Film Archives

Year:  2017  |  2016  |  2014  |  2013  |  2012  |  2010  |  2009  |  2008  |  All
 
 

Attack of the Sea Slugs

Directed by Champ Williams

Orange sea pens bring color to the cold stark landscape of the subtidal sand flats of the Puget Sound. Although these sand flats appear desolate, hiding in wait is a creature with an acquired taste for sea pens. Trailer and screening times >>

Short Film

Bottled or Tap Water?

Directed by Martha Spiess

A selection from the EcoFocus Short Film Competition, this is a "Made in Maine" video made as a class project for second graders. The choice of supporting tap water infrastructure instead of consuming bottled water is a personal decision that has a very large impact and is something that each person can do to decrease carbon footprints. Trailer and screening times >>

Short Film

Bronx River Restoration

Directed by Vivian Trakinski

New York City's Bronx River, once a drinking water source and habitat for abundant wildlife, has become blighted from urbanization. Watch conservation teams coax new life into the Bronx River as they restock it with native fish, lay down oyster beds, and remove invasive species along its shores. Produced as an American Museum of Natural History Science Bulletin. Trailer and screening times >>

Short Film

Carving Up Oconee: A Rural County Fights for its Future

Directed by Celestea Sharp

An inspiring account of grassroots activism in small-town America that shows how average citizens, confronted with the pressure for development, can join together and effectively combat the forces that threaten to change their lives and the landscape they love. The film follows local citizens as they take steps to engage their neighbors and devise strategies to take their cause from kitchen table to county commission and achieve a real difference in public policy. Carving Up Oconee tells the story of this citizens' movement through interviews conducted over a three-year period. Local residents, town and county government officials, and members of the development industry have their say so the viewer can gain a full picture of what's at stake for all sides. In closely tracking the actions of ordinary citizens-turned-activists from their first meetings through the end of their fight to stop a giant truck stop in a farming area, the film gives us a model for how American citizens can participate effectively in the development debate and even play a major role in shaping the future of their communities. Written, directed, and produced by Celestea Sharp. Trailer and screening times >>

Feature Film

Charcoal Traffic

Directed by Nathan Collett

Charcoal Traffic is the story of two brothers trapped in a murderous cycle of environmental and cultural devastation in Somalia. The first fictional film shot in Somalia in over 15 years, Charcoal Traffic was filmed entirely on location in northern Somalia featuring a local cast with no previous acting experience. Trailer and screening times >>

Short Film

Common Scents

Directed by Steve Whitehouse

A tale of lust, greed, and the overwhelming desire to smell good. Trailer and screening times >>

Short Film

Encounters at the End of the World

Directed by Werner Herzog

Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man, Rescue Dawn) confirms his standing as poet laureate of men in extreme situations with Encounters at the End of the World. In this visually stunning exploration, Herzog travels to the Antarctic community of McMurdo Station, headquarters of the National Science Foundation and home to eleven hundred people during the austral summer (Oct-Feb). Over the course of his journey, Herzog examines human nature and Mother nature, juxtaposing breathtaking locations with the profound, surreal, and sometimes absurd experiences of the marine biologists, physicists, plumbers, and truck drivers who choose to form a society as far away from society as one can get. Written, directed and narrated by Werner Herzog. Trailer and screening times >>

Feature Film

Fisheye Fantasea

Directed by Guy Chaumette

To understand a world not designed for human eyes, we need to see it from a different point of view. Invisible colors, eye metamorphosis, secret wavelengths and vision beyond anything we can perceive; how they see, what they see and the astonishing discovery that in their world, we're virtually blind. Fisheye Fantasea is a dive deep into the fishes eyes and a groundbreaking revelation about what they really see. Trailer and screening times >>

Short Film

For the Price of a Cup of Coffee

Directed by Hypatia Angelique Porter

What is the cost of convenience? This thoughtful and provocative film examines the life cycle of a paper cup and the repercussions of a society reliant on convenience. Why are less than 1% of coffeeshop patrons bringing their own cup? Why do we have so much garbage, and where does it go? What is the true cost of a disposable culture? Shot throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, including interviews with local activists, environmental experts and coffeeshop owners. This film is full of information that all consumers should know about the products that we use everyday, and the steps we need to make towards a more sustainable world. Winner of multiple awards, including Festival Favorite at 2008 Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival. Trailer and screening times >>

Short Film

Forest to Desert

Directed by Sarah Boothroyd

Forest to Desert is an audio doodle about this phrase: "Humankind is preceded by forest, and followed by desert." This short 'audiofilm' was inspired by the Third Coast Festival's 2008 audio challenge. Trailer and screening times >>

