Cinema Verde 2024 Environmental Film Festival

Ailton Krenak, indigenous leader and thinker, talks about the pain of the Watú (or Rio Doce in the Krenak language). Sick with the biggest environmental disaster in Brazilian history, the Mariana Dam disaster, the river asks for help. From the impacts on his village on the banks of the river, he makes an overview of the current Anthropocene period and invites all human beings to a journey of reflection and self-criticism, aiming at urgent but necessary paradigm shifts.

Since the 1950s deadly nuclear fallout has threatened millions of Americans from nuclear fallout carried east in the atmosphere across the United States, from the Nevada Test Site. “928 The Threat Continues...” tells the story of massive contamination from concentrated nuclear fallout that rained down during heavy storms, on communities and major cities for 40 years. Hundreds of thousands of cancer cases and deaths were the result. The Atomic Energy Commission and the Department of Energy knew the truth, but covered it up. Multiple generations may still face the long-term affects. Through current interviews with scientific experts and surviving victims across the country, plus footage from historic interviews with victims, whistle-blower scientists and journalists, we tell the devastating story of those affected by the deadly radioactive fallout. In Act 3, obscure government videos from US government websites reveal that the threat of cancer death to Americans from Nevada Test Site contamination continues even today! NTS has been renamed, the Nevada National Security Site or NNSS. Presidential administrations from Harry Truman to the present day have kept the highly contaminated former Nevada Test Site operating. Donald Trump while in office ordered the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy to start testing newly designed battlefield nuclear weapons at the NNSS despite the existence of The Non-Proliferation Treaty – 1970. Not withstanding the treaty, the extremely reckless aboveground testing area at the NNSS called Big Explosives Experimental Facility or B.E.E.F. tests non-nuclear bombs that send tons of highly contaminated nuclear dirt 10,000 feet into the atmosphere where the winds carry it east. It needs to be stopped now! The film asks viewers to inform their congressman and vote.

A Mirror of the Cosmos is a sci-fi experimental documentary which explores the first ecosystem in Europe to gain legal rights: the Mar Menor lagoon. Opening with a conversation between the moon and the sea about environmental violence, the film explores how the unlikely relationships between paradise, invasive blue crabs, nitrates, and mining deposits in Mar Menor deeply intertwine to tell the larger story of capitalism’s extractive, cumulative effects on the environment over time, combined with record-setting temperatures and monsoon-like storms. The lagoon is a microcosm of the so-called Anthropocene, or ‘the Age of Man’. Ultimately, it asks what kinds of futures are possible, and can we adapt? A film by Isabelle Carbonell www.amirrorofthecosmos.com

In Myanmar’s first and only country-wide environmental movement, Indigenous punk rock pastors and women activists protect a sacred river from a Chinese-built megadam through protest, prayer, and Karaoke music videos.

When a rural irrigation district in Northern California has its water cutoff during a historic drought, the community must join together to face the devastating impacts to their way of life and the environment around them.

From peanuts and pollen to cats and dust mites, allergy rates are soaring dramatically all over the globe, with inoffensive substances triggering life-threatening physical responses. Experts are predicting that by 2050, one in two will suffer from an allergy. Why are our immune systems overreacting in this way? To stem the tide of the epidemic, scientists are investigating the interface between genetics, environmental factors and our modern lifestyle, and developing revolutionary new approaches to prevention and treatment.

Noah is so worried about climate change he can't sleep at night. His wife Hali is confident it's all going to be just fine. Should they even have kids?! Should they sell their CA house and move to a colder Alaska? How does one plan for the end of the world...?

Becoming Fossil invites viewers to become time travelers through kaleidoscopic sensations of touch and elemental change. Join in and travel backward and forward in time around our small precious planet. Ride the waves of climate emergencies, and experience both extinction and resiliency in human and more-than-human touches.

The practice of eating bugs -- entomophagy -- has a lot to commend it. You may disagree. But try to put your preconceptions aside!

A look at the monumental problem of bird collisions in Chicago, the deadliest city for birds, just ahead of Houston and Dallas. According to scientists, what happens in Chicago can affect bird populations across North America. As many as one billion birds die each year in the United States due to building collisions, but there are people who care and work hard to change this.

Beyond the Soil is a short, poetic documentary which explores the emotional impact of climate change on farmers and ranchers who are on the frontlines of the megadrought in the Rocky Mountain West, and their innovation and resilience in the face of ecological crisis.

Bread for Tomorrow is a short film about the Indigenous Wicungo community’s struggle to gain legal ownership of their ancestral territory in Peru and how Rainforest Trust’s partner, Center for the Development of an Indigenous Amazon, has helped them to reclaim the rights to their homes and livelihoods.

