and documentary realism.</p>

Magali (2020)

Nick Werber

<p>Magali Salinas has dedicated 15 years of her life to rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing wild animals in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest. She talks about her life and the struggles she faces in her work.</p>

Snowy

Kaitlyn Schwalje Alexander Lewis

<p>Snowy, a pet turtle, has spent a decade relegated to a dark corner of a basement. When his happiness and well-being are called into question, his owner valiantly tries to improve the reptile&rsquo;s situation with mixed results.</p>

Connection (2020)

Ciara Lacy Tracy Nguyen

<p>A lifelong angler, Autumn Harry, had never fished beyond the waters of her reservation &mdash; until she picked up a fly rod.</p>

Koa Talking to Me

David Ehrenberg

<p>This National Park Service film follows a Hawaiian man&#39;s love for one of the rarest and most threatened trees in the world. Junior&#39;s connection with koa trees on his native island compels him to conserve and honor the spirt of fallen trees that would normally be wasted. His way of using the trees connects him to one of the oldest Hawaiian traditions.</p>

Power of the Paddle (2020)

Katie Sheridan

<p>After discovering how oysters filter 50 gallons of water a day, Chris Hopkinson wondered what Maryland could do to put more oysters in the Chesapeake Bay. If he could get people&#39;s attention with a crazy idea, maybe they would listen? Chris, 46, decides to attempt the first stand up paddle traversing the length of the Chesapeake Bay, over 200 miles. Wind, current, hurricanes, and massive tankers all stand in the way.</p>

Eve (2021)

Lucy Jane Joya Berrow

<p>An intimate story of a 9-year-old girl called Eve, growing up in the oldest off-grid community in the UK. The story charts her internal dialogue as she returns to school after a year of being outside of education and how this impacts her identity and priorities. Simultaneously, Eve is becoming aware of the state of the world and questioning where we go from here with her generation at the helm. These themes shape the wider context of the documentary, shining a very human light on this impending topic of how can we all live the least negatively impactful lifestyle, empower ourselves to step outside of institutionalized society and exist in the way we feel reflects us.</p>

Last Days at Paradise High

Derek Knowles Emily Thomas

<p>Six months after California&#39;s deadliest forest fire, which displaced an estimated 30,000 people, students of Paradise High School, which was destroyed in the fire, recount the disaster and how they have coped with it.</p>

Remixing Madagascar

Drew Fulton

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Remixing Madagascar follows Ben Mirin on his exploration of Madagascar&rsquo;s wildlife, music, and conservation. Ben set out to explore the island and record the sounds of the country&rsquo;s unique lemurs, birds, and other animals. Utilizing these recordings, Mirin transforms the voices of nature, along with those of the people he meets during the journey, into original music that celebrates the biodiversity and conservation of one of the most unique places on the planet.</span></span></p>

The Dawn Chorus (2021)

Patrick Shen Micah Knapp

<p>Part covid diary, part meditation on the new dawn as we emerge from a year of uncertainty and tumult, The Dawn Chorus is a global film project consisting of cinematic and contemplative scenes of dawn captured on May 3, 2020 - International Dawn Chorus Day - from all over the globe weaved together into a lyrical meditation on the first light and sounds of the day. All scenes were captured safely by professional and amateur filmmakers and sound recordists from their unique vantage point while on lockdown. The film pieces together footage of the dawn of May 3, 2020 into a singular experience as a metaphor for hope as we pause and contemplate the version of ourselves and the world we will bring forward as the dawn breaks on this trying time.</p>

Ice Ball (2020)

Nathaniel Schmidt

<p>Will Steger, the legendary polar explorer, inspires a community by preserving the forgotten craft of ice harvesting.</p>

From Kurils With Love

Taylor Rees

<p>Vladimir, a scrappy Russian marine biologist, stows away aboard a boat filled with adventure junkies and a world-renowned cybersecurity expert to help fulfil his quest to understand and protect the Kuril Islands. Set in one of the most inaccessible volcanic island chains in the world, the film introduces us to a true warrior for the planet on an intimate journey of visual bliss, sea lion chaos, and ultimately a greater hope for the Earth.</p>

All That Remains (2019)

Eva Rendle

<p>A year after wildfires ravaged Northern California&rsquo;s Wine Country, its vulnerable population of farmworkers, many of them undocumented, find themselves in a heightened state of insecurity and inequality. All That Remains follows the second responders and vineyard workers who are still dealing with the aftermath of the fires, long after the media has turned away. Their stories shed light on the immigration, labor, and housing issues that have been building in Napa and Sonoma for years, only to be brought to the surface by one of the deadliest natural disasters in California history.</p>

Cormie: The Pickpocket Cormorant (2020)

Morgan Heim

<p>Cormie, a double-crested cormorant, loves money. She loves chasing money, catching money, and if you&rsquo;re not careful, stealing money. Part mockumentary, part true-life tale, &ldquo;Cormie,&rdquo; reveals the heart of a rescue center working hard to save wildlife in the small coastal town of Astoria, Oregon. As her trainers Melisa and Joshua endeavor to teach her the art of the steal, Cormie illustrates the emotional bonds and intelligence that can be found between humans and cormorants, an oft-maligned &ldquo;pest&rdquo; species. For the Wildlife Center of the North Coast, a wildlife rescue center hit hard by the pandemic, Cormie&rsquo;s love of money may be just what the doctor ordered.</p>

Oil and Water (2020)

Anjali Nayar

<p>The women of a northern Kenya community that has been exploited for oil unite to fight greed, patriarchy, and corrupt politics.</p>

Changing Seas: A Decade After Deepwater

Liz Smith

<p>Ten years after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster, scientists are still studying its devastating impacts on the Gulf of Mexico. Now they are using lessons learned to prepare for the next big spill.</p>

Shepherd’s Song

Abby Fuller

<p>Growing up, Jenya longed for a place where she belonged. She found it in the nomadic life of sheep herding. Now, she traverses California with her flock, helping to manage grassland and restore ecosystems.</p>

Chop (2020)

Khirtsy Lewi Antione Simmons Kamiyah Devaughn Tanaysia Summer Ruby Millward Taylor Lee Tamia Sarvis Alexus McBride

<p>A music video discussing the importance of trees, bees and our oceans. This comedic piece of edutainment comes from the minds of middle schoolers who educated themselves in the process of making the song and video.</p>

It's Our Future (2021)

Lukas Huffman

<p>&quot;It&#39;s Our Future,&quot; a film by Huffman Studio, follows middle and high school students and teachers in Brooklyn, New York who participate in the National Wildlife Federation&#39;s Resilient Schools Consortium (RiSC) - a program that educates youth about climate science, climate impacts and resilience strategies. The program engages students in hands-on activities like tree planting and dune restoration that mitigate the impacts of extreme weather. This documentary portrait was made before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and shows how climate resilience education proved to be a powerful tool that helped young people learn how to adapt and thrive in the face of tragedy, disruption and uncertainty.</p>

Echoes From Lock One (2021)

Branda Miller

<p>North Troy teens spent five weeks creating a multimedia documentary on water justice and the legacy of the Erie Canal in one of New York&rsquo;s most economically challenged and environmentally devastated neighborhoods.</p>

Hidden Wild (2021)

Nathan Dappen Neil Losin

<p>Behind the homes and freeways of suburban Palm Beach County, an incredible network of swamps, scrub, and waterways lies waiting to be discovered. Join science educator Alex Freeze as she takes three South Florida students on an expedition to discover the wilderness hidden in their own backyards.</p>