Playlist
<p>An average guy makes a resolution to stop using plastic bags at the grocery store. Little does he know that this simple decision will change his life completely. He comes to the conclusion that our consumptive use of plastic has finally caught up to us, and looks at what we can do about it. Today. Right now.</p>
<p>Climbing Redwood Giants tells the story of a man obsessed with monster redwoods. To say that Humboldt State University’s Steve Sillett likes redwoods is like saying Edmund Hillary was keen on mountains or Jacques Cousteau had a fondness for the sea. Just when Steve Sillett thinks he’s climbed and measured the tallest living tree on earth, another one turns up in a hidden valley of California and breaks the record. Sillett, the first researcher to explore the redwood canopy, awaits the analysis of a new aerial survey that may point to the next record-breaker. As Sillett studies redwoods limb by limb, explorer Mike Fay is charting the entire redwood range step by step to get a sense of the past and future of the world’s tallest living trees.</p>
<p>Bringing comic awareness to the looming danger of man-made global warming on the fragile ecosystems deep within our oceans.</p>
<p>This short animation illustrates an encounter between curious boy and a firefly. The boy catches the firefly in his hat and keeps it prisoner until convinced that he must set her free. This message serves to remind us to be more considerate and not destructive of other species, each other and nature.</p>
<p>While out exploring one day, a little boy named Liam discovers a struggling garden and decides to take care of it. As time passes, the garden spreads throughout the dark, gray city, transforming it into a lush, green world. This is an enchanting tale with environmental themes and breathtaking illustrations that become more vibrant as the garden blooms. Red-headed Liam can also be spotted on every page, adding a clever seek-and-find element to this captivating picture book.</p>
<p>Serves as a comic warning about the devastating effects of cutting down our rain forests.</p>
<p>This animated music video features the song "Electric Car" by They Might Be Giants, from their Grammy-nominated album Here Comes Science. The video showcases animal friends embarking on a joyful ride in an electric car, promoting eco-friendly transportation in a fun and engaging manner.</p>
<p>One day, a boy finds a penguin on his doorstep and decides to take it home - even if that means rowing all the way to the South Pole!</p>
<p>This 52-minute documentary film, released in 2010, was written, produced, and directed by Mark Terry. It examines the effects of climate change in the polar regions, including coverage of a historic scientific expedition crossing the Northwest Passage exploring previously inaccessible areas for the very first time.</p>
<p>What do people do, when the law prevents them from protecting themselves? Documentary film on the small Irish village that stood up to Big Oil.</p>
<p>The forest dwelling tribe of Bayaka pygmies is famed for its acute hearing (‘Oka!’ means ‘listen!” in their Akka language).When the tribe’s revered leader hears a menacing new sound in the forest, his super-sensory powers send a message to “Big Ear,” his ethnomusicologist friend Larry Whitman (Kris Marshall, Love Actually), from his sickbed in New Jersey.Against doctor’s orders, Larry travels to his friends in Central Africa to help them battle Mayor Bassoun (Isaach de Bankole,The Limits of Control), a powerful local politician who is helping Mr. Yi (Will Yun Lee, Die Another Day), a developer with a logging company intent on destroying the Bayaka’s forest home. Refusing to give in, Larry and the pygmies humorously concoct a series of obstacles to try to prevent the loggers, all while continuing to enjoy their colorful way of life with music and dance inspired by the beauty of the African forest, its animals and magical spirits.</p>
<p>Robert F. Kennedy Jr. leads the nation’s fastest-growing grassroots environmental organization, the Waterkeeper Alliance. Waterkeepers take polluters to court, respond to citizens’ complaints about water pollution, devise appropriate remedies and act as living witnesses to the condition of local ecosystems. The Waterkeepers, with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. tells the stirring and dramatic story of how two generations of Hudson River fishermen and environmental activists fought a decades-long battle to protect one of the nation’s great rivers, the Hudson. Including excerpts from Walter Cronkite’s classic 1966 documentary, The Majestic Polluted Hudson, this important film brings to life one of the great environmental achievements in American history. The Waterkeepers chronicles the stirring efforts of Kennedy’s Waterkeeper Alliance, from Alaska to North Carolina. The waterkeepers’ hands-on public advocacy environmentalism has become a model for ecosystem protection: citizens defending the ecosystems in which they live.</p>
<p>A cinematic feature documentary about China's foray into Africa told through the lives of Chinese adventurers & Zambian power brokers as they negotiate the tricky waters of this rapidly expanding and vital relationship.</p>
<p>This investigative documentary uncovers the alarming global mobility of synthetic toxins in an era of high-speed international commerce. Despite increased trade, safety standards and import inspection procedures are full of loopholes, resulting in the widespread circulation of goods contaminated with dangerous substances. The film traces hazardous material violations from suppliers to storefronts—following textile producers in India, German retail outlets, and the ports and depots in between. Through interviews with activists, government authorities, and workers, The Toxins Return exposes the dangers and human costs of the unchecked spread of industrial residues and waste.</p>
<p>For the fishermen of Lira, on the Costa da Morte, the Prestige was the opportunity to change their relationship with a sea weakened by pollution. The creation of the first Marine Reserve of Fishing Interest, Os Miñarzos, at the request of the artisanal fishing community itself, made them an international example of innovation in the sector. A transcendental process for the fishing communities of the world, but also for society, increasingly aware of the overexploitation of the oceans and the extinction of species.</p>
<p>From office buildings that produce more energy than they use to electric cars with style, visionary and entrepreneurial minds today are working across the globe on the technologies that will take us away from reliance on fossil fuels and towards clean, renewable energy for all. The stakes are enormous, and so are the obstacles: lack of political will in the United States and many other countries, entrenched interests in the coal, gas and oil industries and the simple fact that reworking our energy infrastructure will be a difficult process. Instead of lingering on the problems, The 4th Revolution focuses on the solutions, also showing that these new methods and technologies are no longer distant dreams, but within our grasp.</p>
<p>The Oil Barons, Wildcatters, and roughnecks and their long struggle to feed America's ferocious oil appetite. Step inside the oil culture to understand just how the USA became so addicted and why Houston believes we must go "Green" for a secure domestic energy future.</p>
<p>Viewers embark on a gripping emotional journey into the Coal River Valley of West Virginia – a community surrounded by lush mountains and a looming toxic threat. The film follows Ed Wiley, a former coal miner, and his neighbors in a David-and-Goliath struggle for the future of their valley, their children and life as they know it. Confronting the notorious coal company, Massey Energy, they fight against the destructive practice of mountaintop removal mining that pollutes the water and levels the mountains.</p>
<p>After a prison riot, former-Captain Nascimento, now a high ranking security officer in Rio de Janeiro, is swept into a bloody political dispute that involves government officials and paramilitary groups.</p>