"Can Hydroponic Farming Help Reduce the Effects of Climate Change?" is an entertaining and educational short film. Rachel and her remarkable robot companion, Rex, witness the dire consequences of climate change through news reports of devastating natural disasters. When Rex encounters an alien emissary, he embarks on a journey to a ruined world where pollution and climate change led to the collapse of an entire civilization. Returning to Earth the three main causes of global warming are reveal—electricity production, transportation, and wasteful agriculture—and stress the importance of transitioning to clean energy sources, electric transport, and hydroponic farming. Rex takes on the mission of educating robots and humans alike about combating climate change. The film ends with a global commitment to address the crisis and a poignant celebration of Rex's role in this vital endeavor, reminding us of the urgency to protect our planet from climate catastrophe.

Advancements in the fishing industry have led to devastating consequences, not just for sea life being hunted to extinction, but for communities around the world who depend on the ocean’s bounty to survive. CHANGE MAKERS brings together scientists, fishermen, activists and more to chronicle how our relationship with sea life turned from one of harvesting resources to engaging in exploitative and dangerous practices. It highlights how the fishing industry has left vulnerable communities displaced and starving. It shows how people remain ignorant of the destruction of aquatic ecosystems through marketing manipulation. And it explains how subsidies provided to Big Fishing have allowed the industry to continue making a profit off what should be unprofitable, unsustainable practices. But most importantly, CHANGE MAKERS educates the viewer on an exciting opportunity to set these wrongs right through a historic agreement by The World Trade Organization that would curb these subsidies, protect the environment, and create an incentive to alter the current state of the fishing industry. If 109 nations can come together and sign the agreement in 2024, we could begin to undo the damage industrial fishing has been causing for over a century. However, at the moment, not enough countries have signed, leaving our future in a precarious position, balancing between the continuation of environmental catastrophe or the implementation of healing progress. To achieve success, we cannot just depend on the change makers featured in the film. Everyone needs to embrace their ability to be a change maker and call on their representatives to push through the agreement. Together, we can rewrite the pattern of history and make a better future. CHANGE MAKERS is more than a film. It is a plea for help. It is a call to action.

At the northernmost year-round research station in the world, scientists brave frigid temperatures and perpetual night to solve an ocean mystery. The team is trying to figure out how some of the tiniest animals survive at a time of year when their main food source is not available.

Seashells, with their beautiful shapes and colors, have inspired humans since the dawn of time. Equally fascinating are the animals which make them, and their unique place in the web of life. Researchers and citizen scientists continue to make new discoveries, while a cutting-edge digital project makes vast research collections easily accessible online.

Mr. Aes Gener is a greedy mega-entrepreneur in the energy business. Through his story we get into the dirty business he has done in Chile and the world with coal, while we see, through archival footage, the damage to people and nature of this obsolete and polluting fossil fuel.

You can count the number of female paddlers in Futaleufú, Chile on one hand... and they want to change that. After many riverside matés and floating conversations, the idea to create a kayak course for local teenage girls was hatched. Thanks to a committed group of women from around the globe, what started as a dream is now an inspirational contribution to the local community.

This is the story of a tree. A mighty wonder that graced the forests of Appalachia and sustained all forms of life. Embraced us, from cradle to grave. At the turn of the 20th century, a deadly blight accidentally imported into the U.S. from Asia devastated the American Chestnut. Within a span of only two generations, the tree was nearly extinct. This is the story of people. The new documentary film CLEAR DAY THUNDER: RESCUING THE AMERICAN CHESTNUT tells the story of passionate citizen scientists and researchers working to restore this ecologically and economically important species, during this pivotal moment. This is the story of promise. The tree that forged a connection with humankind has been embraced in turn by humans who, invigorated by hope, are working tirelessly to revive this magnificent tree -- so that it can once again help shape the future.

The documentary film “Descended: The Fight for Harris Neck” explores an ongoing land battle in Harris Neck, Georgia. In 1942 the U.S. war department seized 2,687 acres of land from a self-reliant community of seventy-five African American families. Since 1962 the land has been a national wildlife refuge. The film seeks to answer the pivotal question: How has a community been shaped by its common goal to reclaim their land?

A handful of photographers look back on the Documerica Project, a long-forgotten epic photo survey of the American environment launched in the early 1970s at the height of environmental awareness. Embodying a moment of truth in a country that had reached the limits of its American Dream, the images of Documerica bear witness to a missed meeting with History. And beyond that, they announce the world in which we live today.

In a hot summer, where water is rationed, Emma is given a lemon plant. A small challenge, her being able to quench her plant's thirst, which will inspire her when she grows up, to devise a natural and innovative system of water reuse.

