Playlist
<p>This powerful film odyssey across America explores the sea change in our national attitude from pride in big dams as engineering wonders to the growing awareness that our own future is bound to the life and health of our rivers.</p>
<p>Join Luc Jacquet and renowned French botanist and ecologist Francis Hallé on a spectacular journey to the top of the tropical rainforest canopy, the world’s “green lung.” This extraordinarily beautiful film was shot in an untouched region of the Peruvian Amazon and in Gabon. Using spectacular animation and drawing on extensive research, the film leads viewers into the depths of the tropical jungle and into the heart of life on earth.</p>
<p>Lloyd has had a tenuous relationship with forests. He lives in Zambia, where most people rely on charcoal for fuel. In order to survive he has been a charcoal burner for many years, cutting down thousands of trees. We follow him on his personal journey as he addresses the destruction he has caused, as he opts to stop burning charcoal for a living, and sets up a micro-nursery selling trees to his neighboring community instead. This short film offers a brief window into his journey and his deep seated love for the forests around Livingstone that are rapidly decreasing.</p>
<p>Sir David Attenborough unveils the two stunning underwater realms of Saudi Arabia - the flamboyant Red Sea and the contrasting hot muddy Gulf, capturing for the first time the rare event of Palolo worms spawning at night.</p>
<p>Carpe Diem: A Fish Tale looks at an ecologic bombshell, just waiting to explode. Asian Carp are on the door step of the Great Lakes.</p>
<p>Watermark is a feature documentary from multiple-award winning filmmakers Jennifer Baichwal and Nick de Pencier, and renowned photographer Edward Burtynsky, making their second collaboration after <em>Manufactured Landscapes</em> in 2006. <em>Watermark</em> is the third part of Burtynsky's Water project which includes a book and major photographic exhibition. Shot in stunning 5K ultra high-definition video and full of soaring aerial perspectives, this film shows water as a terraforming element and the scale of its reach, as well as the magnitude of our need and use. In <em>Watermark</em>, the viewer is immersed in a world defined by a magnificent force of nature that we all too often take for granted - until it's gone.</p>
<p>Your skin and hair can be traced to a shrew-like mammal that lived around 195 million years ago. As for your bad back—well, you can thank your primate ancestors for that. It took more than 350 million years for the human body to take its present shape. How did it become the complicated, quirky and amazing machine it is today?</p>
<p>Meat is now central to billions of people's daily meals. The environmental, climate, public health, ethical, and human impacts are enormous and remain largely unexplored. 'What's for Dinner?' explores this terrain in fast-globalizing China through the eyes of a retired pig farmer in rural Jiangxi province; a vegan restaurateur in Beijing; a bullish young livestock entrepreneur; and residents of the province known as the 'world's factory' contending with water polluted by wastes from pig factory farms.They personalize the vast trends around them, in a country on the cusp of becoming a world power. Given that every fifth person in the world is Chinese, what the Chinese eat and how China produces its food, affects not only China, but the world, too.</p>
<p>In recent years climate science has come under increasing attack, so concerned geologist Simon Lamb grabbed his camera and set out to explore the inside story of climate research. For over three years he followed scientists from a wide range of disciplines at work in the Arctic, Antarctic, Southern Ocean, New Zealand, Europe and the United States. They talk about their work, their hopes and fears with a rare candor and directness, resulting in an intimate portrait of the global community of researchers racing to understand our planet's changing climate and provide a compelling case for rising CO2 as the main cause.</p>
<p>For 40 years, Danish architect Jan Gehl has studied human behavior in cities, starting with what he calls “Life Between Buildings.” Gehl has documented how modern cities repel human interaction and argues that we can build cities in a way that takes human needs for inclusion and intimacy into account. In Copenhagen, Gehl has inspired the creation of pedestrian streets and bike paths and the organization of parks, squares and other public spaces throughout the city. Gehl’s ideas are also reflected in cities around the world, from New York to Chongqing. Thinkers, architects and urban planners are interviewed, discussing our assumptions about modernity and exploring what happens when we put people into the center of our planning.</p>
<p>From the debris of Haiti’s devastating earthquake, organizations and individuals work to unearth innovative ways to rebuild a more stable and sustainable society. A study of post- catastrophe reconstruction, the film shows how social entrepreneurs, NGOs, governments and community leaders are collaborating to help restore and construct sustainable communities primed for growth and prosperity. Featuring students from New York University’s Schack Institute of Real Estate, Haiti Redux explores the process of reconstructing schools, housing and infrastructure in Haiti.</p>
<p>Are tourists destroying the planet or saving it? How exactly do travelers impact the remote places they visit? This documentary answers urgent questions about one of the most powerful global industries—tourism. Showing stunning footage from Bolivia, Thailand, Mali and Bhutan, the film follows the well-worn “gringo trail” travel route in Latin America, Asia and Africa. The film explores the complex relationship between cultures that collide with each other, but are also interdependent. Gringo Trails shows the unanticipated impact of tourism on cultures, economies and the environment, sharing the stories of travelers and locals over the past 30 years.</p>
<p>Every year, Swiss farmers embark on an exciting venture—the cattle drive up to the alpine pastures. Every region in Switzerland has its own name for this long tradition. We follow three families who make the journey to their summer residence, and we learn about the stamina needed in relocating their herds for this fascinating and traditional ascent.</p>
<p>The poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti is still struggling to get on its feet from the disastrous 2010 earthquake. But the real problem Haiti faces in the near future is the complete degradation of its natural resources. Today, forests cover less than two percent of its territory and scientists predict a mass extinction of Haiti’s biodiversity. Over a three-year period, a team of scientists and naturalists travel to the most remote locations in Haiti to investigate the current state of its biodiversity. Surprisingly, they discover almost 50 new species and rediscover species thought to be lost, including one of the most endangered mammals, the Hispaniolan solenodon.</p>
<p>Based on a New Yorker article by best-selling author Jonathan Franzen, the documentary chronicles the rampant poaching of migratory songbirds in southern Europe. Songbird populations have been drastically declining in Europe for decades, and a number of species face imminent extinction. But an intrepid group of European bird-lovers, the Committee Against Bird Slaughter, are risking their lives, waging a secret war to save these endangered creatures.</p>
<p>Acclaimed around the world for his site-specific earthworks, beautiful and ephemeral sculptures in the open air made of ice, mud, leaves, driftwood, stones and twigs, Andy Goldsworthy thinks incessantly about “the veins that connect things.” Shot in four countries (including his home base in Penpont, Scotland and the Storm King Art Center in New York state) and across four seasons, in stunning 35 mm, this award-winning film works on several levels to capture the unpredictability, brilliance and sheer sensuality of Goldsworthy’s work.</p>
<p>The Yosemite Conservancy commissioned renowned filmmakers Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan to produce a movie to honor the 150th anniversary of the landmark federal act signed by Abraham Lincoln that preserved Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias. The film brings to life a historic moment in America’s conservation history as it focuses on the visionary individuals whose efforts laid the groundwork for Yosemite National Park and who planted the seed for the creation of other national parks</p>
<p>Go on a journey through one of our nation’s wildest and most pristine landscapes – the Tongass National Forest of Southeast Alaska. The film follows wildlife cameraman Ben Hamilton as he travels by boat, plane, kayak and foot to capture and share the true value of wilderness. Along the way, it highlights unspoiled and rarely filmed landscapes while provoking reflection about their importance during the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act and inspiring the next generation of wilderness advocates.</p>
<p>Witness the birth of an artificial coral reef, learn how we are inextricably connected to the ocean and then consider how our choices will determine what we leave to future generations. Join Jason deCaires Taylor’s artistic journey as he creates hauntingly beautiful underwater life-like statues cast from live models that then become the basis for this man-made reef. Soon, algae overtakes the reef and we learn about the precarious situation coral reefs currently face and the solutions necessary to save them. Narrated by Peter Coyote, the film provides insights that will cause viewers to ponder our connection to this valuable and beautiful ecosystem.</p>