<p>Shown as part of the multi-day, multi-venue Energy Film Series. Washington, D.C. Premiere Imagine 2,000 oil rigs, 300 kilometers of bridges, rusty Soviet-era trucks rolling back and forth, nine-story building blocks, a huge canteen, thousands of oil workers, a towering cultural palace, a lemonade factory and a green park…all nestled in a city in the middle of the Caspian Sea. Commissioned by Stalin in 1949, Oil Rocks is the first and largest offshore oil city ever built. Despite two-thirds of its infrastructure having been reclaimed by the sea, the city still stands as a vast, sprawling island of oil platforms. For the first time in its 60-year history, a Western film crew has been granted access to document the city in its entirety. Oil Rocks – City Above the Sea recounts the experience of this crew capturing a real ‘Oil Atlantis.’ Combining black-and-white archival film from the Soviet era along with contemporary footage, the film tells the story of this timeless place and of some of its amazing inhabitants.</p>
<p>A look at how overfishing, pollution, over-population, and over-development are affecting the oceans.</p>
<p>This 45-minute film serves as a prequel to Ken Burns’ acclaimed documentary series The National Parks: America’s Best Idea. It explores the evolution of the national park idea over 150 years, through the lens of America’s diverse population. The film weaves together inspiring stories of people from a wide variety of backgrounds—activists, advocates, and ordinary citizens—who dedicated themselves to protecting and preserving these extraordinary places for the enjoyment of future generations.</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>A brilliant farmer, scientist, writer and public servant whose views on race, poverty and peace put him far ahead of his time is profiled in this film. Henry A. Wallace founded the first hybrid seed company Pioneer, that catalyzed the 'Green Revolution' in agriculture. Wallace also served as Agriculture Secretary and Vice President under President Franklin D. Roosevelt during some of the most difficult times in American history: the Great Depression,and World War II. Few people know that Wallace was the overwhelming choice of delegates to the 1944 Democratic National Convention to once again be FDR's Vice President. But party bosses, encouraged by Southern conservatives, made sure that did not happen.</p>
<p>Jorge Preloran filmed a genre of his own, ethno-biographies, for more than twenty years. By focusing on one character and following him or her for a period of time, Preloran achieved profound portraits that express the particular vision of the world of different people. 'Traces' is an ethno-biography, but in this case the character is Preloran himself, and the director a disciple of his. The movie unravels the life of Jorge Preloran, the way he did with his own characters. From a childhood signed by asthma problems, a high class family and a strict education to becoming a man who changed the cinema, creating a new genre.</p>
<p>In rural Alabama, architecture students cross the threshold of poverty to build communities, not just structures, and leave snakebit to make a better world.</p>
<p>"Rainbow Warrior" is a legendary ship with which Greenpeace launched its first whale defense campaigns since the late 1970s. He also served in actions that protect the water from dropping toxic or nuclear waste to them. In 1985, "Rainbow Warrior" went on a tour under the slogan "Nuclear Free Pacific", but on July 10 was destroyed by bombs, planted by the French secret services ... The group of pioneers of the ecological movement mentions successes and failures. They are currently living on the small island of Waiheke, New Zealand. After years, they evaluate not only the goal, but also the effect of the ideals they wanted to achieve. In 1976 Susi Newborn was one of the few founders of British Greenpeace. She also created the core of the first crew of the "Rainbow Warrior" and it was her ship that owed her name. Today, I work in the New Zealand Oxfam branch and actively participate in climate protection against change. Martini Gotjé has been active in Greenpeace since 1980. He was a navigator at "Rainbow Warrior", and for several years living with children in New Zealand. He continues to cooperate with Greenpeace - he watches whale hunters via the Internet and satellite, as well as vessels that fish illegally and transport nuclear waste. In turn, Bunny McDiarmid and her life partner - Henk Haazen before joining the crew of "Rainbow Warrior" participated in the cruises of the peace ship "Fri". Bunny is now the managing director of New Zealand Greenpeace, and Henk played an important role in the campaign to create a nature reserve from Antarctica. Only Hanne Sorensen participated in the tragic "Rainbow Warrior" mission. Currently, she has already withdrawn from active activities and runs her husband's organic farm in conjunction with a forest nursery. Since the 1970s Rien Achterberg is a close friend of Martini. Until 2005 he was a member of the crew of many Greenpeace ships. It was he who discovered for friends a beautiful New Zealand island, Waiheke, on which all years later they make a balance of profits and losses.</p>
<p>This film, based on a 19th century novel by Giovanni Verga describes the torrid history of three generations of a Sicialian family. The Malavoglia family are fishermen and women. Their story reflects the struggle to live lives of mixed fortune in a changing world.</p>
<p>Three young boys aboard a French naval vessel in 1974, unaware of the risks they run and the dramatic effects on our planet, take part in the nuclear tests in Mururoa, in the Pacific.</p>
<p>Based on over three years of in-depth research and rarely-seen archival images, this film tells the story of planned obsolescence, from 1920 (when a cartel was formed to limit the lifespan of light bulbs) to the latest generation of electronic products.</p>
<p>A brief look at this pioneering winemaker and his unique dry farming method which increases soil fertility and capacity for water retention, as well as producing more flavorful wines. Water scarcity is one of the major issues facing the world today and this farming method is one man's thoughtful and economically viable answer to this challenge.</p>
<p>Amid the tangle of commuter traffic, shopping malls and office buildings that define life inside the beltway rests a one-acre piece of farmland under the care of 89-year-old Charlie Koiner. With the help of his only daughter, Charlie continues to work his land, share his produce, and enjoy the farm life he's always known. Corner Plot explores one man's steadfast authenticity in a changing world.</p>
<p>This short documentary offers an intimate look at the United States Botanic Garden (USBG) in Washington, D.C., highlighting its role as a living plant museum that emphasizes the fundamental importance of plants to society and existence. The film showcases the USBG's commitment to sustainability, demonstrating how the garden educates visitors on sustainable practices and the critical role plants play in environmental health.</p>
<p>Almost all of the animals we eat in this country are raised in so-called confinement operations, indoor facilities that house thousands of chickens, cows or hogs. Unlike the diversified farms that once were the norm, confinement operations tend to be highly specialized. Considering that humans have raised domesticated animals for thousands of years, this style of production is a new experiment. There are rising concerns about the impact of industrial farming on our health, the environment, local communities, and the welfare of the animals. However, there are still farmers who raise animals outdoors, in diversified operations. Some would call them backward, but these farmers believe they are on the cutting edge of animal agriculture. This is their story.</p>