Emerald Sanctuary is a documentary investigating the impacts of seagrasses on the environment and culture of Florida as well as the their necessity to maintaining a healthy biodiversity.

Hear the voices of five resolute fisherwomen – mothers, daughters, sisters, wives, nurturers, feeders, providers, leaders – tell their Story of resilience in the face of social and environmental injustice. Stand in solidarity and join them in the fight to affirm their role as ocean custodians and protectors ...

Hidden in the far fringes of Britain is a world lost to time. Once a muse for romantic writers and passionate poets, these forgotten temperate rainforests, covered in an emerald sheen of evergreen are home to alien plants and elusive creatures. Join us on a magical journey to reacquaint ourselves with the precious remnants of these enchanting places.

Dayna Reggero has been listening along the beaches and the bayous of the Gulf Coast to artists who are remembering, healing, and building a safe movement to vision a better future in the dangerous world of oil and gas.

For more than fifteen years, Max Hurdebourcq, a solitary and passionate observer of gorillas, has been committed to the defence of the tropical forests of Central Africa. In particular, he is trying to find solutions to ensure a sustainable coexistence between forestry operators and the extraordinary wildlife that populates the forest concessions, veritable islands of biodiversity. At the CEB Precious Woods concession in southeast Gabon, Max is preparing for his latest exploration mission. His goal: to set up a refuge area for gorillas and local fauna within this area of nearly 6,000 km2. This is a first in Gabon, which has been imposing sustainable forest certification on operators active on its territory since 2018. This project, if it becomes a reality, could serve as an example throughout the Congo Basin. For Max, this would be the recognition and the outcome of his struggle. Anything but silent forests!

This short film, produced by three high school students in our Huliau Environmental Filmmaking Club, explores the causes and impacts of brush fires on Maui. It also highlights actionable steps that the public can take to prevent these devastating incidents. Created in partnership with the Maui Fire Department and Maui Nui Marine Resource Council, the students deliver a powerful message that educates and inspires viewers to take action.

After observing exceptionally abnormal rates of cancer in his Minden patients in the mid 1980s, Pakistani-born oncologist Dr. Hassan Amjad became the southern West Virginian town’s greatest champion, advocating fiercely for recognition of the persistent risk to human health caused by carcinogenic PCBs left from the mining industry. Some thirty-five years and three EPA clean-up attempts later, Minden remains largely ignored even as its population has dwindled from over 1200 to just under 250. When Hassan passes from a massive heart attack at the age of 70, his unsuspecting daughter Ayne, also a physician, inherits his decades-long advocacy efforts overnight. Grief-stricken but spurred by her father’s mandate to “help others” at all costs, Ayne hatches an ambitious plan to relocate the entire town to a 97-acre plot of land purchased by her late father as a retirement site. As she mobilizes allies in Minden and beyond, she is surprised to discover that her biggest challenge is an attachment to home that makes the town’s most endangered residents reluctant to leave. When a global pandemic unexpectedly thrusts Ayne into a powerful state government position, she sees an opportunity to move past her stalled relocation efforts and expand her locus of impact well beyond Minden. Ironically, the more Ayne pours herself into this new role, the more distance she creates from her closest allies – the Minden activists that have been involved since her father’s work began some four decades earlier. What’s more, her new work requires that she abandon her private practice and her hopes for a family of her own, subsuming her identity almost completely. As pressures mount on all sides – the creeping sickness of Minden’s aging residents, the growing sense of futility around achieving meaningful change in the cancer-stricken town, and the never ending political stresses associated with working at the state level – Ayne enlists the help of her personal lawyer to build a class-action lawsuit against the EPA in a last-ditch effort to help. Minden’s activist residents bristle at the new attorney’s aggressive approach, and this partnership implodes in dramatic fashion when small town gossip leads to accusations of fraud. Left with few options, Ayne feels stuck between a deeply ingrained mandate to “help others” that is the legacy of her late father and the increasing realization that she is sacrificing her own life in an attempt to do so. With the cathartic acknowledgment that her father’s death continues to haunt her, she must choose between her sense of duty and her own happiness. IMPOSSIBLE TOWN shows us tireless social and environmental struggle through the eyes of a cast of characters that complicate common rural Appalachian stereotypes. Dr. Ayne Amjad alone is a study in contrasts: a devout Republican with a strong activist bent, a daughter of immigrants who is a pillar of her largely white community, and a wealthy physician-turned-public-servant who spends her time advocating for her disenfranchised and low-income neighbors. With Ayne and the rest of our cast, nothing is as it seems. In addition to adding to the breadth of stories about how environmental catastrophes disproportionately affect the poor, IMPOSSIBLE TOWN has much to say about our complex relationships with home – the connections we form with the places we’re from, and the difficulty we have in letting go of those places, even when they’re killing us. Through the ambitions of Ayne and other Minden activists, the film explores the persistent modern American fantasy that complex issues are best solved through singular heroes and miracle solutions rather than the decidedly grittier work of slow and patient social, political, and legal exercises. Most poignantly, IMPOSSIBLE TOWN is an ode to the way we commune with our parents long after they’ve left this plane, their aspirations and legacies lighting our paths to unanticipated destinations, their absence leaving a painful void in our lives that never fully heals.

