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Purchase an All-Access Fest Pass and see ALL these great films!
Shorts:
• IN YOUR HANDS
• THE CHOLITO CLIMBERS OF BOLIVIA SCALE MOUNTAINS IN SKIRTS
• POLARBARRY – LET’S BREAK THE ICE (student)
(Read film summaries here)
Feature:
THE RIVER AND THE WALL
Ben Masters
USA, 2019, 97 min.
PA Premiere
Five adventurous friends travel through the wilds of the Texas borderlands, journeying 1,200 miles from El Paso to the Gulf of Mexico on horses, mountain bikes and canoes. They set out to document the potential impacts of a border wall on the natural environment, but as wilderness gives way to the more populated Lower Rio Grande Valley, they come face-to-face with the human side of the immigration debate and enter uncharted emotional waters. TRAILER
Buy tickets to Program 1
EUPHORIA
Katalin Egely
Hungary, 2018, 4 min.
Sophisticated and elegant animation on the paradox between man and nature.
ORGANIZE FOR OUR LIVES
Isaak Popkin
USA, 2020 (student), 7 min.
What motivates young people to leave school and strike to call attention to global climate injustice? Through interviews with organizers and documentary coverage of the December 6, 2019, Climate Strike in Philadelphia, this student short sheds light on the answer.
BEYOND THE PHILTH
Marlee Snyder, Renee Cinningham, Christina Karos, Emily Moser, Mengyuan Cao
USA, 2019 (student), 15 min.
This local student short explores the subject of trash in Philadelphia and discovers that the issues are greater than the trash itself.
PARK CHAMPION: NEIGHBORHOOD VOLUNTEERS
USA, 2019, 6 min.
People from across the city come out to help beautify their beloved Fairmount Park
PETTY’S ISLAND: A JOURNEY BACK TO NATURE
Adin Mickle, Jr.
USA, 2019, 22 min.
A historical look at four centuries that shaped Petty’s Island, located in the Delaware River across from Camden, NJ.. The story is told from the perspective of the island as witness to events which took it from wilderness to various stages of development over the centuries and now is being returned to a natural state.
SHAD RUN
Ben Dorger, Becky Harlan
USA, 2018, 25 min.
The dedicated people who restored American shad to the Potomac River, after years of decline, illustrate what it means to care about your corner of the world. This is a story of place, possibility, and determination.
2077 – SOMEWHERE ON PLANET EARTH
Silvia Zeitlinger
Italy, 2019, 2 min.
Two monkeys in the future philosophize about a species that went extinct.
Buy tickets to Program 2
Shorts:
• THROAT SINGING IN KANGIRSUK (student)
• FIGHTING FIRE WITH FIRE
• NOT A PET
(Read film summaries here)
Feature:
TRIBES ON THE EDGE
Céline Cousteau
USA/Brazil, 2019, 100 min.
PA Premiere
Building on a family legacy of exploration and environmental filmmaking, Céline Cousteau journeys to the Brazilian Amazon at the request of tribal leaders to bear witness to the indigenous communities’ fight for survival. She shares their rarely seen stories of cultural pride and traditional ways of life set against the legacy of colonialism, and documents the ever-present threats to their land and their looming health crises triggered by contact with outsiders. TRAILER
Buy tickets to Program 3
Shorts:
• MNI WICONI: WATER IS LIFE
• INSECT GARDEN – BUTTERFLY PARADISE
• LAND WITHOUT EVIL
(Read film summaries here)
Feature:
HONEYLAND
Tamara Kotevska, Ljubomir Stefanov
The Republic of Macedonia, 2019, 87 min.
In the remote mountains of Macedonia, the last female beekeeper tends to her hives using ancient techniques and following the golden rule for sustainable honey cultivation: take half, but leave half for the bees. When an itinerant Turkish family moves in next door, her peaceful existence and nature’s delicate balance is threatened. This stunning film won three awards at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, including the grand jury prize for documentary in world cinema showcase, and is the first film in history to receive two 2020 Academy Award nominations, for best documentary and best international feature. TRAILER
PROGRAM SPONSORED BY CARY SNIDER
Buy tickets to Program 4
Shorts:
• THE EVOLUTION OF THE OCEAN
• LET’S GO TO ANTARCTICA!