<p>This feature documentary profiles the life and work of world-renowned Canadian scientist, educator, broadcaster and activist David Suzuki on the occasion of his last lecture in 2009—a lecture he describes as “a distillation of my life and thoughts, my legacy, what I want to say before I die.” As Suzuki reflects on his family history—including the persecution of Japanese Canadians during WWII—and his discovery of the power and beauty of the natural world, we are spurred to examine our own relationship to nature, scientific knowledge, and sustainability throughout modernity and beyond.</p>
<p>In the early hours of March 24, 1989, the oil supertanker Exxon Valdez, en route from Valdez, Alaska to Los Angeles, California, ran aground, discharging millions of gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound, Alaska. The incident became the biggest environmental catastrophe in North American history. For 20 years, Riki Ott and the fishermen of the little town of Cordova, Alaska have waged the longest legal battle in U.S. history against the world’s most powerful oil company — ExxonMobil. In this film, they review the environmental, social and economic consequences of the black wave that changed their lives forever. Directed by Robert Cornellier.</p>
<p>The Stinking Ship chronicles the odyssey of an oil toxic waste shipment and the human tragedy that followed the dumping of the ship's cargo in the middle of an African city, causing perhaps one of the biggest environmental disasters of the last decade. At the same time, the film examines how a corporation with revenues twice as large as that of Côte d'Ivoire was able to hold the local government on ransom while successfully forcing British media to back off from reporting on the disaster and the company's cover up. The film starts with a view of the ship, the Probo Koala, when on August 19, 2006 it sneaked into port and spread its toxic cargo across Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire's largest city. In recollection interviews, residents describe how a strange stench filled the city and the unprecedented health catastrophe that followed that same night. Using archival footage and confidential documents, the film investigates the scandal which started in early 2006, when Trafigura, the world's largest oil and commodities trading company, was looking for cheap ways to dump tons of highly toxic oil chemicals on board the Probo Koala, a ship they used as a floating refinery to process dirty oil bought from Mexico.</p>
<p>This film chronicles the quest of Mikael Rioux to find concrete solutions to the problems faced by our planet. The innovative projects developed by the planetary visionaries he meets are a survival guide and source of hope. Characters include : Christian de Laet, John Todd & Nancy Jack Todd, Ashok Khosla, Peter Koenig, Dr Karl-Henrik Robert, Marilyn Mehlmann, Wangari Maathai.</p>
<p>Shows the human and environmental consequences of the newly constructed international border fence between San Diego and Tijuana. Along the way the film considers the reasons for the fence with local and global perspectives on its effectiveness. Migrants, deportees, minutemen, coyotes, environmentalists, writers and academics all lend their experience and perspective in terms of human rights, democracy, NAFTA, globalization and the destruction of the Tijuana estuary, the last standing unobstructed piece of estuarine wetland left on the California coast.</p>
<p>One place. One day. Two men. The place is a polar research station on an island in the Arctic Ocean, inhabited now only by Sergei and Pavel. One day when Sergei is out angling, Pavel picks up a radio message that he daren't communicate.</p>
<p>An intimate glimpse into the experiences of a young Tibetan family struggling to reconcile their traditional way of life with a rapidly modernizing world.</p>
<p>We live in the Age of Plastic. It’s cheap and practical, and it’s everywhere – even in our blood. But is it a danger to us? This feisty, informative documentary takes us on a journey around the globe to reveal the far-flung reaches of our plastic problem. Interviews with the world’s foremost experts in biology, pharmacology, and genetics shed light on the perils of plastic to our environment and expose the truth of how plastic affects our bodies and the health of future generations.</p>
<p>A young African boy named Gisani finds himself destined to protect a rare and magnificent white lion cub named Letsatsi who is cast from his pride and is forced to survive on his own.</p>
<p>Explores some of the most stunning underwater locations in the world and introduces us to scientists in a race to understand and address the impact of climate change on ocean systems. Are we willing to form a new partnership with the ocean and its inhabitants? If not, then our future and the future of thousands of other species may hang in the balance.</p>
<p>Takes a dive to underwater volcanos, the Mariana trench and the deepest and the most dramatic topography on earth. Bruce Robison, an expert on mid-water animals, introduces us to bioluminescent creatures that live deep below the surface. And Graham Hawke dives in “Superfalcon”, a new submersible that allows him to glide silently among the creatures of the ocean.</p>
<p>In the 1960’s US foreign aid to Haiti trickled in in the form of used clothing and the flow hasn’t stopped since. Secondhand Pepe, a documentary film by Hanna Rose Shell and Vanessa Bertozzi, follows the long journey of discarded garments from the ragyards in Miami, to the archives in London and onto the Pepe markets in Port-au-Prince where they are re-tailored and re-sold to fit the styles and peoples of Haiti.</p>
<p>One of the biggest problems facing countries who rely on nuclear energy is what to do with the highly toxic radioactive waste. In 1970, Finland began construction of a massive underground bunker designed to safely store its nuclear waste until it decays and becomes safe -- a process that takes 100,000 years. Through interviews with leading Finnish scientists and researchers, director Michael Madsen explores the consequences of nuclear energy and human fallibility.</p>
<p>Daniel Dembele is a 26-year-old charmer who is equal parts West African and European and looking to make his mark on the world. Seizing the moment at a crossroads in his life, Daniel decides to return to his homeland in Mali and start a local business building solar panels – the first of its kind in the sun-drenched nation. Daniel’s goal is to electrify the households of rural communities, 99 percent of which live without power.</p>
<p>David Smith, American Sculptor 1906–1965 is a 28-minute documentary that delves into the life and work of one of the 20th century's most influential sculptors, David Smith. The film combines archival footage, personal reminiscences from his daughters, and conversations with contemporaries such as artists Helen Frankenthaler and Robert Motherwell. It transports viewers to Smith's home and studio in Bolton Landing, New York, and provides insights into the installation of his works at the National Gallery of Art. The documentary offers a comprehensive look at Smith's artistic journey, his innovative methods, and his lasting impact on modern sculpture.</p>
<p>The rich and complex story of one of the most astonishing alterations of nature in human history is told in this film. Prior to Euro-American settlement in the 1820s, one of the major landscape features of North America was 240 million acres of tallgrass prairie. But between 1830 and 1900 – in the span of a single lifetime – the prairie was steadily transformed to farmland. This drastic change in the landscape brought about an enormous social change for Native Americans. In an equally short time, their cultural imprint was reduced in essence to a handful of place-names appearing on maps.</p>
<p>GREEN FIRE explores the life and legacy of famed conservationist Aldo Leopold (A Sand County Almanac) and the many ways his land ethic philosophy lives on in the work of people and organizations all over the country today. The film shares highlights from Leopold's life and extraordinary career, explaining how he shaped conservation and the modern environmental movement. It also illustrates Leopold's continuing influence, exploring current projects that connect people and land at the local level.</p>