ISATIS is the first adobe city and the second historical city in the world. Water, wind, soil, and fire narrate the story of this thousands-year city. The water story is narrated by the people who built aqueducts in ISATIS, a town at the heart of the desert. The story of the wind is narrated by the city of windcatchers from the people who conquered the wind to survive in a hot and dry city. The story of the soil is narrated by people who constructed the world's oldest adobe city. The story of the sacred fire from Zoroastrian masters to huge factories. Story of the kind dialogue between religions and the scent of faith. The secret to perfection and peaceful permanence can be found only in harmony with nature. This documentary is also a narration of ancient and historical rituals in the heart of the world's first adobe city. Demonstration of tangible and intangible heritage in the heart of an ancient culture. Peaceful coexistence of religions and a thousand-year-old city narrated by the language of water, wind, soil, fire. Meanwhile, industrial development and environmental pollution may put this city in danger of destruction as many historic towns of the world.

“Karibu Nyumbani” translates as “Welcome to my Home” in Swahili. Guides in the Maasai Mara have a deep-rooted pride, knowledge, and love for wildlife. This film encapsulates that passion from the perspective of George Osono, a guide in Mara North Conservancy, who completely embodies this spirit of caring for nature. Throughout the film, you meet Half Tail, Lola's cubs and the other iconic members of the Marsh Pride, Kweli the Cheetah and her three cubs as they prepare for adulthood, and an impressive elephant named Edwin. This film is visual portrait of the Maasai Mara's majestic wildlife, and the stories of the extraordinary animals that call it home. The film encourages people to see the beauty of these animals, recognise how fragile their existence is and in turn care more about protecting them.

Two extra-terrestrials Kreta and Shiva happen on the Voyager spacecraft. The encounter leaves them curious about Planet Earth, home to the strange ‘human’ species. They decide to go there.

In the field, we accompany a biologist responsible for the implementation of renaturation solutions, the most coherent with the activities already present. A series of hedgerows planted to ensure bocage continuity is a typical means of providing food and shelter for small mammals involved in an ecosystem that includes cultivated fields and wild lands. Compromises are made to allow continued passage with farm machinery. The viewer discovers that it is possible to observe significant changes in biodiversity if one is attentive to the smallest phenomena, such as the return of butterflies that had disappeared. Through the testimonies of involved farmers, we learn that synergies between animals, plants and farms increasingly make it possible to do without chemical substitutes, those that have long accompanied the productivist approach on which agriculture is still largely dependent. From the scouting in the middle of winter, to the informal meetings between participants discussing in the middle of the heat wave, the film shows from the inside an experience of active awareness but not without its paradoxes. How to reconcile issues as remote as profitability and biodiversity.

The last child of Jeju's creator is the only one aware of the damage others pose to the island. But he is too weak to make a difference. In another part of the world, a hero is on a journey to passing seven obstacles that ruined the forest. We journey to these regions in present time through these stories and encounter numerous environmental problems they are enduring.​

Lead in the Land is a documentary focusing on the harsh reality and far-reaching effects of lead poisoning, an invisible and insidious threat afflicting thousands of children in the United States. The film sheds light on the circumstances around lead poisoning, examining its causes, effects and potential solutions.

Genesis 1:3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. Taiwan was founded on agriculture in the early days. However, in the face of rapid urbanization, there was no time to build infrastructure such as sewage pipelines, and a large amount of sewage was discharged indiscriminately, causing severe water pollution. To connect domestic sewage to the water purification plant and turn it into water resources that can be continuously recycled, the sewage engineering team adopted a most humane "equation" to appease and compensate the residents disturbed by the project. They invited the residents to participate in the beautification design of the back alley, which was damaged by the engineering project, and hired old painters who have painted "Roman Holiday" and "Back to the Future" movie billboards, and new generation painters to create with colorful brushes. The colorful paintings make the originally dark, dirty, and smelly back alleys clean and bright, and people are more willing to enter the back alleys to make tea and chat, a secret paradise for locals is then created. Let’s walk into the back alleys and see how the light makers light up the back alleys with human touch and let the light penetrate the water, creating Formosa’s unique “Light Making Equation”. This action has been carried out since 2016 and will continue in the future.