<p>Sand seems quite insignificant, yet those grains of silica surround and impact our lives. Every house, skyscraper and glass building, every bridge, airport and sidewalk depends on sand. We use it to manufacture optical fiber, cell phone components and computer chips and even in our glass of wine (both the glass and the wine, as a finishing agent!) Is sand an infinite resource? Can the existing supply satisfy a gigantic demand fueled by construction booms? What are the consequences of intensive beach sand mining for the environment and the neighboring populations? Based on encounters with sand smugglers, barefoot millionaires, corrupt politicians, unscrupulous real estate developers and environmentalists, this investigation takes us around the globe to unveil a new gold rush and a disturbing fact: the “sand wars” have begun.</p>
<p>The lush tropical islands of remote West Papua, where life flourishes above and below the sea, are the setting for this adventure, narrated by award-winning actress Cate Blanchett. Join Jawi, a young island boy, as he takes us on a journey of discovery to this magical place where we encounter whale sharks, sea turtles, manta rays and other iconic creatures of the sea. Home to more than 2,000 species of sea life, this exotic locale features the most diverse marine ecosystem on earth. An uplifting story of hope and celebration, Journey to the South Pacific highlights the importance of living in balance with the ocean planet we all call home.</p>
<p>Shows the many ways to change our relationship with our world – in 60 seconds!</p>
<p>Bogotá’s páramos, a fragile ecosystem that provides eight million city dwellers with water, is under threat from mining, livestock and the pursuit of short-term profits. This film shows how we use nature because it is valuable, but lose nature because it is free. B</p>
<p>"Ordinary Life" questions our awareness about environmental issues. The standard morning routine, part of the family’s normal day their unvarying routine continues each and every day. A spotlight is shone on the environmental issues that are gradually forgotten in day-to-day actions.</p>
<p>Silk weaving is a way of life in the rugged central highlands of Madagascar. The new 25-minute documentary, The Silkies of Madagascar tells the inspiring story of how a cooperative of talented village women have transformed their community and are preserving ancient traditions with the help of a Peace Corps volunteer and an international folk art market. The Silkies' story illustrates an important global trend. According to U.S. Ambassador at Large for Global Women's Issues Melanne Verveer, artisan businesses are the primary income source of people living in the developing world, second only to agriculture. Says the film's director David Evans: 'Financial Literacy coupled with opportunity for women in developing countries is going to change the world.</p>
<p>Graduation film created at the National Centre for Computer Animation in Bournemouth (UK) by Simone Giampaolo, Yifan Hu and Henrik Linnes. ESPERO? (HOPE?) is a humorous, entertaining but also educational animated comedy which sarcastically shows how Gaia, our planet Earth, met humankind years and years ago, and all the problems which followed. A criticism of our modern society and of the way we've been 'evolving' over the centuries. Apart from having a quite original visual style, ESPERO? (HOPE?) is also the very first 3D animated film fully dubbed in Esperanto, a beautiful universal language created over a hundred years ago to foster peace and international understanding between people.</p>
<p>Traditional art and design play an active role in the cultural sustainability of the Zapotec communities in Oaxaca, Mexico. Tracing the development of the weaving process from the valley’s native inhabitants to the present day, the film blends perspectives of art, design, business, history, ethnic studies and cultural anthropology. Woven Lives also highlights the life around textile production, which creates a sense of connection to culture and community, past and future. Written, directed and produced by Carolyn Kallenborn.</p>
<p>The Human Experiment lifts the veil on the shocking reality that thousands of untested chemicals are in our everyday products, our homes and inside of us. Simultaneously, the prevalence of many diseases continues to rise.</p>
<p>World Premiere Keith Anderson, Director of the District Department of the Environment, is an advocate of green, or vegetated, roofs to help contain rainwater and reduce the volume of storm water runoff. That’s because runoff collects oil and grease from roadways, nutrients from lawn fertilizers and bacteria from pet waste as it flows into our rivers and streams. Green roofs also filter air pollutants from the rainwater and save energy in buildings. Anderson explains why green roofs are especially effective in Washington, D.C., and what his Department is doing to encourage them.</p>
<p>Philippe Cousteau and the EarthEcho Expeditions team journey across the Anacostia River and underground in Washington, D.C., to explore the impact of urbanization on the water cycle. They visit the new sewer tunnels being constructed as part of D.C.’s Clean Rivers Project.</p>
<p>World Premiere Is Capital Bikeshare an environmental success story? Filmmaker Tim Cone, a Washington, D.C. resident, seeks to answer this question as he interviews the people who run Capital Bikeshare, as well as those who use, or don’t use, its bicycles. Shot in every Ward of Washington D.C., in Arlington and in Alexandria, the film addresses how bicycling both reflects and changes our lifestyles. Its title was inspired by continual “rebalancing” of bicycles to ensure that each Bikeshare station has both a supply of bikes and empty spaces for returning bikes.</p>
<p>Every year, more than 17,000 people eat fish from the polluted Anacostia River in Washington D.C. Decades of pollution have resulted in a buildup of toxins that sicken the fish population and have restricted the recommended consumption for catfish, carp and eel to zero. Efforts are underway to return the river to a more natural state and the fishermen themselves are key to addressing the problem.</p>
<p>Director Kelly Anderson's personal journey as a Brooklyn 'gentrifier' to understand the forces reshaping her neighborhood along lines of race and class. The film reframes the gentrification debate to expose the corporate actors and government policies driving displacement and neighborhood change.</p>
<p>Two young people decide to downsize their lives by building a 'tiny home' on a flatbed trailer.</p>
<p>Determined that his last act will be a gift to the planet, a man prepares for his own green burial.</p>
<p>Uranium Drive-In explores the economic and environmental tensions within the rural community of Naturita, Colorado, as residents grapple with the prospect of a new uranium mill—the first to be built in the U.S. in over 30 years. The film presents personal stories from both proponents, who see the mill as a chance to revitalize their town, and opponents, who raise concerns about health and environmental risks.</p>
<p>In DEATH BY A THOUSAND CUTS, the brutal murder of a Dominican park ranger becomes the metaphor for increasing tension between Haiti and the Dominican Republic over illicit charcoal exploitation and mass deforestation.</p>
<p>The film revolves around Rubel, a young boy who wants to attend school, but whose financial circumstances force him to become a smuggler from India to Bangladesh. Every day, he has to cross a river that forms the border between the two countries. He stays at an island named Char which is a no-man's land and is patrolled by the border security force of both countries.</p>
<p>For 170 years, a Native American Cajun community has occupied a tiny island deep in the bayous of south Louisiana called Isle de Jean Charles. They have fished, hunted and lived off the land. Now the land that has sustained them for generations is vanishing before their eyes. A host of environmental problems – coastal erosion, lack of soil renewal, oil company and government canals and sea level rise from global warming – are overwhelming the island. Over the last 50 years, Isle de Jean Charles has been gradually shrinking and it is now almost gone. For these Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Indians, their land is more than simply a place to live. It is the epicenter of their people and traditions.</p>
<p>Tucked away on the eastern edge of New Orleans, a community of Vietnamese refugees has thrived for 30 years in a neighborhood they call Versailles. A Village Called Versailles recounts how the residents successfully fought against the opening of a toxic government-imposed landfill after Hurricane Katrina struck and subsequently transformed their neighborhood. A PBS Indies / Independent Lens selection.</p>
<p>Each year, millions of people are driven from their homes by natural disasters such as floods, storms, and droughts. Most live in the world's poorest and most conflict-ridden states, and lack the resources to recover after a crisis. As climate continues to change across the globe, natural disasters will become more frequent and more severe. This short film from Refugees International examines the toll that our changing climate is having on some of the world's most vulnerable people, and the efforts being made by Alice Thomas, Climate Displacement Program Manager, Refugees International, to address this growing threat.</p>
<p>As the summer heat cranks up in the beautiful Sun Valley resort, so does the tension between 'wolf lovers' and 'wolf haters', with Idaho's first legal wolf hunting season quickly approaching in the fall. 'The Phantom Wolves of Sun Valley' documents the war over wolves that's taking place in the West, the result of a successful reintroduction of the species into the same area in which they were eradicated nearly a century ago. Made with the insider perspective of DeSiree' Fawn, a fifth generation native to the Sun Valley, Idaho area and NYC based filmmaker who is determined to understand the conflict over wolves and the culture war it represents.</p>
<p>A new look at the New York megacity: observe nature in the city, find the "wild." Discover how humans recreate nature and how this can change the face of the city, not just for today but for the next 50 years.</p>