<p>The amazing story of Daniel, a dolphin who abandons the safety of his pod to explore the ocean and discover the true purpose of his life.</p>
<p>Wind power... It's green... It's good... Or is it? Windfall exposes the dark side of wind energy development when the residents of a rural upstate New York town consider going green.</p>
<p>Journey to the heart of the Andes Mountains where Pascua Lama is poised to become the world's largest open pit mine. However, for the indigenous people and farmers living in the valley below, Pascua Lama threatens their only source of water in one of the driest places on earth. In a war between corporate and social values, two men are leading a fight to defend their valley and way of life. Now, one election will ultimately determine the true price of gold.</p>
<p>Discover a land as exotic as it is extraordinary. Arabia 3D offers an in-depth understanding of one of the most fascinating lifestyles and cultures. Cross the dunes with a caravan of camels, dive in the treasure-filled Red Sea, explore the ruins of a lost city, and relive the golden age of Islamic inventions. A precious land imprinted with myths and mysteries.</p>
<p>Dying of kidney disease, a man spends his last, somber days with family, including the ghost of his wife and a forest spirit who used to be his son, on a rural northern Thailand farm.</p>
<p>In this film, Joy takes viewers through the Desert Nomad House, built in 2005, which is composed of three rusted steel cubes gently set within a dense growth of saguaro cacti. Its steel exterior walls are thin to avoid attracting too much heat, yet designed to allow natural convection to flow between the outer skin and maple-paneled interior walls</p>
<p>KieranTimberlake, an architectural firm based in Philadelphia, is a recognized leader of the "green" architecture movement in the U.S. As this film illustrates, its founders Stephen Kieran and James Timberlake have been developing innovative means to combine sustainable design principles with off-site construction for the mass customization of houses. The firm’s Loblolly House, built in the Chesapeake Bay area of Maryland in 2007, and the Cellophane House, a specially-commissioned design executed for an exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art in 2008, serve as outstanding examples of the firm’s research-based approach.</p>
<p>In northern New Mexico, a range of mountains rises up from the high desert: a wild, rugged land of the Faraway Nearby. The volcanic Jemez Mountains are isolated from all other ranges — an island in the sky, surrounded by a desert sea. Sky Island profiles this enchanting landscape and our place within it.</p>
<p>Many travelers think they know the Outer Banks, but south of Ocracoke Inlet rises a luminous bar of sand almost sixty miles in extent: the wild, remote beaches of Cape Lookout National Seashore, one of the few remaining natural barrier island systems in the world. At once exaltation and elegy, Ribbon of Sand profiles this seascape and the transitory islands doomed to disappear.</p>
<p>An island community in Maine dream and work to bring wind power to their homes. Along the way, they meet some unexpected obstacles, find themselves and their community bonds tested, and discover some unexpected opportunities. This is an insider story of passion and commitment to community life that the news reportage almost completely missed, and a case study of the pitfalls and promises of the post-fossil fuel economy.</p>
<p>Behind the stories of opening Pandora's Box, Prometheus Unbound, The Genie and the Bottle, and Frankenstein, there actually is a significant science story that needs to be told about the work of one group of synthetic biologists. This program is the result of a 7 year tracking of the scientific team of J. Craig Venter. Potential promising use as a response to climate change. Narrated by Michael Emerson of ABC's Lost.</p>
<p>When the Water Ends tells the story of climate change conflicts in East Africa. For thousands of years, semi-nomadic pastoralists have followed fresh water sources and grazing land. They are accustomed to harsh environments and surviving with limited resources. But with the impacts of climate change, competition for water and pasture is escalating. Increased drought and decreased rainfall is fueling violent conflict over water and grazing lands.</p>
<p>Deep in the bayous of Louisiana, Edison Dardar arms himself against anyone who tries to move him off the island he loves, as it vanishes into the Gulf of Mexico. He and his neighbors are the first environmental refugees in the continental United States. Yet their crusade to remain on Isle de Jean Charles until its catastrophic end is a testament to the strength of their identity and ancestry, despite the mounting pressures of nature, industry and fellow humans.</p>
<p>This clip follows the seemingly fatalistic battle for environmental justice that a small African American community in Louisiana and a chemist face, as they take on the U.S. Government. Sicknesses that used to be disregarded as “unknown” are now associated with industrial contamination. Now residents have brought their evidence together in a case against the U.S. Government.</p>
<p>Starting in 2000, German artist Anselm Kiefer began constructing a series of large elaborate structures, comprising 48 buildings, a labyrinth of tunnels, bridges, lakes and towers. The film bears witness to an incredible creative process.</p>
<p>Academy Award® winner Tilda Swinton narrates this documentary from acclaimed filmmaker Brian Hill (Songbirds) focusing on the efforts of everyday people all over the world who are making a difference in the fight against global warming. From Indian middle school students organizing demonstrations and major recycling efforts to a London PR executive helping companies to become more environmentally responsible to citizen lobbyists in Appalachia protesting the strip-mining that is destroying their communities and livelihood to Papua New Guineans who refuse to allow commercial logging on their rainforest land to one man in Togo intent on teaching his nation’s young people to respect and replenish the gifts of the Earth, these are stories of ordinary humans doing extraordinary things by finding solutions to help save the planet.</p>
<p>A documentary about how the likelihood of nuclear weapons (or fissile materials) usage has increased due to the rise of terrorism and lack of safeguards and verification.</p>
<p>A film about how the local population of Tanzania has been evicted to make way for the creation of the world’s most famous nature reserves. Set in the famous Serengeti and the Ngorongoro crater, the film explores how the parks came to be and how western perceptions about nature radically altered both the East African landscape and society. The film focuses on the people who “shouldn’t be there”, not only because their voices are rarely heard but also because they are still being antagonised and excluded, while the tourist industry is rapidly depleting the area’s natural resources.</p>
<p>Over 1,000 people move to Dhaka every day, but almost two-thirds of Dhaka’s sewage is untreated and left to seep into waterways and the ground. Tens of thousands of people die each year of cholera, diarrhea and other waterborne diseases in Bangladesh – but the country is also an innovator in promising new approaches to providing clean water and decent sanitation for all.</p>
<p>The surface area of Dongting Lake has fallen by half in the last 70 years. Lying off of the great Yangtze River, it is one of China's most important lakes. Land reclamation, pollution and over-fishing threaten its existence.</p>
<p>The recent Indus flood focused attention on too much water, but Pakistan's real problem is too little – and too many people. This PBS NewsHour segment investigates how the impending water crisis might be related to population growth and poorly planned development</p>