This film documents the devastating costs of landslides to both private property owners and taxpayers, and offers solutions. Climate change means landslides will only get worse.

The last indigenous people of Mentawai, a small archipelago south-west of Sumatra, are fighting with creative resistance to preserve their ancient culture and rainforest. A culture on the verge of extinction - with the latest geopolitical developments, the destruction of their habitat reaches the point of no return. Smashing the hopes of thirty years of democratization in Indonesia, Jakarta in relapse to authoritarian rule is enforcing deforestation in Mentawai. In collaboration with investigative journalist Febrianti and indigenous foundations, our film portrays indigenous culture, history and resistance up to the most recent developments in geopolitical of Indonesia's growing environmental degradation. Connect with all your heart and senses: see, feel, touch, smell life in the jungle. The cinematic and compassionate camera conveys an intimate and sensual experience of the indigenous life on Mentawai with its beauty and vulnerability. Three shamans are the main characters in the film, hunter-gatherers in a culture predating even traditions of weaving or pottery, archaic traditions with their own complexity. The film portrays daily life of the indigenous tribe, their spiritual cosmos and their commitment to preserving their own culture and natural habitat. Logging companies threaten the fragile eco-system of the islands. Rare historic footage and archive materials tell the story of decades of oppression of the indigenous culture – but also of the resilience of our main characters and the last tribes living in the jungle. The main character, Father Laulau had been a leader in this struggle for decades, meeting the governor on Sumatra in a key point of history. The latter part of the film explores the geopolitical context and shows a new generation joining our main characters in the fight for the preservation of both their environment and culture – as part of a larger movement in Indonesia. The project started by indigenous initiative: Martison Siritoitet from Indigenous foundation Suku Mentawai (http:/sukumentawai.org) invited director Joo Peter to Mentawai and a long-term collaboration started including also Mentawai Indigenous Education Program (http://IEFprograms.org) The film is one of a planned series of films celebrating the diversity and richness of the Indonesian indigenous culture.

We are the Wolf Nation, dwellers of the Northern Hemisphere, harbingers of the Spirit of the WILD. We are returning to take our place with you awake and aware and conscious humans at the dance of life.

Our shoes go lots of places, across vast distances, and over many miles. But eventually, no matter how much we care for them, our shoes break down and usually get thrown away. Max Romey wanted to find out what happens to his old shoes, and in his film No Lost Shoes, highlights the full scale of the problem.

A young filmmaker sets out on a 10,000-mile exploration of the national parks with his childhood best friend during the centennial year of the formation of the National Park Service. Along the way, the two record stories of the people that work in the parks and those that come to enjoy them, as part of the rich tapestry of the history of the park system emerges. They hear profound stories of people from all ages, walks of life, and cultures that come to the parks seeking tranquility, healing, motivation, and connection to the natural world. Between the spectacular shots of the parks and compelling interviews are colorful bits of old maps, posters, and travelogues. This stunning road trip is a tribute to the national parks and their history, and is also a recognition of the people that appreciate them and work to maintain their beauty.

Planet Ocean Blues a personal take on the devastating impact of Traditional Chinese Medicine on marine species & Ocean ecosystems -- narrated by Mermaid Maribella, with original music by Nick Wyke Storyline This is a short film about a vast subject: the Ocean. Or more precisely, about the potential extinction of certain marine species in the Ocean Or even more precisely, about the potential extinction of marine species due to superstitious beliefs promoted by bogus practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Stories about the extinction of marine species due to TCM is the theme. Stories--because readers may not remember facts, but they do remember stories. The short film has strong elements of mockumentary satire, with Mermaid narrator and imagined characters. Three customised music tracks were composed and sung by Nick Wyke. The documentary narrative is based on two digital photobooks by Michael Buckley: ‘Planet Ocean Blues’ + ‘Xtinction Blues.’ Planet Ocean Blues is a groundbreaking documentary, being the first to investigate the wider spectrum of the impact of TCM on marine species -- the senseless plundering of sharks, manta rays, seahorses, Totoaba croakers, seals and sea-cucumbers -- under the guise of bogus traditional medicine cures.

With Western Europe’s waterways clogged by thousands of dams, Balkan countries are rallying to protect the continent’s last free-flowing rivers—before it’s too late. In Croatia's popular tourist region of Dalmatia, The Nature Conservancy and its partners helped protect the Krupa River in perpetuity, one of the first conservation wins of its kind in the region.

A pregnant woman who lives and sells salt with her husband by Lake Urmia; is facing the risk of miscarriage because of the impact of salt storms caused by climate change and human factors. They plan to move to the city after selling their property, and until then, the woman tries to protect her fetus from the dangers of the environment.