<p>This documentary reveals the keys to understanding the work of the artist, by re-establishing it in its social and cultural context, and bears witness to Hopper’s fierce independence as a painter well aware of the artistic stakes of his time, split between realism and abstraction.</p>
<p>You are what you eat! Raising Shrimp will show you why America's most popular seafood is no longer produced in America, what that means for our health and environment, and how we can innovate a solution. Dive head first into a vivid, rarely-seen world of rugged fishermen and jungle laboratories, of exotic bacteria and teeming coral reefs, of Asian outsourcing and broken dreams before testing your nerve with some radical solutions for Raising Shrimp right here at home.</p>
<p>A documentary about a group of pilgrims who travel to Nepal to worship at the legendary Manakamana temple.</p>
<p>Harold "Speedy" Swift, a fan of Babe Ruth and the New York Yankees, saves from extinction the city's last horse-drawn trolley, operated by his girlfriend's grandfather.</p>
<p>The gentle man on the moon is lonely and wants to dance and have fun with the people of Earth, but when he comes to Earth on a comet, he's mistaken for an invader and must find his way back home. Based on the beloved children's book.</p>
<p>This movie follows the efforts of three kids, coming from unprivileged families. They are small children with big hopes and dreams. Amir is a young boy who lives with his mother and sister. He sells newspapers to help his family with the daily expenses. One day, he reads a newspaper and decides to enter a painting competition. The name of the paper he is going to do his painting is known as Rooster Trademark paper. Ali is Amir’s best friend. His passion is football and he works in a bakery. Every day between his jobs, he goes to a football field where young boys practice to become professional football players. Maryam is Amir’s sister. She is a creative girl and dreams of becoming a filmmaker.</p>
<p>RETURN FLIGHT chronicles how a dedicated team of biologists have been working tirelessly for decades to bring the bald eagle back to the Channel Islands in the face of extensive DDT contamination, leading to some amazing results.</p>
<p>Take an intimate look at the snowy owl, a bird made popular by Harry Potter's faithful companion, Hedwig.</p>
<p>Join host and wildlife educator Sean Roach on an incredible backyard adventure where you'll discover some of the amazing bugs that exist right outside your door! Backyard Bugs investigates 16 different types of arthropods. You'll explore a variety of backyard habitats and be introduced to a wide range of topics such as food webs, decomposition, biodiversity, metamorphosis, and adaptations for survival.</p>
<p>The Mississippi River Flood of 1927 was the most destructive river flood in American history. In the spring of 1927, the river broke out of its banks in 145 places and inundated 27,000 square miles to a depth of up to 30 feet. Part of it enduring legacy was the mass exodus of displaced sharecroppers. Musically, the Great Migration of rural southern blacks to Northern cities saw the Delta Blues electrified and reinterpreted as the Chicago Blues, Rhythm and Blues, and Rock and Roll. Using minimal text and no spoken dialog, filmmaker Bill Morrison and composer - guitarist Bill Frisell have created a powerful portrait of a seminal moment in American history through a collection of silent images matched to a searing original soundtrack.</p>
<p>After centuries of over-harvesting and recurring bouts of devastating diseases, oyster populations in the Chesapeake Bay plummeted, impacting both the industry's profits and the Bay's health. This documentary explores the resurgence of native oysters in certain areas, highlighting efforts such as planting over a billion hatchery-raised baby oysters in 2013 and developing disease-resistant, faster-growing oyster breeds. The film delves into the cultural and ecological challenges of restoring one of the Bay's most vital organisms.</p>
<p>When Superstorm Sandy devastated the East Coast, it was a wake-up call to a new reality for coastal communities. People have always flocked to the seashore, but as global warming and more extreme weather events become the new reality, coastal cities will have to adapt to an increasingly volatile paradigm. We travel to the heart of this climate change controversy– communities in New Jersey and North Carolina where politics, economics and science collide. Shored Up, which was three years in the making, is a convincing call for action along our coasts.</p>
<p>Tainted waters, dying reefs and failing fisheries, the myth of the boundless ocean is no more. But from the troubled waters now rises a new wave of hope, of prosperity through preservation, playing out in communities across the country and intimately captured in the new film, Ocean Frontiers. From the busy shipping lanes of Boston Harbor to an obscure little fishing community in the Pacific Northwest; from America’s coral reef playground in the Florida Keys to the nation’s premier seafood nursery in the Mississippi Delta, this film takes us on an inspiring voyage to seaports and watersheds across the country. Here we meet an intermingling of unlikely allies, of industrial shippers and whale biologists, pig farmers and wetland ecologists, sport fishers and reef snorkelers, all of them pioneers in ocean management, embarking on a new course of stewardship, in defense of the seas that sustain them.</p>
<p>This beautifully choreographed compilation film invites us on a meditative walk through a not-so-distant past, in the spirit of writer Robert Walser.</p>
<p>Originally, this was a four-minute time-lapse film that was shot continuously over a twenty-four-hour period. The camera was positioned on a busy pathway in Regent's Park, and recorded three frames a minute. The shutter was held open for the twenty-second duration between exposures, so that on projection, individual frames merge together making the patterned flows of human movement clearly perceptible. The time-lapse original was then expanded by various processes of re-filming to reveal the frame-by-frame structure of the original.</p>
<p>A short experimental Super 8 film made by Jarman in 1971, it charts a walking journey he made through the Wiltshire landscape to the Neolithic stones at Avebury.</p>
<p>In the fall of 1987, Philippe Haas accompanied the sculptor Richard Long to the Algerian Sahara and filmed him tracing with his feet, or constructing with desert stones, simple geometric figures (straight lines, circles, spirals). In counterpoint to the images, Richard Long explains his approach. Since 1967, Richard Long (1945, Bristol), who belongs to the land art movement, has traveled the world on foot and installed, in places often inaccessible to the public, stones, sticks and driftwood found in situ. His ephemeral works are reproduced through photography. He thus made walking an art, and land art an aspiration of modern man for solitude in nature.</p>
<p>Regen is an experimental documentary film directed by Joris Ivens in 1929. It can be defined as a cinematic-poem. In 2021 Breve Storia Del Cinema restored the film with a new score composed by Nikolas Labrinakos.</p>
<p>From the heart of the planet's slums and squats, individuals have taken over these marginalized worlds and erected cities in their own image.</p>
<p>Feature documentary about legendary oceanographer, marine biologist, environmentalist, and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Sylvia Earle and her campaign to create a global network of protected marine sanctuaries.</p>
<p>Japanese artist Susumu Shingu sculpts the winds and follows them in search of a resting place, a wind-powered home, for his long, lifetime dream of Breathing Earth. 75-year-old Japanese artist Susumu Shingu talks with nature through his sculptures. His lifelong dialogue with the wind and with water has given the world uniquely beautiful works of fluid, unpredictable and ever-changing movement. Susumu renders visible the veiled and the unseen and opens to us new perspectives. Thomas Riedelsheimer accompanies this quiet and unassuming man in pursuit of a dream, a quest to create an awareness of our planet, our breathing earth and our human values. Breathing Earth is a film about the wind, the philosophy of a wise person, about art and love and dreams.</p>
<p>This movie shows us one day in Berlin, the rhythm of that time, starting at the earliest morning and ends in the deepest night.</p>
<p>In 1953, the ascent of Everest remained the last of Earth's great challenges. Standing at over 29,000ft, the world's highest mountain posed a fearsome challenge and had already claimed thirteen lives in previous expeditions. Faced with treacherous winds, sub-zero temperatures and battling altitude sickness, Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay finally achieved the impossible and became the first men to stand atop Everest.</p>
<p>Janek is a technician on a climate observation station high up in the German Alps, one of a team of scientists preparing their outpost for visit from the Environment Minister. Their routine is interrupted by a strange discovery; a red liquid pouring from a nearby glacier, melted free from the ice crust that is shrinking with climate change. When the ‘glacier blood’ comes in contact with the local wildlife, it causes changes that are at first curious, then horrifying. Soon Janek and his team have their hands full defending themselves and the station against a growing horde of biological monstrosities. Using every tool at their disposal they must learn to work together to survive the onslaught.</p>
<p>"Ground Operations: Battlefields to Farmfields" is a 2012 American documentary that follows the journey of combat veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan as they transition into civilian life through organic farming and ranching. Facing challenges such as unemployment and PTSD, these veterans find renewed purpose in agriculture, contributing to America's food security and addressing the need for a new generation of farmers.</p>
<p>In the Altai Republic of Russia and in Northern California, indigenous shamans resist massive government projects that threaten nature and culture.</p>