<p>From Water War to Water Vision explores the ongoing conflict over water resources in the Southeastern United States, particularly among Georgia, Florida, and Alabama. Once known for abundant rainfall and freely flowing rivers, the region has faced intense disputes over water usage for nearly two decades. This documentary delves into the historical and political origins of the conflict, the environmental and economic stakes involved, and potential solutions for sustainable water management. Through expert interviews and compelling visuals, the film highlights the challenges of balancing human needs, industry demands, and environmental preservation in a rapidly changing landscape.</p>
<p>In Burning the Future: Coal in America, writer/director David Novack examines the explosive conflict between the coal industry and residents of West Virginia. Confronted by emerging "clean coal" energy policies, local activists watch a world blind to the devastation caused by coal's extraction. Faced with toxic ground water, the obliteration of 1.4 million acres of mountains, and a government that appeases industry, courageous residents demonstrate a strength of purpose and character in their improbable fight to arouse the nation's help in protecting their mountains, saving their families, and preserving their way of life.</p>
<p>A young man abandons his family for a solitary life of fly-fishing. His goal was to find his own way in the fishing world and thereby find himself and love.</p>
<p>A half-hour documentary that explores the impact of America's worst oil disaster on Gulf Coast residents, using stunning original photography and audio interviews produced by NRDC and Bridge the Gulf, and recorded by StoryCorps.</p>
<p>The Emmy Award-winning Troubled Waters: A Mississippi River Story tells the story of the unintended yet severe consequences of farming along the Mississippi, and the efforts being taken to reverse this damage. America’s heartland boasts some of the world’s most productive farmland, but this bounty has come with a price. Excess crop fertilizers are contaminating the nation’s rivers, lakes and aquifers, while at the same time precious soil is washing away.</p>
<p>This film explores the phenomenon of Scully, tracing his connection to New Haven, his birthplace, and his time at Yale, from when he entered as a freshman in 1936 to the present. The narrative follows the arc of his interests in classical art and architecture to American architecture, historic preservation, and urban design in the 20th Century.</p>
<p>Australia suffered its worst peacetime disaster. The devastating fire known as “Black Saturday,” claimed 173 lives, left more than 7,000 homeless and destroyed close to half a million hectares of Victorian bush-land.</p>
<p>On May 17, 1832 the German ethnologist and naturalist Prince Maximilian zu Wied and the young Swiss artist Karl Bodmer set out on a long and adventurous journey into the vast prairies of North America to explore and document the Native Americans. Bodmer’s depictions of the tribal peoples he encountered are considered to be some of the most accurate and detailed western images of contemporary Indian life. They were incorporated into Maximilian’s published journal, “Travels in the Interior of North America.” Using entries from the journal, filmmaker Luke Gasser recreates Bodmer’s adventures.</p>
<p>For the past three years Andrew Stevenson, with the help of his young daughter Elsa, has been researching and filming the humpback whales that migrate past Bermuda each spring. What started as a project to make a documentary about the North Atlantic humpback whale has become a consuming passion as Andrew takes advantage of Bermuda’s mid-ocean platform providing a unique window into the migratory lives of the humpbacks – a visually stunning journey of discovery.</p>
<p>SoLa is a poignant look back at exactly how a gusher in the Louisiana Gulf was allowed to happen as a result of corruption and malfeasance, and an industry and political climate that views environmental pollution as simply the cost of doing business.</p>
<p>COCHENGO MIRANDA is a portrait of a farmer and his family living in the Pampas region of Central Argentina. Made by Jorge Prelorán, Argentina's best-known documentary filmmaker, the film is an example of his unique genre of ethnobiography, in which the story of an individual reveals larger truths about a culture and way of life.</p>
<p>Peter, an engineer working for a multinational of dubious environmental sensibilities, is sent to Pera Kassiros, an island somewhere in the Aegean, to oversee the construction of an electrical power plant. Very soon, Peter realizes the island’s conditions are very different to what he expected.</p>
<p>In rural Sicily, the fishermen live at the mercy of the greedy wholesalers. One family risks everything to buy their own boat and operate independently.</p>
<p>Some environmental disasters get attention. Others get fixed. This is America's oldest and worst. And it looks like a third world country.</p>
<p>Beginning her adventure nearly four years ago, the sailing vessel The Plastiki was inspired by a United Nations Environment Program report on the oceans, and Thor Heyerdahl’s epic 1947 expedition of the Kon-Tiki. A compelling and pioneering voyage was planned by National Geographic Emerging Explorer David de Rothschild that would not only inform, but would also captivate, activate and educate the world. With more efficient design and a smarter understanding of how we use materials, principally plastic, waste can be transformed into a valuable resource, in turn helping to lessen our plastic fingerprints on the world’s oceans. Influenced by the principles of “cradle-to-cradle” design and biomimicry, the construction of The Plastiki brought together a multi-faceted team from the fields of sustainable design, boat building, architecture and material science.</p>
<p>At a time when children spend more time in the virtual world than the natural world, Play Again unplugs a group of media savvy teens and takes them on their first wilderness adventure, documenting the wonder that comes from time spent in nature and inspiring action for a sustainable future. One generation from now, most people in the U.S. will have spent more time in the virtual world than in nature. How will this impact our children, our society and, eventually, our planet? Is our connection to nature disappearing down the digital rabbit hole? This documentary follows six teenagers who, like the “average American child,” spend five to fifteen hours a day behind screens, on their first wilderness adventure – no electricity, no phone coverage, no virtual reality.</p>
<p>In October 2006, the United States government decided to build a 700 mile fence along its Mexican border. Three years and 3.1 billion dollars later, award-winning director Rory Kennedy investigates the impact of the project, revealing how its stated goals--containing illegal immigration, cracking down on drug trafficking, and protecting America from terrorists--have given way to unforeseen consequences.</p>
<p>The Yasuni National Park of Ecuador offers a biodiversity unique in the world and a sanctuary for indigenous people. This vast green area also conceals the country’s largest oil reserves. For the first time, a poor country that depends on oil for its survival has thrown down a bold challenge to the rest of the world: not exploit its petroleum to protect the Amazon Forest. Relinquishing the Yasuni oil reserves means giving up seven billion dollars. Without the money from oil, the country could go bankrupt. Rafael Correa, the President of Ecuador, can only succeed with a financial compensation from the international community. For three years, Correa travels the world with his team of economists to pitch his idea to western governments and persuade them that both North and South would gain from supporting this innovative project.</p>