Short Film
 

Free the River Park

Directed by Tara Nurin

Schuylkill River Park is designed to provide the community with an outstanding quality of life amid the concrete walls of the city. The park is destined to become Philadelphia 's premier recreational respite until a decades-old freight line stonewalls its access. This is a story of a community's determination to rebuke belligerent big business, which proves to be no match against the power of the people. Trailer and screening times >>

Short Film

Fuel

Directed by Josh Tickell

America is addicted to oil. It's time for an intervention. Record high oil prices, global warming, and an insatiable demand for energy: these issues will be the catalyst for heated debates and positive change for many years to come. Fuel exposes shocking connections between the auto industry, the oil industry, and the government, while exploring alternative energies such as solar, wind, electricity, and non-food-based biofuels. Josh Tickell and his Veggie Van take us on the road to discover the pros and cons of biofuels, how America's addiction to oil is destroying the U.S. economy, and how green energy can save us, but only if we act now. Winner of multiple awards, including Audience Award Winner for Best Documentary, 2008 Sundance Film Festival. Directed by Josh Tickell, Written by Johnny O'Hara, and Produced by Greg Reitman, Dale Rosenbloom, Daniel Assael, Darius Fisher, and Rebecca Harrell. Trailer and screening times >>

Feature Film

Justicia Now!

Directed by Robbie Proctor and Martin O'Brien

Over the past 43 years, ChevronTexaco has intentionally spilled over 10 times the amount of oil in and around Lago Agrio, Ecuador than was lost in the Exxon Valdez disaster and yet not one drop has been cleaned up. An area of pristine rainforest the size of Rhode Island has been devastated and one tribe of indigenous indians has been wiped out. For those remaining natives, water supplies are completely contaminated and serious health issues such as cancer, leukemia, birth defects and skin disease run rampant. ChevronTexaco's attitude towards this has been a combination of strong-armed intimidation and complete denial. Starring 2008 Goldman Environmental Prize Winners Pablo Fajardo and Luis Yanza. Trailer and screening times >>

Feature Film

Kilowatt Ours

Directed by Jeff Barrie

Filmmaker Jeff Barrie offers hope as he turns the camera on himself and asks, "How can I make a difference?" In his journey Barrie explores the source of our electricity and the problems caused by energy production including mountain top removal, childhood asthma and global warming. Along the way he encounters individuals, businesses, organizations, and communities who are leading the way, using energy conservation, efficiency and renewable, green power all while saving money and the environment. Kilowatt Ours is an inspirational story that fills viewers with hope and empowerment rather than gloom about the environmental situation in the world today. Winner of multiple awards, including the Greenspirit Award at the 2008 GreenDance Film Festival. A project of Trust for the Future, an educational organization that focuses on common sense solutions to energy solutions and/or environmental issues. Written by Jeff Barrie. Trailer and screening times >>

Feature Film

Ladies of the Land

Directed by Megan Thompson

As small family farms continue to disappear from the American landscape, a new kind of farmer is growing: women. "Ladies of the Land" tells the tales of four women who never thought they'd be farmers, but today dedicate their lives to growing and grazing - as part of a national movement to put more organic, local foods on America's tables. Trailer and screening times >>

Short Film

Living on the Edge

Directed by Erik Subrizi, Heather Danskin, Katie Kassof, and Scott Kutler

A blend of the personal stories of Marcia Seifert and Phyllis Bonfield, whose house is perched on the edge of a crumbling cliff, and the science behind the natural process of erosion, Living on the Edge is an entertaining and educational introduction to the power of Mother Nature and the drive of human innovation. Trailer and screening times >>

Short Film

Melting Ice, Rising Seas

Directed by Vivian Trakinski

The rising temperatures of global climate change are melting the world's ice. Travel to the glaciers of Greenland and to fossilized coral reefs of the Florida Keys, where earth scientists are studying geologic records of past warming to predict future ice loss and associated sea level rise. Produced as an American Museum of Natural History Science Bulletin. Trailer and screening times >>

Short Film

Mundo Caliente

Directed by Bob Barancik

Mundo Caliente explores the industrial world's seductive and frenzied dance with fossil fuels. It incorporates sizzling Latin music, passionate paintings, and provocative documentary footage. Trailer and screening times >>

Short Film
 

Myakka River State Park

Directed by Darryl Saffer

This park is one of Florida's oldest parks and at 37,000 acres, one of the largest. This film, shot in HD, is a diary of the year 2007. It begins with daybreak and follows the interaction of sandhill cranes with one particular red-winged blackbird. As the 'day' progresses, other animals interact with the beautiful scenery to give the viewer a glimpse into their lives. Natural sounds and the lush soundtrack composed by the filmmaker provide the only narration. Trailer and screening times >>