<p>Profit and Loss' tells the stories of two indigenous groups and their resistance to the modern gold rush - our insatiable thirst for mineral resources that threatens their lands. In Papua New Guinea, villagers resist forced relocation by a nickel mine and try to stop its plan to dump mining waste into the sea. In Canada, First Nations people protest the destruction of traditional hunting and fishing grounds by the tar sands industry, which brings jobs, but also may be causing cancer. Rare verite scenes of tribal life allow indigenous people to tell their own stories - and confront us with the ethical consequences of our culture of consumption. Narrated by Graham Greene, this film is part of the 'Standing on Sacred Ground' documentary series.</p>
<p>From Ethiopia to Peru, indigenous customs protect biodiversity on sacred lands under pressure from religious conflicts and climate change. In the Gamo Highlands of Ethiopia, scientists confirm the benefits of traditional stewardship even as elders witness the decline of spiritual practices that have long protected trees, meadows and mountains. Tensions with evangelical Christians over a sacred meadow erupt into a riot. In the Peruvian Andes, the Q'eros, on a pilgrimage to a revered glacier, are driven from their ritual site by intolerant Catholics. Q'eros potato farmers face a more ominous foe: global warming is melting glaciers, their water source. Andes farmers, scientists and visiting Ethiopians struggle to adapt indigenous agriculture to the changing climate.</p>
<p>Native Hawaiians and Aboriginal Australians resist threats to their sacred places in a growing international movement to defend human rights and protect the environment. In Australia’s Northern Territory, Aboriginal clans maintain Indigenous protected areas and resist the destructive effects of a mining boom. In Hawai`i, indigenous ecological and spiritual practices are used to restore the sacred island of Kaho`olawe after 50 years of military use as a bombing range.</p>
<p>In 1962, researcher John Calhoun began rodent population experiments to investigate the effects of social overcrowding in enclosed conditions. The results were surprising: the rapid emergence of an elite group of dominant males with aberrant sexual behavior, an increase of 90 percent in pup death, and the appearance of apathetic, asocial, and maladaptive behavior in the succeeding generation. Based on these observations, filmmaker Mike Freedman, enlisting expert opinion from Desmond Morris, Jeffrey McKee and others, explores the impact of human population growth on physical and psychological needs.</p>
<p>Made by 16-year old Natasha Bishop for New Zealand’s The Outlook for Someday sustainability film challenge for young people, the film shows how our connections—to nature and to each other—are the key to sustainability.</p>
<p>To create this film, photographer Anthony Powell spent ten years, including nine winters clocking the continent on camera: from the 24-hour darkness of winter to desolate, stunning polar vistas—blazing aurora, freezing ice storms—and the creatures and humans who are based there. Time-lapse imagery, Powell’s specialty, evokes the ever-changing patterns of polar life.</p>
<p>Tribute screening in memory of Michael Haslund. An epic and adventurous journey of discovery to the last white spaces on the world map.</p>
<p>Short film documents the gathering of the Navajo people in Black Mesa, AZ who, as part of the Climate Justice Alliance, striving to generate alternative clean energy.</p>
<p>This story follows Steve Repasky, a beekeeper in Pittsburgh, Pa., during his beekeeping efforts throughout the year. Urban beekeeping is not only about honey production. Educating the public, managing feral bee colonies and capturing swarms around the city keep Steve very busy, in addition to dealing with the calamity of Colony Collapse Disorder.</p>
<p>Raised in public housing outside Boston, Wenzday Jane's bicycle meant personal freedom when she was growing up. She would later develop a passion for mechanics and welding, and learned how to reshape the world around her. Now a self-taught innovator and revolutionary community leader, she heads an urban movement to replace trucks with cargo bicycles for local delivery, municipal waste-hauling, and agricultural distribution. She's creating a more sustainable future by helping others discover the power of the pedal.</p>
<p>In this trip through New York City’s plant-based food culture, Dutch vegan and foodie Lisette Kreischer is on a quest to inspire the world to change its food habits by sharing a taste bud-blowing recipe containing Dutch seaweed, a new protein source for the future. She puts her freshly discovered recipe to the test on the streets of New York. Will this promising and powerful plant live up to its potential?</p>
<p>Schoolchildren in Guinea are willing to make enormous sacrifices for their education in hopes of escaping the circumstances of their parents. Determined to do well on their exams but lacking electricity at home, many young students walk miles to study beneath the glow of parking lot, airport, and gas station lights. Eva Weber’s incredibly photographed film explores these surreal images of students who hit the books not in the quiet and comfort of a library but on the cold pavement of bizarre and makeshift urban study halls. More personally, Weber documents the hopes and circumstances of several individual children and the teacher who does his best to support their efforts. These accounts also reveal the danger of this nightly pilgrimage, which may or may not ultimately lead to a better life.</p>
<p>Documenting Taiwan from an aerial perspective offering a glimpse of Taiwan's natural beauty as well as the effect of human activities and urbanization on our environment.</p>
<p>Filmmaker Jeremy Seifert journeys to Haiti, Paris, Norway, and even agri-giant Monsanto in search of answers about genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and how they affect our children, the health of our planet, and our freedom of choice.</p>
<p>After his mother and stepfather have been killed in a barge accident, John Breen is rescued from some East Side toughs by the Lipvitches. He remains in the city, determined to find his real father, who rejected his mother; and after some success as a prizefighter, he is virtually adopted by Van Horn, a millionaire who actually is his father. Becka Lipvitch renounces his love when Pug Malone advises her that their marriage would endanger his future. John becomes engaged to Josephine, Van Horn's ward, and rejects the boxing ring for an engineering career. While returning from Europe, Van Horn is drowned when his ship sinks; Josephine and Rantoul, finding consolation in each other's love, are rescued and are married. Meanwhile, John rescues Becka from Flash, a nightclub owner and narcotics peddler, and they are reconciled.</p>
<p>An ode to rural France and the simple joys of life, Dominique Benicheti's glorious masterpiece COUSIN JULES captures the daily routine and rituals of Jules, a blacksmith, living with his wife, Felice, on a small farm in the French countryside.</p>
<p>Follow folk artist Tsogbadrakh as he struggles to preserve the disappearing throat-singing culture of the Darkhad people, by searching for native elders who may be the last with knowledge of these songs. Journeying through the scenic and remote northern Mongolian taiga, he discovers music that is deeply connected to the natural world.</p>
<p>Journey into the world of Badar Papizan, a traditional musician living in the pristine mountain valleys of Bayan-Olgii province in western Mongolia. He is determined to pass on his extensive knowledge of folk arts, nature, and medicinal herbs to the next generation, and he worries that if we keep polluting our world, the mountain and river spirits will disappear and nature will lose its soul.</p>
<p>About a series of unsolved disappearances on the Galapagos Island of Floreana in the 1930s.</p>
<p>Narrated and hosted by Matt Damon, the 13th episode of “Journey to Planet Earth” investigates one of the most critical issues of our time: the link between severe weather events, global warming and threats to our national security. Emmy-award winning filmmakers Marilyn and Hal Weiner consult with experts to find out what is happening to our weather. Lester Brown, Carol Browner and Paul Krugman are among those interviewed.</p>
<p>Villagers in Turkey's Black Sea village of Camburnu struggle with the government's decision to turn their community into a garbage dump.</p>
<p>A philosopher, architect and urban theorist, Paolo Soleri was a man who dreamed of creating an environment in harmony with people. Born in Torino, Italy in 1919, Soleri came to America in 1946 to be mentored by Frank Lloyd Wright at Taliesin West, Arizona. Soleri soon left Wright to embark on a blazing original course of his own. While telling the story of an unprecedented artistic quest, the film documents Soleri’s legacy as an architect and environmentalist and poses critical questions about humankind’s future in a world facing environmental, social and economic crises.</p>
<p>The film takes a look at human origins in the very place of our origins, Africa's Rift Valley, where one of the world's last remaining hunter-gatherer groups, the Hadza, have lived sustainably for over 50,000 years. The Hadza's foraging lifestyle is much like that of our earliest ancestors, and many consider the group to be the oldest population in East Africa. Their way of life, which characterizes most of human existence, is currently under attack -- and a vital tie to our evolutionary roots may be lost forever. In addition to the remarkable Hadza people, the film also features Jane Goodall, Richard Wrangham, Wangari Maathai and a host of anthropologists, geneticists and other experts. The film presents intriguing theories about the evolution and origin of Homo Sapiens, while also examining the delicate balance of human aggression and cooperation that is at our core.</p>