(Read film summaries here)
Feature:
SEA OF SHADOWS
Richard Ladkani
Austria, 2019, 104 min.
When Mexican drug cartels and Chinese traffickers target the rare and valuable totoaba fish in the Sea of Cortez, they also decimate the population of the vaquita, the world’s smallest whale. Environmental activists, marine biologists and undercover investigators join forces on a desperate mission to expose this black-market ring and save the vaquita from almost certain extinction in this real-life environmental thriller. Audience award winner at 2019 Sundance Film Festival. TRAILER
PROGRAM SPONSORED BY OCEANFIRST BANK
Buy tickets to Program 5
Shorts:
• CHIRIPAJAS
• PLASTIC ADDICTION
(Read film summaries here)
Feature:
MICROPLASTIC MADNESS
Atsuko Quirk, Debby Lee Cohen
USA, 2019, 95 min.
PA Premiere
Brooklyn fifth graders take on the roles of citizen scientists, community leaders, and advocates, taking a deep dive into the root causes of plastic pollution. At their school they take action to rid their cafeteria of single-use plastic, leading to city-wide action and a youth-led “plastic-free” movement. An inspirational and optimistic take on the local and global plastic pollution crisis as told through a refreshing urban youth point of view with a powerful “take action” message. TRAILER
Buy tickets to Program 6
BACK TO NATURE
João Pomberio
Portugal, 2018, 8 min.
Trippy musical journey into humankind’s relationship with the natural world with glimpses of a future harmonious utopia.
FERRYMAN AT THE WALL
David Freid
Mexico, USA, 2019, 15 min.
For the past 40 years, the ferryman of Big Bend, TX, has been ferrying tourists across the Rio Grande for a little taste of Mexican life – but now a big border wall might get in the way.
THE CALL OF THE PASHMINA
Taira Malane
India, 2019, 16 min.
A Kashmiri man quits his job and embarks on a journey to become a shepherd. Six years later, he starts the Pashmina Goat Project – an NGO to protect the Changpa community and their goats from the harsh implications of climate change.
ANTARCTIC – LITTLE ANIMAL
Paola de Sousa
France, 2019, 3 min. (student)
Charming animated journey of a seal and a penguin from New Zealand to Antarctica.
KOFI AND LARTEY
Sasha Rainbow
Ghana, US, New Zealand, 2019, 20 min.
The moving story of a man who escaped his village in Ghana, one of the most toxic places in the world with Africa’s largest electronic waste dump, and his fight to try and empower two young boys to do the same.
ELECTRIFYING INDIA
Sam Eatoni
India, 2019, 11 min.
A solar power grid brings opportunity and change to a rural Indian village.
LOWLAND KIDS
Sandra Winther
USA, 2018, 22 min.
As climate change erases the Louisiana coast, the last two teenagers on Isle de Jean Charles fight a losing battle to stay on an island that’s been their family home for generations.
Buy tickets to Program 7
Short:
• THE WASTED EFFORT
(Read film summary here)
Feature:
MODIFIED
Aube Giroux
Canada, 2018, 87 min.|
PA Premiere
In this visual celebration of food and family, the filmmaker and her mother embark on a personal and poignant investigative journey to find out why genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are not labeled on food products in the United States and Canada — despite being labeled in 64 countries around the world. Through their shared love of food, the extent to which the agribusiness industry controls our food policies is revealed, making a strong case for a more transparent and sustainable food system. This multiple award-winning documentary was praised by world-renowned chef Jacques Pépin and won the 2019 James Beard Broadcast Media Award for best documentary. TRAILER
Discussion with Director Aube Giroux; moderated by Glen Bergman, former CEO of Philabundance
Buy tickets to Program 8
Shorts:
• DETROIT HIVES
• A WALK THROUGH THE LAND OF A THOUSAND HILLS (student)
(Read film summaries here)
Feature:
MOSSVILLE: WHEN GREAT TREES FALL
Alexander John Gulstrom
USA, 2019, 75 min.