Short Film

North Oconee River Greenway Project

Directed by Charles, Berdena, Richard, David, Kenneth, and Daniel Aguar

This documentary traces the progression of a local restoration project, from the visionary inspiration of one man to the collective efforts of an entire community. The North Oconee River Greenway Project reveals the current state of the Greenway and powerfully illustrates that restoration is an ongoing process that urgently demands daily action and attention. Trailer and screening times >>

Short Film

Plain Ride Penn

Directed by Kyia Clayton

A selection from the EcoFocus Short Film Competition, Plain Ride Penn is a documentary about a 15-year-old girl who single handedly rids her school of all polystyrene food trays and plastic sporks. It is about the environment, overcoming challenge and how the power of one person can make a difference through determination and the will to do what feels right. Trailer and screening times >>

Short Film

Puffing Away

Directed by Isaac King

Our gremlins of energy over-consumption hit a hyperactive high in this head-nodding short, featuring music from Wagon Christ. Trailer and screening times >>

Short Film

Rita

Directed by Alison Teal Blehert-Koehn

A true story about Alison, a seven-year-old girl who has been dragged around the world by her adventure travel guide/photographer/yoga-teaching parents and longs to be a kid and stay in one place long enough to have friends and go to school with children her own age. Trailer and screening times >>

Short Film
 

Saving a River: Savannah River Pollution

Directed by David Tapper

Directed by David Tapper. Director of Photography and producer Marc Casey. Written by Matt Giordano. Edited by Lawrence Duane. Second place winner of the 2008 Gray's Reef Ocean Film Festival Emerging Filmmakers Student Competition. Trailer and screening times >>

Short Film

Saving Luna

Directed by Suzanne Chisholm and Michael Parfit

In this true story, a baby killer whale becomes separated from his family in a remote Vancouver Island fjord. When the lonely young orca seeks companionship from people he becomes beloved and controversial. As conflict and tragedy stain the waters, Luna becomes a symbol of the world's wildest beauty: wonderful to know, but hard to save. This beautiful and unforgettable film explores and celebrates the relationship between human and non-human species. Directed by Suzanne Chisholm and Michael Parfit. Trailer and screening times >>

Feature Film

Sharkwater

Directed by Rob Stewart

Driven by passion fed from a life-long fascination with sharks, filmmaker Rob Stewart debunks historical stereotypes and media depictions of sharks as bloodthirsty, man-eating monsters and reveals the reality of sharks as pillars in the evolution of the seas. Sharkwater takes you into the most shark rich waters of the world, exposing the exploitation and corruption surrounding the world's shark populations in the marine reserves of Cocos Island, Costa Rica and the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. Stewart's unbelievable adventure together with renegade conservationist Paul Watson starts with a battle between the Sea Shepherd and shark poachers in Guatemala, resulting in pirate boat rammings, gunboat chases, mafia espionage, corrupt court systems and attempted murder charges, forcing them to flee for their lives. Through it all, Stewart discovers these magnificent creatures have gone from predator to prey, and how despite surviving the earth's history of mass extinctions, they could easily be wiped out within a few years due to human greed. Stewart's remarkable journey of courage and determination changes from a mission to save the world's sharks, into a fight for his life, and that of humankind. One of Canada's Top Ten films at the Toronto International Film Festival. Written, directed and produced by Rob Stewart. Trailer and screening times >>

Feature Film
 

Six Feet Deeper

Directed by Dylan Siniscalchi

Directed by Dylan Siniscalchi. Written by Embry Rodgers. Director of Photography Aram Kaplan, Edited and produced by Jacob Hill. Trailer and screening times >>

Short Film

Tableland

Directed by Craig Noble

Tableland is a culinary expedition in search of the people, place and taste of North American small-scale, sustainable food production. Director Craig Noble argues for the re-localization of North American food systems, and a return to a fresher, healthier way of feeding ourselves. From the orchards of British Columbia, the inner city gardens of Chicago to the Napa Highlands and everywhere in between, Tableland showcases the successful production of tasty, local, and seasonal food from field to plate. Winner, Best Feature, 2008 New York City Food Film Festival. Written, directed, and produced by Craig Noble. Trailer and screening times >>