<p>A journey through the incredible story of Renato Zucchelli, the last travelling shepherd living in a metropolis, who conquered the city with only his sheep and the power of fantasy.</p>
<p>Explore two sides of Lily's life: her international ventures helping to heal weakened spirits in communities around the world and a personal journey within, to repair her own fractured family.</p>
<p>A monk, a cultural historian, an author, a teacher and a mystic all describe Thomas Berry. But he is known as a pioneer eco-theologian who created a quiet revolution. Berry decried the way we are despoiling our planet, its beauty and its living systems. And he urged us to change our ways. At the heart of the film is Berry’s experience of the universe as a cosmic liturgy. His values were rooted in a sacred cosmology that includes the entire natural world. Oceans, mountains and all living organisms are not here only for our use but to help us become who we are.</p>
<p>Introduced by Jane Goodall, Kingdom of the Apes: Brother vs. Brother takes place in Tanzania's Gombe National Park, where Goodall began her pioneering work. There, two brothers battle for supremacy in a story worthy of Shakespeare.</p>
<p>Antarctica lives in our dreams as the most remote, the most forbidding continent on Planet Earth. It is a huge land covered with ice as thick as three miles, seemingly invulnerable, cold and dark for eight months of the year. Yet Antarctica is also a fragile place, home to an incredible variety of life along its edges, arguably the most stunning, breathtaking and still-pristine place on earth. The one constant is that it is constantly changing, every season, every day, every hour. I've been fortunate to travel to Antarctica many times; most recently with 3D cameras, a first for the continent. The result is our new film, Antarctica: On the Edge.</p>
<p>The foothills of Nepal–a popular tourist destination for their scenic vistas and stunning peaks–have seen significant deforestation in recent decades, pushing many poor, rural communities onto more and more marginal lands. Rapid population growth is a key driver of these dynamics. Population, health and environment (PHE) projects aim to find a solution, showcasing how the Wilson Center connects conservation tools with greater access to reproductive health services, leading to more sustainable communities in Nepal. Executive Producer and Narrator, Sean Peoples.</p>
<p>In the heart of the Congo Basin, global thirst for steel has driven miners to a vast, remote forest landscape called Tridom (Tri-national Dja-Odzala-Minkébé), which holds one of the largest untapped iron reserves on earth. The film explores the complexity of mining in a region that is home to Baka and Bakola pygmy and Bantu tribes and a haven for gorillas, chimpanzees and elephants. The iron mines promise jobs, infrastructure and new revenues, but can benefits be balanced with impacts?</p>
<p>The architects of the Helsinki Music Centre, which opened in 2011 in the heart of the Finnish capital, sought to create a building in harmony with its urban surroundings and a concert hall with outstanding acoustics. The Centre features a 1,700-seat concert hall that accommodates Helsinki’s two classical music orchestras–the Finnish Radio Symphony and the Helsinki Philharmonic–as well as five smaller concert halls. Providing an overview of the creation of this Centre, a project that sparked vast debate over its high cost, the documentary features interviews with the Centre’s director, Helena Hiilivirta, chief architect, Marko Kivistö, and two young conductors, Dalia Stasevska and Santtu-Matias Rouvali.</p>
<p>A film guide to understanding Japan before and after the atomic catastrophe of Fukushima. A film about how Tokyo is serviced and supplied, which is also a study in mentality, must necessarily make reference to a triple disaster.</p>
<p>The Paw Project chronicles the David and Goliath story of a tiny grassroots movement taking on big veterinary corporations in an effort to ban the de-clawing of cats.</p>
<p>"India's Toxic Tanneries" is a short documentary that investigates the environmental and health impacts of the leather industry in Kanpur, a city situated along the Ganges River. As India's leading leather producer, with 95% of its products destined for Western markets, Kanpur's tanneries discharge dangerous levels of chromium and other pollutants into the air, water, and soil. This contamination has led to severe ecological damage and widespread health issues among local communities. The film exposes the hidden costs of leather production, highlighting the urgent need for environmental and social reforms.</p>
<p>The film sheds light on Asbest, a Russian town whose economy is deeply intertwined with asbestos mining. It portrays the struggles of maintaining economic viability amidst health concerns and the exodus of younger residents seeking opportunities elsewhere. Through the perspective of Nikolai Ross, the documentary delves into the complexities of sustaining such a community in modern times.</p>
<p>"Down to the Countryside" is a 2013 short documentary directed by Leah Thompson and Sun Yunfan. The film follows Ou Ning, an artist and curator who relocated from Beijing to the village of Bishan in rural Anhui province, exploring the emerging back-to-the-land movement in China.</p>
<p>When experts predict that Ilpendam will disappear under water within 50 years, Frans Bromet starts to wonder whether it might be better for him and his family to leave the village now.</p>
<p>American Meat is a solutions-oriented documentary chronicling the current state of the U.S. meat industry. Featuring Joel Salatin, Chuck Wirtz, Fred Kirschenmann, Steve Ells, Paul Willis, and farmers across America, it takes an even-handed look at animal husbandry. First explaining how America arrived at our current industrial system, the story shifts to the present day, showing the feedlots and confinement houses, not through hidden cameras but through the eyes of the farmers who live and work there. From there, the documentary introduces the revolution taking root in animal husbandry, led by the charismatic and passionate Joel Salatin. Stories are shared of farmers across the country who have changed their life to start grass-based farms, and everyday solutions highlight actions people can make to support America's agriculture.</p>
<p>An idealistic young woman travels to the jungles of Indonesia to teach literacy—and much more—to local children.</p>
<p>A cinematic documentary that illuminates the lives of individual animals living within and rescued from the machine of our modern world.</p>
<p>An examination of Venice, Italy, its rise as a tourist attraction and its linked decline as a functioning city.</p>
<p>Meet Lou. Abandoned in a foreclosed home, Lou is one of thousands of parrots in need of rescue. From the wilds of Costa Rica to suburban America, a lovable, quirky cast of parrots will reveal their unforgettable tales and the bittersweet world they share with humans. Their keen intelligence and uncanny ability to communicate in any language has made parrots one of the world’s most popular pets. But unlike dogs and cats, parrots have not been domesticated. With high decibel squawks and complex behavior, they are hardwired for the wild. A lifespan of more than 70 years, an intense need to bond and a life in captivity doesn’t always add up to a happy ending. With shelters and sanctuaries struggling to meet the demand, too many birds like Lou have no place to go.</p>
<p>Hamburg’s HafenCity and Tianjin’s Eco-city in China were conceived as model cities for sustainable, environment-friendly building. In northern Germany, ten new housing developments are taking shape on Europe’s largest inner-city construction site, designed to create a vibrant urban atmosphere on the old Elbe River waterfront.</p>
<p>Never before have so many skyscrapers been planned or under construction all over the world at once. Now a new generation of ultra-modern skyscrapers has been designed to help revive city centers, spare the climate and check urban sprawl. Building "green” has now become an economic necessity, most especially in Asia’s burgeoning megalopolises. The key question here is whether it is possible to build a high-rise that is both green and efficient. The first certified sustainable office high-rise is currently going up in Panama City. From Vertical Farming in New York City to the "Garden City” of Singapore, environmental skyscrapers are swiftly becoming one of today’s key technologies.</p>
<p>An extraordinary man named Brogla (an aboriginal word for stork) lives in a shack in the Australian Outback with a mob of orphaned kangaroos. He has dedicated his life to saving red kangaroos, nursing them back to health and returning them to the wild. The film follows Brolga as he rescues three young kangaroos and becomes their surrogate mother, providing them with round-the-clock care while overcoming firestorms and wild dog attacks. Kangaroo Dundee offers an exceptionally intimate window not only into Brogla’s life but also into the life of the red kangaroo, showing the extraordinary animal’s natural history, from courting and birth to struggles for dominance within the mob.</p>
<p>In Japan, there are still many places where people quietly live with nature, making the most of the country’s unique natural environments. At the heart of such places are Satoyama, small forested mountains blessed with rich nature moderately modified by human hand. Praised as being a traditional rural landscape, Satoyama is by no means a relic of the past. It is filled with hints for a sustainable life in the future.</p>
<p>"Against the Current" is a documentary that follows a small community in the Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand, as they confront the rapid expansion of the salmon farming industry. The film highlights the environmental and social challenges posed by industrial aquaculture in one of New Zealand's unique waterways.</p>