<p>THE LAST BOAT OUT documentary tells the inspiring story of a family of watermen tirelessly trying to preserve their way of life working the waters on the Chesapeake Bay. It's also the story of a bay battered by development and pollution struggling to stay alive.</p>
<p>Agricultural nutrient runoff represents the major pollution crisis facing the Chesapeake Bay. Recognizing this, a growing chorus of environmentalists, policymakers and scientists say that tougher new preventative regulations must be imposed and rigorously enforced before any real progress in Bay cleanup is realized. Farmers and agribusinesses from New York to Virginia claim tougher new regulations will force already economically stressed farms out of business. However, some farmers have found ways to prevent runoff from their farms and support the new regulations and the effort to save the Bay.</p>
<p>An exploration of why the great Atlantic Sturgeon has declined in the Chesapeake Bay and beyond, and the hopes scientists have of a big comeback for the mighty fish.</p>
<p>In 1965 New York filmmaker Holly Fisher focused her camera on the annual skipjack race on the Chesapeake Bay, and on skipjack captain Art Daniels. Over the next three years, she and her co-director, Romas Slezas, filmed Daniels, his family and his colleagues oystering and crabbing and living on the Chesapeake. She tells a simple but powerful story of watermen's lives</p>
<p>Self-taught philosopher Konsta Pylkkänen guides a group of researchers through Finland’s Kainuu wilderness in the hopes of having a “sinistä ajatusta”, idea out of the blue. While firing upon a hybrid of the hazel grouse and the western capercaillie, kinds of birds, he indeed makes a scientific discovery.</p>
<p>Into The Cold--A Journey of the Soul retraces the personal and harrowing expedition of two men on foot to the North Pole in sub-zero temperatures to commemorate the centennial of Admiral Peary's reach in 1909. It is a journey of endurance and commitment into the depth of the soul against the backdrop of the magnificent, unforgiving and rapidly vanishing Great North</p>
<p>Visitors from a distant place appear in the swamps of Northern Finland. How can the locals manage, when even the berries are taken away? How to Pick Berries is an exploration of Finnish mind and the absurdities of global economy.</p>
<p>Struggle for Mt. Nimba explores the delicate balance between human needs and wildlife conservation in the Mt. Nimba region of West Africa. The film highlights the challenges faced by local chimpanzee populations due to deforestation and habitat fragmentation. It also presents the concept of creating a "green corridor"—a protected passageway to help isolated animal populations survive and thrive despite increasing human activity and environmental degradation. The short documentary emphasizes the importance of sustainable coexistence and community-driven conservation efforts.</p>
<p>America's Energy Future is a 5-minute documentary directed by Yi Chen in 2010. The film explores the pivotal role that renewable energy development plays in transitioning the United States toward a clean energy future. It highlights the significant contributions of America's farms, ranches, and forestlands in achieving sustainable energy goals, emphasizing the integration of agricultural and forestry sectors in renewable energy initiatives.</p>
<p>Carving for Conservation is a 5-minute documentary directed by Brian Kelley in 2010. The film delves into the intersection of recycling, art, and religion by showcasing a unique perspective from Botswana on the value of wood, especially dead wood, in Africa and globally. It highlights how one individual's innovative approach transforms discarded wood into art, promoting conservation and sustainability.</p>
<p>Buzzkill' is a short documentary that explores the fearful decline of bees throughout the past few decades, while focusing specifically on the more recent and confounding disappearance of honeybees worldwide, a syndrome termed Colony Collapse Disorder. This disconcerting portrait of the future of our food industry and environment then takes a turn for the optimistic through an uplifting look at the burgeoning population of hobbyist beekeepers.</p>
<p>A dramatic tale about the Albatross, king of the sea. Colleridge's 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner' forms the backbone of this story. Stunning footage of this beautiful bird, shot in New Zealand's Sub-Antarctic Islands, is woven with the harsh realities of the impact of commercial fishing. This is a film that features some of the most innovative visual effects used in modern day documentary.</p>
<p>Power for the Parkinsons (2005) is a 57-minute documentary that tells the heart-warming and dramatic story behind the making of Power and the Land, a historic 1940 film directed by Joris Ivens for the Rural Electrification Administration (REA). The documentary reveals life on a small American farm before electricity, the role of the REA in transforming rural life, and how the Parkinson family participated in the production of a landmark film that helped electrify America. It also explores the significance of three films that contributed to promoting rural electrification and national progress.</p>
<p>In the framework of the New Deal politics, Joris Ivens was commissioned to film the benefits of rural electrification. The film shows the situation before and after the Rural Electrification Administration brought electricity to the farm of the Parkinson family.</p>
<p>The film weaves Olmsted's personal journey, his visionary urban planning, and his dedication to creating parks that uplift public health and democracy. It highlights some of his most iconic projects like Central Park (NYC), Prospect Park (Brooklyn), Boston’s Emerald Necklace, and many more.</p>
<p>Nature's Greatest Defender is a 2009 documentary that chronicles the life and work of renowned American zoologist and wildlife biologist George Schaller. Over a career spanning more than five decades, Schaller has been instrumental in the conservation of some of the world's most endangered species, including mountain gorillas, lions, and pandas. The film follows Schaller as he revisits the sites of his groundbreaking studies, reflecting on the current state of these species and their habitats. Narrated by Glenn Close, the documentary offers an intimate look into Schaller's unwavering dedication to wildlife conservation.</p>
<p>The Madeira River: Life Before the Dams is a 2009 documentary directed by David Reeks and produced by the WWF-Amazon Network Initiative. The film explores the cultures and lives of the communities affected by the construction of the Santo Antonio and Jirau dams in Brazil. It provides a platform for local communities that depend on the Madeira River, sharing their hopes, opinions, and fears regarding the dams' construction.</p>
<p>Tapajós: São Luiz is a 2011 short documentary directed by David Reeks and produced by the WWF-Amazon Network Initiative. The film showcases the natural beauty, cultures, and wildlife of the Tapajós basin, focusing on Vila São Luiz, Vila Pimental, and the Amazônia National Park. It highlights the environmental and social threats posed by the planned construction of the São Luiz hydroelectric dam, scheduled to begin in 2012, and gives voice to the local communities affected by this development.</p>
<p>Truck Farm' is a whimsical, musically-narrated, documentary film about urban agriculture. Filmmaker Ian Cheney (KING CORN, THE GREENING OF SOUTHIE, THE CITY DARK) planted a 1/1000th-acre farm in the back of his 1986 Dodge pick-up-truck in the spring of 2009, after coming to New York City and lacking any other place of his own to grow food. Using green-roof materials, heirloom seeds, and a healthy dose of optimism and humor, Ian created a mobile community farm that yielded a wide range of vegetables and led to the discovery and exploration of other creative, quirky, community-based agriculture efforts all over the city.</p>
<p>The story of three men's life-long search for a diet which is good for our health, the environment and the future of our planet - showcasing some of the best food you have ever seen.</p>