"Salted Earth" plunges us into the heart of an invisible and creeping crisis that's transforming the Mid-Atlantic – the inexorable rise of sea levels. This hard-hitting, yet tenderly woven 20-minute documentary paints a vivid picture of an escalating environmental catastrophe, where the threat is not just the swelling sea, but the encroaching salt that kills forests and decimates arable land, but could also signal a return to the natural order of the Atlantic Coast. Our journey navigates the brackish waters of climate change alongside an intrepid team of scientists. Through their tireless work, they seek to unravel the intricacies of how salty water infiltrates groundwater and soils, with consequences as far-reaching as they are devastating. Their research is more than academic; it's a desperate quest for solutions that may help vulnerable communities adapt and even survive. "Salted Earth" is not only a saga of scientific discovery. It's also a story of human resilience and ingenuity. We venture into the heart of communities, the lifeblood of the Mid-Atlantic, whose existence is at stake. We see firsthand the farmers struggling to preserve their livelihoods, community leaders forging ahead with audacious resilience strategies, and everyday individuals battling the rising tide. Through intimate interviews with scientists, farmers, and community leaders, "Salted Earth" provides a sobering, yet inspiring look at the very real and present challenge of sea-level rise. It asks a question that affects us all: Can our strategy against the rising sea succeed, or are we fighting an unwinnable war? The answer may unsettle you, but the journey is one you cannot afford to miss. Watch "Salted Earth" and see the future of our world through a salt-streaked lens.

"Saving Jaguars and Ourselves" brings attention to the plight of jaguars, wildlife, the Pantanal in Brazil AND the Amazon Rainforest and Cerrado Savannah. The film combines intimate human conversations and portrayals of jaguars in the Pantanal with clear explanations of larger threats that expand to include the Amazon, Cerrado, and the U.S.—focusing on ways that individuals in the U.S. can act effectively to bring change. These three areas form a critical Triad for preventing global climate change. My film explains why this Triad is crucial--why OUR survival in the U.S. depends on its recovery--and what we must do to literally save it, jaguars/wildlife, and Earth. The Pantanal wetland is larger than Florida and stores at least 10 billion tons of carbon. The Cerrado stores at least 13 billion tons. The Amazon stores 200 billion tons. If ANY of these areas completely burns, the carbon releases would be catastrophic. The Amazon and Pantanal are paradises. The Pantanal is directly affected by destruction of the Amazon and Cerrado savannah. Scientists believe that 80% of the Amazon Rainforest must be protected by 2025 or it will not be able to regenerate itself. The Amazon creates its own weather but if deforestation continues, its ecosystem will die and dying trees will give off as much as 200 billion tons of carbon over the next 30-50 years, effectively destroying our ability to protect the climate--and the Earth will die. The Pantanal is one of the most unique and beautiful places in the world, home to over 5,000 animal species and is now also facing threats from upstream river projects.

SeaMonster II is a single channel video with sound, duration 14:19. All the objects used in this performance were collected at the sea shore near the artist's studio on the island of Aegina. This work is part of the "SeaMonster" series. The first iteration "SeaMonster Monk" a live performance took place at the Athens Art Fair 2019 and was featured at the WhiteBox NYC in 2023.

In a polluted metropolis, full of contrasts, a unique seed sprouts: an indigenous girl from the past.

Silent Skies follows the groundbreaking journey of three Pennsylvania college students who orchestrated and piloted the first ever fully electric airplane stadium flyover. Stunning fans with a whisper-quiet show, this event signaled the dawn of America's transition to electric aviation. The students completed a record breaking trip flying the airplane from its base in Hartford, CT to the stadium in Easton, PA, recharging at enroute airports directly from a fleet of electric F-150 trucks. The air travel industry faces an unprecedented challenge: decarbonization. Historically, new aviation technologies are met with consumer skepticism. Demonstrating electric aircraft today, ahead of widespread adoption, is key for building consumer trust, political support, and sustained investment. The flyover was witnessed by 10,000+ attendees, thousands more on ESPN+ and created a precedent for the FAA to approve manned electric aircraft demonstrations over populated areas. Textron eAviation and Ford amplified the event through their social media channels and the film premiered at San Francisco Climate Week.

In the south of Madagascar, the village of Belemboké has no running water, no taps and no school. To access liveable amounts of water, 3 kids have to travel excruciating distances and make their way underground to the bowels of the Earth... everyday.

Stopping the next pandemic is a new challenge to the most prominent scientists. Their field studies around the world are showing that our health as humans depends on animal and environmental health. Diseases that occur in the remotest places are now our concern. We live in a connected world. We will have to preserve the environment to prevent future pandemics.

In an area where traditional education fails students, one Mayan woman starts her own school in order to rebuild her community from the ground up. Through her integral education, which includes meals for students and workshops for their parents, Ingrid Villaseñor strengthens her home of Panajachel one step at a time.