<p>The Northern Snakehead is a monster and it has invaded the Potomac River, but Maryland and Virginia have very different ways of dealing with this invasive species. Maryland and Washington, DC have legalized the commercial sale of snakehead in order to eradicate the population. Virginia, however, has taken a different stance. They have not legalized the sale of this invasive species, fearing that it will only encourage people to naturalize the Northern Snakehead for economic gain. 'Invasive' raises an essential question that applies to all environmental issues: do we adapt to our changing environment or do we fight back to make a change?</p>
<p>"Grandma’s Water Secrets" is a short documentary that highlights simple yet effective water conservation techniques passed down through generations. The film follows a grandmother as she shares her creative methods for reducing water waste, such as reusing and recycling shower water and making overnight tea. Through her daily routines, the documentary emphasizes how individual efforts can contribute to significant water savings over time, inspiring viewers to adopt more sustainable habits in their own lives.</p>
<p>"Waste It Here. Lose It There: The Campaign to Cut Excess Water Use" is a short public service announcement (PSA) that educates viewers on the everyday habits that contribute to water waste. The film highlights the environmental and financial consequences of excessive water use, emphasizing how small changes in daily routines can lead to significant conservation efforts. By showcasing the direct impact of wasteful practices, the PSA aims to empower individuals to adopt responsible water consumption habits and protect this vital resource for future generations.</p>
<p>Over the past four centuries, the Chesapeake Bay's oyster population has dramatically declined due to overfishing and pollution, disrupting the bay's ecological balance. This short film, viewed through the eyes of 15-year-old environmentalist Jamie Attanasio, delves into oyster gardening—a family-friendly initiative aimed at revitalizing oyster populations in the Chesapeake Bay. The documentary showcases how individuals and communities can engage in sustainable practices to restore this vital species and, in turn, improve the health of the bay.</p>
<p>This short film examines the environmental impact of traditional grass-filled lawns on our waterways. Host Nate Raiche interviews Washington, D.C., homeowner David Cottingham, who challenges conventional norms by adopting alternative, eco-friendly landscaping practices. The documentary sheds light on how typical lawn maintenance contributes to environmental degradation and explores sustainable options that benefit both homeowners and the ecosystem.</p>
<p>Magdalena Bay, spanning 870 square miles along Mexico's Baja peninsula, serves as a sanctuary for whales, dolphins, seabirds, and five species of sea turtles. This documentary showcases how local communities, previously reliant on sea turtle poaching, are transitioning towards sustainable practices that harmonize economic development with environmental conservation. The film highlights the community-led efforts to protect endangered sea turtles, emphasizing the importance of balancing human livelihoods with the preservation of natural habitats.</p>
<p>This short documentary follows Masaya Maeda, a Japanese environmentalist whose hometown was devastated by pollution and toxic waste. Motivated by his past, Maeda dedicates his life to environmental restoration. Upon moving to Washington, D.C., he discovered the severely polluted Anacostia River and became actively involved in efforts to rehabilitate it. The film highlights Maeda's commitment to transforming the Anacostia River into a healthier ecosystem.</p>
<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's taken nearly 40 years to unravel.</p>
<p>The award-winning film A2-B-C is named for the different stages of growth of thyroid cells from harmless cysts to cancer. Many children in Fukushima were never evacuated after the nuclear meltdown on March 11, 2011. Now the number of Fukushima children found to have thyroid cysts and nodules is increasing. What will this mean for their future? „There is no way for us to escape from this fear. We're not only worried about external radiation exposure, but also about internal exposure. So we're testing all the food.“</p>
<p>Along with the chimpanzee, the bonobo ape is the closest human relative. This rare and intelligent species, which can only be found in one country, the Democratic Republic of Congo, in central Africa, could be the first of the great apes to go extinct, threatened by deforestation, predation for bush meat and war. To understand this powerful yet peaceloving species is to reflect on our own origin and gain insight into how we communicate with one another.</p>
<p>Growing Cities is a documentary film that examines the role of urban farming in America and asks how much power it has to revitalize our cities and change the way we eat.</p>
<p>Food Savers is a 2013 documentary directed by Valentin Thurn that explores the alarming issue of food waste in Europe, where households discard food worth an estimated 100 billion Euros annually. The film investigates the economic and environmental implications of this waste and highlights individuals and organizations striving to counteract it. From farmers and supermarket executives to everyday consumers, the documentary showcases efforts to salvage usable food and promote a more sustainable approach to consumption.</p>
<p>A prescient documentary about city planning, which presents idyllic suburbs and nuclear families as a solution to the chaos, poverty and social decay of industrialized inner cities.</p>
<p>A short film which documents the lives and effects of coal mining on Oklahoma communities.</p>
<p>An investigation into the nuclear industry and its actions in Africa, the film examines Africa’s power needs and the consequences of using nuclear energy. Africa’s development is being held back by its poor infrastructure and undersize power plants. Countries like Uganda can produce only a quarter of the energy needed, leading to daily power cuts with a disastrous impact on the economy. Companies like French nuclear giant Areva lobby aggressively for more power plants in Africa, but how safe are these new reactors? New nuclear power plants in Africa also mean more uranium mining, contaminating the environment and endangering the local population.</p>
<p>As a young boy, Zé left his Cape Verdean fishing village for a better life in Sweden. Several years later Zé returns to find his village has been transformed, and the beach where he once played football has disappeared. His family now digs sand from the ocean floor to sell for cheap concrete, because fishing no longer puts enough food on the table. Sandgrains is a documentary about the local impact of global fishing. The story takes us all the way from Africa to the corridors of the EU Parliament, where an effort to reform Europe’s failing fishing industry is underway.</p>
<p>The Bakken oil boom in North Dakota has brought much-needed jobs and economic development to the region. But the fast pace of the drilling has caused many problems, including industrial-scale impacts on Theodore Roosevelt National Park and the land surrounding it. 'A Boom With No Boundaries' explores how one of America's 59 national parks is already being affected by the pollution, traffic, and noise associated with oil and gas drilling. This video recommends that the oil and gas industry and the Obama administration slow down and take measures to protect the national park's resources. If they don't, this special treasure - once the home to our greatest conservation president - Theodore Roosevelt, will be irrevocably damaged.</p>
<p>Energy companies pursue increasingly difficult methods of fossil fuel extraction at increasing costs to the people and the environment. Backyard examines four states that are presently in different stages of hydro-fracking development. The results are several powerful stories of people at odds with the natural gas extraction occurring around them.</p>
<p>Many people think that the story about a man who plants trees is fictional. Actually, this man really exists. His name is Ernest Vunan and he lives in misty mountains in the heart of Africa. This documentary tells the inspirational story of a person who cares about the future of his country and decides to save the precious mountain rainforests in northwest Cameroon, where his Kedjom-Keku tribe lives. Join us on a journey through this African country and learn how one individual can change the face of the Earth. Meet a group of young people from the Czech Republic and Slovakia who decided to help Ernest in his efforts and contribute to the conservation of nature.</p>
<p>Narrated by Hillary Clinton, this film exposes the frightening impact of the modern-day ivory trade in Africa, which is not only threatening elephant populations, but, at times, even funding terrorism and destabilizing the region. White Gold pays tribute to the elephant’s majesty, while documenting how the demand for ivory raises the stakes for nature, people and peace.</p>
<p>Both a documentary and an exercise in film restoration, It’s All True tells the complex story of Orson Welles’ ill-fated attempts to make an anthology film about South American life and culture. The U.S. government conceived Welles’ South American project as a cultural exchange meant to improve relations with Latin America. Using interviews and Welles’ original footage, the filmmakers relate how the project quickly turned sour, as both the Brazilian government and studio executives objected to Welles’ early footage.</p>
<p>In a time of global resource shortage and increasing energy prices, lithium is on its way to becoming ‘the’ natural resource of the 21st century. Lithium is the basis for a new kind of battery technology and thus a prerequisite for the spreading of electronic mobility. Is lithium an answer to the imminent energy crisis and key to the future?</p>
<p>Learn about ordinary spaces—a corridor, a neighborhood mosque, a canal—where great tragedies have occurred. Looking at these sites, you would not know that anything remarkable happened there since there are no marks or commemorative plaques. Despite Singapore’s hyper-urban and sterile appearance, this terrain is still wrought with emotions.</p>