<p>A new elementary school teacher who wants his students to learn “the real connection between life and food” has a proposal for his sixth-grade class: they will adopt a piglet and care for it over the course of a year, but at the end of the year, the pig will be eaten. The students eagerly accept the challenge. After all, the end of the year is a long way away and the wriggling piglet is right there in the classroom. They name it “P-Chan,” build a special enclosure on the playground and take turns with the chores of brushing and feeding it. But the more attached they grow to P-Chan, the more difficult the question of the pig’s fate becomes. Based on a true story that became a subject of national controversy in Japan, School Days With a Pig is a thoughtful and warmhearted engagement with the adult issues of consumption, quality of life and personal responsibility as seen through the eyes of children</p>
<p>A love poem and a critical investigation, OVERDRIVE explores Istanbul's transition from ancient imperial capital to bustling modern megalopolis. Will the city renew itself once again, or succumb to uncontrolled motorization and urban growth?</p>
<p>In the heart of the Amazon basin lies Yasuni, the most biologically diverse forest on the planet. Yasuní National Park is home to the Waorani and some of the last indigenous peoples still living in isolation in the Amazon, whose ancestral lands sit atop Ecuador’s largest undeveloped oil reserves, the Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini (ITT) oil block. In June 2007, Ecuador’s government made an unprecedented proposal: to protect one of the world’s most bio-diverse ecosystems by leaving the country’s underground oil unexploited. Why did a nation like Ecuador, whose budget depends more than 60 percent on oil exports, decide to take such a step, which became internationally known as the “Yasuni-ITT Initiative”? Some view this initiative as a unique opportunity to finally take decisive steps away from oil-dependency. The film presents the complexity of the issues surrounding Ecuador’s controversial Yasuni-ITT Initiative. Different points of view shed light, not only on what the government’s proposal is trying to achieve, but also on the very nature of oil exploitation</p>
<p>Throughout Washington, D.C., people of all ages, backgrounds and nationalities are gardening side by side, growing vegetables, fruits and flowers in community gardens. Some are looking for basic sustenance, others for a way to remember their homelands, still others for a place to find a respite from their troubles. Through the voices of young people, senior citizens, immigrants, garden volunteers and educators, this documentary explores the vital role of seven D.C. urban community gardens as sources of fresh, nutritious food, outdoor classrooms, places of healing, links to immigrants’ native countries and oases of beauty and calm in inner-city neighborhoods. The film also looks back on the history of community gardens in the United States, from the potato patch farms of the late 19th century, to the victory gardens of World War II, to community gardening’s current renaissance.</p>
<p>This documentary takes a piercing investigative look at the economic, political and ecological implications of the worldwide disappearance of the honeybee.</p>
<p>Nature’s powerful role in children’s health and development is explored through the experience of toddlers, children in middle childhood and adolescents, from Vermont to Washington, D.C. The film marks a moment in time when a living generation can still recall childhoods of free play outdoors; this will not be true for most children growing up today. The effects of “nature deficit disorder” are now being noted across the country in epidemics of child obesity, attention disorders and depression. Mother Nature’s Child asks the questions: Why do children need unstructured time outside? What is the place of risk-taking in healthy child development? How is play a form of learning? How can city kids connect with nature?</p>
<p>Sun Come Up tells the story of some of the world's first environmental refugees, the Carteret Islanders. The film follows relocation leader Ursula Rakova and a group of young families as they search for new homes in war torn Bougainville, an autonomous region of Papua New Guinea.</p>
<p>High-definition, high-speed footage of hummingbirds in the wild helps viewers to understand the world of hummingbirds as never before.</p>
<p>Footage collected from a dozen amateur videographers woven into a unique city symphony of social dysfunction.</p>
<p>WE STILL LIVE HERE: As Nutayunean tells the amazing story of the return of the Wampanoag language, the first time a language with no Native speakers has been revived in this country. Four centuries ago, Wampanoag people helped the first English settlers in America- the Pilgrims - to survive. Although Americans celebrate 'the Indians' every year at Thanksgiving, few know that their descendants are still on their homelands in Southeastern Massachusetts. Spurred on by an indomitable linguist named Jessie Little Doe, the Wampanoag are bringing their language and their culture back.</p>
<p>Indian wildlife filmmaker and naturalist Senani Hegde unravels the secret lives of Asiatic wild dogs in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve of southern India. Until a few decades ago, Asiatic wild dogs, known locally as dhole, were branded as bloody killers and vermin by humans, and were mercilessly slaughtered to near extinction. The Pack follows Kenai, a bold female wild dog, who has become a particular fascination for Senani over his 15 year history as a tracker</p>
<p>As Rani and Kamal’s half of the troop continues to mop up the limited offering at the temple, the splinter group continues to scour the city streets, dodging endless dangers. The central fruit market is now completely out of bounds. Recently Fang has been forced to defend his territory more fiercely than ever; Bipin, Yash and Tito and their relatively small troop would stand no chance against such a formidable army. P</p>
<p>Coral reefs are like underwater gardens, but who would have thought you can garden them in just the same way? Austin Bowden-Kerby is a coral gardener. He has brought together his love of gardening, and passion for the underwater world, to do something very special that just might save the coral reefs of Fiji.</p>
<p>Her name is Green, and she faces a world that is no longer hers. Green takes the viewer from the lush Indonesian forest to the nightmare caused by its destruction: the loss of biodiversity, particularly the extinction of orangutans.</p>
<p>Crucial mineral resources for human technological development are geologically produced from deep earth trough volcanic and/or seismic activity, especially where tectonic plates meet and clash. Thus most of the cultures producing advanced technology did so using those rich mining areas.</p>
<p>The mysterious lives of flamingos are captured on film with a birds-eye view of the animals living in Africa.</p>
<p>Twelve-year-old Bazarbai is unlike other Nomad boys his age. He dreams of leaving behind the green pastures of his native Western Mongolian province, lured instead by the call of the urban jungle: Ulan Bator. But Bazarbai's father has his own aspirations: One day, the young boy will make him proud by following the famed eagle hunter's own footsteps. When Bazarbai's brother, Khan, is forced to leave home for Ulan Bator, Bazarbai feels deeply hurt and betrayed; he should have been the one sent into the big city. In an attempt to cheer him up, Bazarbai's father takes him to the great Eagle Festival; but the young boy is inconsolable. Suddenly, the prize eagle belonging to Bazarbai's father flies away, scared off by a photographer's bright camera flash. Stricken by fear and remorse that his father's beloved pet might have escaped for good, Bazarbai decides to follow the animal, thus embarking on an adventurous journey through torrential rivers and snowy mountains that inevitably lead him to Ulan Bator - the city of his dreams. Along the way Bazarbai discovers that a happy life does not necessarily result from a departure from long-lasting traditions, but that tradition itself, deep respect for nature, friendship and loyalty form a strong unity despite constant outside threats. Intimate yet powerful, "The Eagle Hunter's Son" is a thrilling and emotional story about redemption, reconciliation and resolution.</p>