Yes, trees can talk. They communicate through their roots. Please listen to what they have to say in this short film.

With a growth rate of up to a meter/day—the world record of living plants—and structural properties that in cases equal steel’s and concrete’s, bamboo is a versatile design material. A material that provide an interesting alternative in an ongoing contemporary material/sustainability dialogue. The Bamboo Dialogues seeks to answer the questions: What is this material? and Why are we not using more of it in contemporary design, engineering and architecture? The narrative of the movie spans five continents and is told by “ bamboo whisperers”: such as engineers, artisans, students, architects, designers, historians, biologists, and farmers as well as bamboo constructions and artifacts. The material in the movie is partly a crowd sourced. Successful contemporary projects and best practices in bamboo are mostly found off the beaten track and away from trendsetting metropolises in remote and peripheral areas and locations. Therefore, The Bamboo Dialogue would not have been possible to make during the restricted travel situation around the Covid 19 pandemic without the generous joint effort by a number of: institutions, companies, and individuals from around the globe. Bamboo have had a soft voice in the contemporary material discourse. The film seeks to amplifies this soft voice and showing possibilities and challenges for this miracle plant. The Bamboo Dialogues is the second movie in a series, portraying the versatile and sustainable material—bamboo. It follows the successful documentary Bamboo—the Tradition of the Future.

A childhood discovery inspires a woman to push the boundaries of our compassion in this true story. The esteemed Earthlings creator, Shaun Monson, weaves together archived news clips, never seen before arrest footage, and current interviews to tell this tale that crosses countries and decades. Cameo appearances by Joaquin Phoenix and other famous animal advocates.

Laws prohibiting tree cutting in India have become stricter recently and actively enforced due to the lobbying of climate activists. As such, tree trimmers increasingly lose their jobs, contributing to the precarity they face. This ethnographic film shows the story of two tree trimmers belonging to a tribal community and living in an informal settlement in India.

This film tells the story of the victims of the flood of 2019 in Iran, which happened in the three provinces of North, Central and South of the country and left a lot of damages. The main narrators are three women who reveal the causes of this incident and mismanagements and tell the story of the people who were left to fend for themselves during the flood and after.

Inspired by Herman Melville's epic tale, "Moby-Dick or The Whale", a late-blooming singer/songwriter and former toy designer, Jen Long, acts on a startling vision and commissions the design and build of a remarkable custom electric guitar. It's body is "The Whale" itself as it snags the mad Captain Ahab in the tangled ropes of his own obsession, and prepares to launch a boat of his whalers to their doom. The entire guitar reinterprets Melville's tale as an Anthropocene climate change warning, with the whale representing the seas and storms of climate change arising on this "third day" of late stage capitalism. Hundreds of guitarists, including J. Mascis of Dinosaur Jr., and Marissa Paternoster of Screaming Females, have played and signed this "Instrument of Change" to amplify the alarm to turn our ship of over-production and over-consumption around while there is still time. As the embroidered strap featuring Starbuck's last words implores: "oh! Ahab, not too late is it, even now, the third day, to desist."

In collaboration with communities across British Columbia, the Youth Climate Corps challenges what resilience looks like through youth led, locally designed, climate action initiatives.

“To see a snow leopard is to see God.” It’s a film about the search of the snow leopard - a beautiful and rare animal. There are only a few thousand of them left on the planet. Most of the animals have been given names but almost no one has seen them. This is a story about the mystery of human’s contact with another life, with wild nature, and the search for the lost source of inner strength. Scientists, hunters, shamans, tourists - the leopard sees them, but they do not see him.

Star is a bird of many names. Kārearea, kāiaia, the New Zealand falcon. Aotearoa was once a nation of manu. Winged creatures reigned: bats, bugs and birds. Whilst flightless creatures crawled the land, the skies were ruled by aerial predators, some of these birds almost mythical in size. Yet with the arrival of humans came great change. Today, many manu linger only in legend. But a few birds of prey remain, including the feisty kārearea. The New Zealand falcon didn’t survive these changing years unscathed. Kārearea are even rarer than the kiwi. But they won’t go down without a fight. Through both traditional filmmaking and stop-motion animation, Tōku Waiata / My Song soars Aotearoa's skies alongside Star, an advocacy falcon at Wingspan Birds of Prey Centre. Here, a rather different conservation practice is used to conserve New Zealand's only falcon; the ancient art of falconry.

Alabama is not a dumpster. Litter washing into our waterways is a problem not only affecting our pocketbooks and well-being, but it also spoils our enjoyment of Alabama’s great outdoors. Join a passionate group of watershed guardians as they address the enormous issue of litter accumulating in our creeks, streams and rivers.