<p>Experience the city of Singapore—its streets, skyscrapers,traffic and manufacturing—as it goes from day into night. Using the tilt shift technique, this film enables viewers to almost feel the city’s heat and humidity</p>
<p>TIONG BAHRU is an engagement with the residents of Tiong Bahru and the traders and users of the Tiong Bahru hawker centre to creatively explore, both physically and imaginatively, this special neighborhood. The thoughts, reflections and responses of hundreds of Singaporeans gathered since early 2009 informed and shaped the making of TIONG BAHRU.</p>
<p>For those without access to a simple toilet, poop can be poison. Businessman-turned-sanitation-superhero Jack Sim fights this oft-neglected crisis affecting 2.6 billion people.</p>
<p>Pak Suleh used to be the Penghulu (headman) of his village, but has now been relocated by the government to a flat on the mainland. Without a village to tend, Pak Suleh feels lost, and misses the sea that he knows so well.</p>
<p>Follow the journey of House Resolution 6161, a bill to amend the Clean Air Act, from conception, through committee amendment, to final passage.</p>
<p>White nose syndrome is an ecological disaster. It has killed over seven million bats since 2008. It is the worst wildlife crisis ever to hit North America, yet there is hope. Several U.S. and Canadian agencies have collaborated on possible solutions to this horrific disease. The public also plays a critical role in helping to save bats.</p>
<p>In 2006 a mysterious fungus appeared in upstate New York, killing local bats. Since then, the deadly fungus, called white-nose syndrome (WNS), has spread across the eastern United States and some Canadian provinces, killing more than six million cave bats. Pennsylvania has emerged as a major force in the national fight against WNS. This Emmy Award-winning documentary follows the efforts of scientists and government agencies to advance WNS research and save cave bats.</p>
<p>Settled somewhere in nowhere in the south Ural region in Russia, the film tells the story of people living in one of the most radioactive contaminated spots on earth. Unknown to a wide public, this region was repeatedly irradiated by different accident of the nuclear facility Mayak, which was the first plant for the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons in the Soviet Union and which is still in operation. Rather than an investigative flick, the filmmakers attempt is to find a cinematic translation for a danger that is not perceptible nor visual and to capture the strenght of people and nature who has to cope with it.</p>
<p>Peyangki is a dreamy and solitary eight-year-old monk living with his mother in the remote village of Laya in Bhutan. TV will soon come to the village. In 1999, King Jigme Wangchuck approved the use of television and Internet throughout his largely undeveloped nation known for its “gross national happiness.” With his uncle, Peyangki takes a three-day journey to the capital Thimphu to buy a TV set. Along the way, the boy discovers cars, toilets and city lights for the first time. Does TV bring happiness or will progress destroy an ancient way of life?</p>
<p>In a blend of land art performance and road movie, Swedish artist duo Bigert and Bergström travel to the U.S. tornado belt with their special machine-sculpture, the Tornado Diverter. The goal: To stop a tornado. This documentary/art film is about man’s attempts to control the weather and harness it for his own purposes. Along the way, we see historical examples of how the science of meteorology developed in symbiosis with military goals and how these visions evolved into modern ideas of geo-engineering. Exploring controversial ideas with socio-political consequences, the film spotlights the big question of how we meet the challenges of increasingly extreme weather due to global warming.</p>
<p>One day, the people living in a small village in far eastern Poland, an ecologically pristine agricultural area, discover that Chevron, the world's fourth largest energy corporation, plans to build a shale gas well in their village. At first the villagers are not against the gas well, but after doing some research, they discover that having a shale gas well so close to their farms may not be a good idea. The farmers mobilize against Chevron. The story of their struggle is interwoven with the realities that are taking place far away in Pennsylvania. It’s too late to stop the energy companies in Pennsylvania, but can the farmers win in Poland? What happens is a surprise, even to the farmers in this small village of 50 families</p>
<p>Watch as the mysteries surrounding the mythical Barolo Palace in Buenos Aires and its creator, Italian architect Mario Palanti, are unraveled. The director, Sebastián Schindel, wonders about the enigmatic architectural style of the building–a style that opposed the aesthetic rules of the time. Little by little, we discover the secret of the Barolo Palace: its eclectic architecture was conceived as an illustrated model of the Dante-esque cosmos detailed in The Divine Comedy.</p>
<p>Every morning Maria Irene Soto wakes up convinced that she works on the world’s best energy-producing project: Hidroaysen. If it is built, Hidroaysen will be the largest hydroelectric plant in Chile. Soto has spent years traveling around the Chilean Patagonia trying to convince the locals, the authorities and even her children of the benefits this project will bring to Chile. Claudia Torres, a volunteer for the internationally renowned NGO, Patagonia Sin Represas (Patagonia Without Dams), on the other hand, organizes protests and actively campaigns to stop the project. Torres believes it is not necessary and even damaging to Chile’s natural bounty. The women confront each other as the final voting on the project takes place.</p>
<p>The Limits to Growth was the first study to demonstrate that the consequences of human population growth (related rates of industrialization, pollution, food production and exploitation of resources) could have devastating effects on the earth’s ecosystem and threaten human survival. Forty years later, a review of the biography of the study’s authors seeks to answer the question as to whether the limits have been exceeded or whether there is still time for a final call</p>
<p>A road trip takes us along the Spanish countryside and into Portugal and France, making stops along the way to meet individuals and collectives that have chosen to live a simpler life. Today, limited natural resources in conjunction with unsustainable economic growth are straining the land’s productivity. Learn about different ways to live and understand life on our fragile planet—and deal with issues such as consumerism, work and how our way of life is impacting the earth. Hear from experts who discuss the need for an alternative way of living that will benefit everyone in society.</p>
<p>Roaming Wild is a modern day Western about the federal government's controversial wild horse round ups, and a cowboy, an activist, and a mountain man searching for solutions to protect life and land.</p>
<p>There are more than 340 open-air landfills in the Dominican Republic. Without any management, they have become dangerous hotbeds of air and water pollution. But there are cultural changes afoot, converting this problem into a development opportunity. When trash has a use it becomes a resource, giving it value. Recycling is enabling economic development by generating new companies and industries</p>
<p>A charming story of two children in a park and how they care for nature</p>
<p>The Dominican Republic faces significant environmental challenges due to widespread garbage accumulation and the proliferation of makeshift dumps. "First Steps" explores how recycling has emerged as a viable business alternative and a source of employment, marking initial efforts to address this pressing issue.</p>
<p>Cliff Miller of Mount Vernon Farm in the Virginia Piedmont is trying innovative management techniques to sustain his farm for future generations. Cliff’s story is that of many farmers seeking new ways to be economically and environmentally sustainable.</p>
<p>For the past 40 years, the Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) has been working to promote and protect the Virginia Piedmont's rural economy, natural resources, history and beauty. Learn from the farmers, teachers, parents and conservationists who are actively involved in the PEC’s invaluable work</p>
<p>Meet the Bertoni Family, who purchased the Appalachia Star Farm a few years ago. The farm purveys freshly picked food— vegetables, eggs, berries—to restaurants in Charlottesville, Va., including Tavola, an Italian restaurant. Tavola’s chef-owner is convinced that this locally-grown produce makes for a better tasting meal</p>
<p>Shenandoah Valley farmers travel to remote Tangier Island in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay on trips sponsored by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation to learn how they can work with the islanders to make a difference. The trips feature hands-on Bay exploration, education and discovery, but the real focus is on meeting and engaging Tangier watermen, the islanders whose livelihoods depend upon clean water and a productive Chesapeake Bay.</p>
<p>Brooklyn Grange, a group of urban farmers, face unique challenges as they endeavor to run a commercially viable farm in New York City. This is a portrait of hardworking and ambitious urban agrarians who are committed to transforming the city’s relationship to fresh, healthy, locally produced food, despite considerable challenges and setbacks.</p>