<p>Entering the twilight of his career, Pei returns to his ancestral home of Suzhou, China to work on his most personal project do date. He is commissioned to build a modern museum in the city's oldest neighborhood which is populated by classical structures from the Ming and Qing dynasties.</p>
<p>A documentary depicting the life and work of the trappers of Bakhtia, a village in the heart of the Siberian Taiga, where daily life has changed little in over a century.</p>
<p>In Chile's Atacama Desert, widows search for the bones of loved ones, left by Pinochet's atrocities.</p>
<p>Distinguished Swedish film director Stefan Jarl is concerned about the “chemical society” we have been building since World War II. Back then, humans used one million tons of chemicals per year; today that figure has risen to 500 million tons. The chemical industry is the fastest growing on the planet. This revealing documentary explores the 100,000 chemicals encountered daily, from softeners (phthalates) to flame retardants (PBDE) to surfactants (PFOS, PFOA). In addition to examining the latest scientific knowledge about the known effects of these chemicals, the film poses the question of how and why we as individuals are willing to submit ourselves to such hazards.</p>
<p>By the mid-1970s, Melbourne was a dying city. People commuted in to work during the day, but downtown became a ghost town after 5 p.m. This episode explores how leadership and vision transformed the cityscape. Rob Adams, Melbourne's director of design and urban environment, gives a guided tour to show how the city first sought livability, then sustainability, and how the two are inextricably intertwined.</p>
<p>Hurricane Katrina, the citizens of New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward weren’t about to watch their community disappear, even as government officials at all levels turned a blind eye to their plight. This story profiles community leaders fighting to rebuild the neighborhood sustainably and the outsiders – including renowned architect Bob Berkebile, and the organizations Global Green and Brad Pitt’s “Make It Right” – that are working to make this possible.</p>
<p>The Economics of Happiness' features a chorus of voices from six continents calling for systemic economic change. The documentary describes a world moving simultaneously in two opposing directions. On the one hand, government and big business continue to promote globalization and the consolidation of corporate power. At the same time, all around the world people are resisting those policies, demanding a re-regulation of trade and finance - and, far from the old institutions of power, they're starting to forge a very different future. Communities are coming together to re-build more human scale, ecological economies based on a new paradigm - an economics of localization.</p>
<p>A romance between a soldier and a country boy, wrapped around a Thai folk-tale involving a shaman with shape-shifting abilities.</p>
<p>A goat with an appetite for life realises that time is dangerously delicious.</p>
<p>They recognize themselves in a mirror. Family means more than anything. Memories are held for a lifetime. “They” are Asian Elephants, and they are in trouble! In much of Asia the few remaining elephants are vastly outnumbered by an exploding human population, most are domesticated, and most live very hard lives. Can we be satisfied with this? Is it even important to make sure Asia’s Elephants make it? Should it be a priority in our modern world to shepherd any other species,</p>
<p>Although cultures around the world may regard the crow as a scavenger, bad omen, or simply a nuisance, this bad reputation might overshadow what could be regarded as the crow's most striking characteristic - its intelligence.</p>
<p>Cuba may have been restricted politically and economically for the past 50 years. but at the same time, the island became a safe haven for rare and intriguing animals. What will the future bring to this untouched wilderness?</p>
<p>It begins with a dramatic portrayal of a world where there is a mounting tide of public concern about melting glaciers and sea level rise and a growing sense that we need to change course in how we react to emerging economic and social pressures. The film also spotlights a world where ocean resources are becoming scarce, croplands are eroding and harvests are shrinking. But what makes Plan B significant and timely is that it provides audiences with hopeful solutions – a road map that will help eradicate poverty, stabilize populations and protect and restore our planet's fisheries, forests, soils and biological diversity</p>
<p>A remote village in southwest China is haunted by traces of its cultural past while its residents piece together their existence. Zhiziluo is a town barely clinging to life. Tucked away in a rugged corner of Yunnan Province, Lisu and Nu minority villagers squat in the abandoned halls of this remote former Community county seat. Divided into three parts, this epic documentary takes an intimate look at its varied cast of characters, bringing audiences face to face with people left behind by China's new economy. A father-son duo of elderly preachers argue over the future of their village church. Two young lovers face a break-up over harsh financial realities. A twelve year-old boy, abandoned by his family, scavenges the hillside to feed himself. "Directed with scrupulous attention to detail by Zhao Dayong" (Manohla Dargis, The New York Times), Ghost Town is "one of the most important films to have emerged from the booming (but still underexplored) field of Chinese independent documentaries" (Dennis Lim, Moving Image Source). Ghost Town "has a strong sense of historical consciousness, an eye for unique material, and a real sympathy for the people in the film and their tough lives" (Chris Berry, Goldsmiths University). "I do not expect to soon find scenes to match Ghost Town's mountaintop funeral, the running along after a rowdy exorcism, or the scanning of faces at the town Christmas chorale. His back to prosperity, Dayong finds hallowed ground" (Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice).</p>
<p>The Inuit learn to observe their environment from childhood. The Elders vividly recall how they discovered nature and wildlife while playfully training their five senses for survival in the Canadian Arctic. Their ancient wisdom is adapting to the current changes surrounding them, as they have learned to embrace some modern lifestyle elements into their culture, without ceasing to co-exist with nature. Rising temperatures and pollution are disturbing their ecosystem and society in ways “southern” academics do not entirely grasp. This is a tale of endurance told as an intimate conversation. Award-winning Inuit director Zacharias Kunuk delivers a sharp insight into his community using a visually tranquil approach to depict how the vast glacial landscape is defrosting in front of their eyes.</p>
<p>In 1964, Yuwali was 17 when her first contact with white men was filmed. Her group of twenty women and children were the last aboriginal mob living traditionally, without any knowledge of modern Australia, in the Great Sandy Desert. Now 62 she tells the story behind this extraordinary footage.</p>
<p>The Emmy Award winning JOURNEY OF THE UNIVERSE tells an epic story of cosmic, Earth and human transformation from The Big Bang to today. Evolutionary philosopher Brian Thomas Swimme and Yale historian of religions Mary Evelyn Tucker have crafted an elegant narrative that both illuminates and celebrates the profound role humans play in the flourishing of the Earth.</p>