PA Premiere
Mossville, Louisiana, a community founded by freed slaves, was once a thriving, safe haven. Today it’s a breeding ground for petrochemical plants and their spewing black clouds. Many residents are forced from their homes; those that stay suffer from prolonged exposure to contamination and pollution. Amid this chaos stands one man who refuses to abandon his family’s land and fights for basic human rights in this powerful portrait of resilience. TRAILER
Discussion with Producer Katie Mathews
Buy tickets to Program 9
Shorts:
• SEE ANIMALS
• THE GUARDIAN ELEPHANT WARRIORS OF RETETI
(Read film summaries here)
Feature:
THE GREAT GREEN WALL
Jared P. Scott
Senegal, Mali, Nigeria, Niger, Ethiopia, UK, 2019, 90 min.
PA Premiere
The effects of climate change on Africa’s Sahel region are devastating. Yet hope lies in the Great Green Wall — an ambitious reforestation project spanning the entire continent – as a way to fight back against climate change and to restore economies. In this highly entertaining story of resilience and self-determination (executive-produced by Fernando Meirelles, Academy Award-nominee of “City of God”), Malian musician and activist Inna Modja journeys from Senegal to Djibouti gathering stories and sharing songs with those on the frontline of the fight to save their land and their ways of life. TRAILER
Buy tickets to Program 10
Shorts:
• ROCKY INTERTIDAL ZONE
• RACCOON AND THE LIGHT
• WORDS HAVE POWER
(Read film summaries here)
Feature:
THE STORY OF PLASTIC
Deia Schlosberg
Belgium, China, India, Indonesia, Phillipines, USA, 2019, 85 min.
PA Premiere
An important and provocative exposé, this film brings into focus the alarming, human-made crisis of a world overflowing with toxic material. Using striking footage, original animations, and archival material that highlight the disastrous impact of the manufacture and use of plastics, the film sheds new light on this threat to the life and health of animals, humans and civilization of Earth – and the global movement rising up in response. TRAILER
Buy tickets to Program 11
Shorts:
• GAJAH BORNEO
• A FISTFUL OF RUBBISH
(Read film summaries here)
Feature:
OVERLOAD: AMERICA’S TOXIC LOVE STORY
Soozie Eastman
USA, 2019, 71 min.
PA Premiere
Before starting a family, Soozie Eastman, daughter of an industrial chemical distributor, embarks on a journey to find out the levels of toxins in her body and explore what might be done to reduce them. She finds out that hundreds of synthetic toxins are now found in every baby born in America, and that government and chemical corporations are doing little to protect citizens. With guidance from world-renowned physicians and environmental leaders, interviews with scientists and politicians, and stories of everyday Americans, Soozie uncovers how we got to be so overloaded with chemicals and if there’s anything we can do to control our exposure. TRAILER
Discussion with Director Soozie Eastman
Buy tickets to Program 12
FREE PROGRAM
Shorts:
• THE EMERGENCY BRAKE (student)
• RENEWAL: THINK LIKE A SCIENTIST
(Read film summaries here)
Feature:
ICE ON FIRE
Leila Conners
USA, Costa Rica, Croatia, France, Germany, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, UK, 2019, 88 min.
Can we reverse climate change? Ice on Fire explores the many ways we can reduce carbon inputs to the atmosphere and, more important, how to draw carbon down, bringing CO2 out of the atmosphere and thus paving the way for global temperatures to go down. We have heard the predictions, but now climate-related events are a daily reality. Reversing climate change is urgent. Through visionaries and scientists young and old, the film explores the deep hope that we can turn away from the brink. TRAILER
Film award announcements
Buy tickets to Program 13
Feature:
FANTASTIC FUNGI
TRAILER
Buy tickets to Fantastic Fungi
Also:
VIRTUAL REALITY EXPERIENCES
Tree Huggers — Climb to the top of Portland Oregon’s tallest tree in this immersive 360 experience. TRAILER
as it is — Journey down the mighty Colorado River to see the Grand Canyon from a rare perspective—from the bottom looking up.
VR courtesy of 360Labs. Program sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania’s Cinema & Media Studies program
The Student Short Enviro Film Competition is sponsored by Drexel University’s Lenfest Center for Cultural Partnerships