<p>Meet Comanche political and social activist LaDonna Harris and explore her many achievements, the personal struggles that led her to become a voice for Native people and her contemporary work to strengthen and rebuild indigenous cultures around the world. President Lyndon Johnson assigned Harris to educate the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government on the unique role of American Indian Tribes and their relationship with the Federal government. This course was called “Indian 101” and was taught to members of Congress and other agencies for more than 35 years. In addition to her work in civil rights, world peace, the environment and women’s rights, Harris is best known for introducing landmark legislation, such as land return claims to the Taos Pueblo Tribe and the Native tribes of Alaska, and returning Federal recognition to the Menominee Tribe.</p>
<p>Recalling Sunrise, this dazzling, visually expressive masterpiece set against a vibrant New York City tells a simple yet powerful story of two lonely people in the big city who meet and enjoy the thrills of an amusement park, only to lose each other in the crowd after spending a great day together. One of the great films made during Hollywood’s transitional period from silent movies to talkies, Lonesome features two scenes with dialogue.</p>
<p>Nature’s ingenuity is fully revealed by the animals seen living in Africa’s extreme southwestern deserts. New and unusual behaviors are uncovered that ensure survival against the odds – no matter how tough it gets. In the Namib, the world’s oldest desert, spiders wheel toescape predators and a desert giraffe fights to defend his scant resources and a chance to mate in one of the greatest giraffe battles ever filmed. In the Kalahari scrublands, a wily bird outsmarts a pack of meerkats, supposedly solitary and belligerent black rhinos get together to socialize and giant insects stalk flocks of birds</p>
<p>The breathtaking landscapes and spectacular wildlife of Snowdonia National Park are seen through the eyes of people who know it best. This film follows a farmer, a National Park warden, a climber and a poet throughout the year. Through their intimate knowledge of Snowdonia, this episode explores the nature of wilderness in modern Britain. It is a land of extinct volcanoes surrounded by the Irish Sea, a spellbinding landscape whose peaks are some of the most ancient and whose valleys are a refuge for rare and fascinating wildlife, including otters hen harriers and peregrine falcons.</p>
<p>Colin Stafford-Johnson takes a journey along the River Shannon – Ireland’s greatest geographical landmark and the longest river in Ireland and Britain. For 340 kilometers, the river carves its way through the heart of the country, almost splitting the island in two. On its journey, the Shannon passes through many different rural landscapes, where on little-known backwaters, wild animals and plants still thrive as almost nowhere else in Ireland. The film follows the river from dawn to dusk over four seasons, capturing its ever-changing moods and exploring the countless waterways, islands and lakes that make up the entire river system</p>
<p>Sir David Attenborough has witnessed an unparalleled period of change in our planet’s history. Now he looks back over the past 60 years in a very personal film in which he reflects on the dramatic impact that we have had on the natural world during his lifetime. He returns to the jungles of Borneo, to the London Zoo and to Peter Scott’s home at Slimbridge, important places in the development of his attitude towards nature. And he reviews rare footage from his early days in television and his own photos, showing classic encounters with orangutans, whales, and the giant Galapagos tortoise, Lonesome George.</p>
<p>This ecological tale takes us to the heart of the underwater world, between night and light, following the rhythm of a whale's meditations, a privileged witness of human activity on the oceans.</p>
<p>Learn about the unique collaboration between the Jane Goodall Institute, Google Earth Outreach and local villagers in their effort to monitor forests threatened by deforestation and erosion. Together they are using mobile devices, satellite imagery and cloud-based mapping technologies to create a comprehensive picture of the conservation challenges in the Congo Basin</p>
<p>With the only coral reef in the sea of Cortez, the Cabo Pulmo National Park offers an inspiring success story about the rejuvenation and conservation of an ocean ecosystem. Now the reef is threatened by a mega-hotel complex</p>
<p>An intimate portrait of master falconer Rodney Stotts and his mission to build a bird sanctuary to provide access to nature for his stressed community. The film weaves Rodney's present-day mission with the story of his past, and examines their roots in social and environmental injustice. The Falconer is a story of second chances: for injured birds of prey; for an abandoned plot of land; for a group of teenagers who have dropped out of high school; and for Rodney himself.</p>
<p>When environmentalist Tony Grassi takes a crazy gamble to rehab an abandoned Mill, he inspires both skepticism and hope that its revived bond with the river will breathe new life into the rural town of Freedom, Maine. With the help of a colorful team of builders, masons, engineers and architects, he sets out to reconstruct a forgotten historic treasure.</p>
<p>Go on a musical odyssey--part music tour, part adventure and part ecological mission--as a rock band bikes from northern California to the south of Mexico. The band members cycle thousands of miles, carrying their belongings and musical instruments; they generate power for their concerts by inviting audience members to pedal during shows. From bumpy jungle roads to a crowded Mexico City, the people and landscapes they confront reveal their secrets, passions and desires.</p>
<p>Sometime in the future, the city of Metropolis is home to a Utopian society where its wealthy residents live a carefree life. One of those is Freder Fredersen. One day, he spots a beautiful woman with a group of children, she and the children who quickly disappear. Trying to follow her, he, oblivious to such, is horrified to find an underground world of workers, apparently who run the machinery which keeps the above ground Utopian world functioning. One of the few people above ground who knows about the world below is Freder's father, Joh Fredersen, who is the founder and master of Metropolis. Freder learns that the woman is Maria, who espouses the need to join the "hands" - the workers - to the "head" - those in power above - by a mediator or the "heart". Freder wants to help the plight of the workers in the want for a better life. But when Joh learns of what Maria is espousing and that Freder is joining their cause, Joh, with the assistance of an old colleague and now nemesis named Rotwang, an inventor, works toward quashing a supposed uprising, with Maria as the center of their plan. However, Joh is unaware that Rotwang has his own agenda. But if any of these plans includes the shut down of the machines, total anarchy could break loose both above ground and below.</p>
<p>Chattahoochee: From Water War to Water Vision, provide a new adventure on one of the Southeast’s largest rivers. Some 20 years ago, one man dreamed of removing the dams along the river. The film tells the story of how that dream came true, restoring a key stretch of the Chattahoochee River through Columbus, Georgia to its natural state and at the same time creating the world’s longest urban whitewater run</p>
<p>How is the ongoing tourism boom in Costa Rica affecting this Central American country’s natural resources? Through interviews with government officials, tourism experts and members of coastal communities, the film examines how tourism and the need for lodging have impacted this nature-lover’s paradise. We learn about how small, locally owned eco-lodges give back to their communities and preserve natural resources while large, foreign-owned resorts are eating away at the forest and restricting access to public lands. This documentary seeks to further understanding of the differences between high value and high volume tourism.</p>
<p>Follow the painful, inspiring journey of Derrick Evans, a Boston teacher who moves home to the Mississippi Gulf Coast community of Turkey Creek, first settled by former slaves, when the graves of his ancestors are bulldozed to make way for the sprawling city of Gulfport. Over the course of a decade, Evans and his neighbors stand up to powerful corporate interests and politicians and face ordeals that include Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil disaster in their struggle for self-determination and environmental justice. They build powerful alliances to fight urban sprawl and industrial contamination — to protect the culture and natural environment that sustained eight generations.</p>
<p>The formation of the Nonpartisan League, a grassroots populist movement of the northern Midwest in the years before World War I, is the subject of this semi-fictional film. Restored to its original black and white brilliance, it chronicles the experiences of North Dakota farmers who, facing a bleak and blustery winter in 1915, were forced to organize against the bankers and out-of-state corporations exploiting them and their land.</p>
<p>In an era of rapid growth of mega-farms, the encroachment of suburbia, new European Union rules and reductions of agricultural subsidies, the farmers in the Périgord region of southwest France are forced to confront challenges that threaten the very existence of their small farms. Inter-weaving the director’s story and theirs, the film explores the nature of the farming life and the changes that have, over the last 60 years, impacted the lives of families whose survival is tied to the land. After Winter, Spring reveals the human story of family farming at a turning point in history.</p>
<p>Somewhere between visual anthropology and art-house cinema, this film, shot beautifully in black and white, captures a microcosm of Mexican society. Two photographers, Gerardo Barroso Alcalá and Lisa Tillinger have recently moved to busy Calle López in historic downtown Mexico City. A bustling cauldron of everyday life, Calle López is so vibrant that they become inspired to follow the street’s residents with their cameras. They document the daily comings and goings of a parade of street vendors, beggars and other urban dwellers. I</p>