Tupungato - empathy in death, follows Rafael Pease’s six year obsession of visibilizing a threatened area. A winter expedition to the highest peak, Volcan Tupungato 21,555ft, evolves into a fight for conservation. In hopes of creating a national park, containing 340,000acres in one of the worlds biodiversity hotspots, as well as a significant source of water for 40% of Chile’s population. Interviews with renowned scientists and activists unveil a web of corruption in the government and multinational corporations, stemming from imperial religion and a dictators constitution. This explosive film is set against the backdrop of historic protests, as the people of Chile rise up for social and environmental rights.

Unacceptable Risk tells the story of a prominent cancer researcher who rethinks her assumptions about the causes of cancer and the true burden of environmentally-induced cancers.

Ninety percent of the world’s ancient oyster reefs have collapsed in the last thirty years. Faced with the human pressures of coastal development, pollution, reduced freshwater flow, and overharvesting, the renowned oyster reefs in Florida’s Apalachicola Bay are now slipping toward the same fate. Oysters have long been the silent protectors of the oceans, cleaning water and building the foundation of estuaries where thousands of species thrive, from plankton to game fish. They are living water filtration systems, storm barriers, and an ancient source of protein. The fate of oysters in Apalachicola Bay is not sealed. Fresh water management, artificial reefs, shell recycling, and other restoration strategies may be able to save the world’s oyster populations from complete collapse. It’s not too late.

In the West African nation of Guinea-Bissau, this thought-provoking film takes you on a journey that follows brave local women who challenge patriarchy by building institutions that promote self-sufficiency through agroecology. They also defy social norms by standing up against female genital mutilation and rejecting forced marriage. Carrying forward the legacy of Amílcar Cabral, the Bissau-Guinean independence leader who placed women's rights at the center of the struggle for liberation, the women of a rising generation are taking their power back.

Set in the far future, the nomads journey is via various landscapes, where the boundaries between technology and nature have blurred, a new era has dawned. Welcome to "VIA." Our story folles a group of nomads, bound by a shared ritual. As they journey through the ever- changing seasons, they become one with nature, adapting and evolving, guided by the wisdom of their ancestors and the teachings of their land.As we witness the boundless potential of a future where we walk, via the beauty of our world and via the adventure of the unknown.

Environmental activists have been camping in Sodros for more than four months with the purpose of stopping the trees from being cut down. In the past few days Chinese company CRBC workers have been showing up at the site accompanied by the police and gendarmerie forces. The activists have been requesting to see the permits and the documentation for the work they are planning to conduct from the CRBC workers. The CRBC workers haven’t shown any of the permits. Also, the work has begun without a construction board being clearly visible, which is mandatory by law.

This is the true story of one Formosan black bear’s encounter with civilization. A fateful encounter with a wild boar trap in mid-autumn 2019 first brought this bear to national attention. However, after months of recuperation and subsequent release back into the wild, it lingered worryingly near settled areas, damaging orchards and even ransacking a mountain cabin in search of food. Re-released in a remote forested area, the bear set out an incredible journey across arduous terrain in the direction of home. This is the moving story of “711” … also known as “568” – a wild Formosan black bear from Taichung’s Mt. Daxue area. The bear died on the 25th day of its long journey home in May 2022 in the Mt. Wujie region of Nantou County. News of the death was a devastating blow to the hundreds involved in 711/568’s rescue, recovery, and tracking efforts. It also offered a difficult lesson for us all about the work yet ahead for wildlife conservation. This film examines Formosan black bear conservation from multiple perspectives, including those involved in this bear’s rescue and care, living in areas affected by 711/568, and working in the many public and private organizations dedicated to the cause of wildlife conservation. We hope the story told here helps further raise public understanding and concern for wildlife conservation in Taiwan.

What started as one man's Quixotic dream has turned to reality. For the past three years the 65-foot"Schooner Apollonia" has been delivering goods up and down the Hudson River by sail -- sans fossil fuels -- a throwback to a day when there were 1,200 such boats on the river each day. It turns out buyers prefer the non-polluting, anti-Amazon way of making deliveries.

In the rainforests of Madagascar, vanilla offers hope to farmers hindered by the relentless tide of poverty and cyclones. How will the women responsible for vanilla cultivation weather the storms that threaten their livelihoods? Join us on this journey to uncover the truth behind one of the world’s most beloved spices and to support the women farmers at the heart of the vanilla industry.

COMMON GROUND is the sweeping and uplifting story of the pioneers of the “Regenerative Movement” who are forgoing the toxic seeds and sprays pushed by Big Ag in order to produce tremendous quantities of nutritionally dense food while bringing our entire ecosystem back to life.