Feature Film

The Garden

Directed by Scott Hamilton Kennedy

The fourteen-acre community garden at 41st and Alameda in South Central Los Angeles is the largest of its kind in the United States. Started as a form of healing after the devastating L.A. riots in 1992, the South Central Farmers have since created a miracle in one of the country's most blighted neighborhoods. Growing their own food. Feedingtheir families. Creating a community. But now, bulldozers are poised to level their 14-acre oasis. The Garden follows the plight of the farmers, from the tilled soil of this urban farm to the polished marble of City Hall. Mostly immigrants from Latin America, from countries where they feared for their lives if they were to speak out, we watch them organize, fight back, and demand answers: Why was the land sold to a wealthy developer for millions less than fair-market value? Why was the transaction done in a closed-door session of the LA City Council? Why has it never been made public? And the powers-that-be have the same response: “The garden is wonderful, but there is nothing more we can do.” If everyone told you nothing more could be done, would you give up? Winner, Sterling U.S. Competition at AFI/Discovery Channel SILVERDOCS Documentary Festival. Directed by Scott Hamilton Kennedy. Trailer and screening times >>

Feature Film

The Last Wild Horse: The Return of Takhi to Mongolia

Directed by Vivian Trakinski

The Takhi, also known as Przewalski's horse, is the last surviving horse species that has never been domesticated. This film depicts the emotional reintroduction of the Takhi to their last known home range in Mongolia's Gobi desert. The Takhi serves as an important case study for conservation biologists who struggle to support the viability of thousands of species on the verge of extinction. Trailer and screening times >>

Short Film

The Lord God Bird

Directed by George Butler

A report that the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, supposedly extinct, had been rediscovered in the Arkansas swamps made front-page news across the country and around the world. The rarest of rare birds, the Ivory-bill is so spectacular that according to legend those who see it spontaneously cry out, "Lord God! What was that?" While for the majority of Americans this sighting came as a wholly unexpected piece of good news from the conservation front, to the inner circle of birders this was the latest installment in a very old, legendary tale of hope and survival. Once common throughout the southeast United States, the bird had vanished over the past century as its forest habitat was devastated, reappearing periodically to reawaken hope for threatened species and environments everywhere. This film tells the story of the Ivory-bill not merely as a quaint piece of natural history, but as a story of faith and doubt, despair and hope regarding our own relationship with the environment. Covering the tension between skeptics who regard the bird as fantasy as well as those with determined faith in its existence, the documentary also explores the grass-roots conservation of the Arkansas outdoorsmen who most recently sighted the bird. Directed by George Butler, produced by George Butler and Robert Nixon. Trailer and screening times >>

Feature Film

The Story of Stuff

Directed by Louis Fox

From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever. Directed by Louis Fox, written by Annie Leonard, and produced by Free Range Studios. Trailer and screening times >>

Short Film

The Unforeseen

Directed by Laura Dunn

The Unforeseen follows the career of Gary Bradley, an ambitious west Texas farm boy who went to Austin and became one of the state's most powerful real estate developers, capitalizing on Austin's boomtown growth beginning in the 1970s. At the peak of his powers, Bradley transformed 4000 acres of pristine Hill Country into one of the state's largest and fastest-selling subdivisions. When the development threatened a local treasure, "Barton Springs"-a natural spring-fed swimming hole-the community fought back and the subdivision became a lightning rod for environmental activism of the kind that flourished under Governor Ann Richards. However, when George W. Bush became governor, development laws change, and the water quality at Barton Springs, as well as the surrounding landscape of Austin, was irreversibly altered. The Unforeseen is a powerful meditation on the destruction of the natural world and the American Dream as it falls victim to the cannibalizing forces of unchecked development. It is an intricate tale of personal hopes, victories, and failures, and debates over land, economics, property rights, and the public good.. Winner of the 2008 Independent Spirit Award Truer than Fiction Prize. Directed by Laura Dunn. Co-Executive Produced by Terrence Malick and Robert Redford. Cinematography by Lee Daniel. Trailer and screening times >>

Feature Film

Trouble in the Tropics: Invasive Lionfish

Directed by Lyn Gerner

The invasive lionfish--venomous and voracious--has reached the tropical western Atlantic, where its reproductive rate is soaring. Fighting against time and tide, researchers from the US, the Bahamas, and Bermuda team up to understand this invader and attempt to control the invasion.


Trailer and screening times >>

Short Film

Up the Yangtze

Directed by Yung Chang

A luxury cruise boat motors up the Yangtze — navigating the mythic waterway known in China simply as “The River.” The Yangtze is about to be transformed by the biggest hydroelectric dam in history. At the river's edge — a young woman says goodbye to her family as the floodwaters rise towards their small homestead. The Three Gorges Dam — contested symbol of the Chinese economic miracle — provides the epic backdrop for Up the Yangtze, a dramatic feature documentary on life inside the 21st century Chinese dream. Chinese-Canadian filmmaker Yung Chang crafts a moving depiction of peasant life, a powerful narrative of contemporary China, and a disquieting glimpse into a future that awaits us all. Trailer and screening times >>

Feature Film

Warming

Directed by Colleen MacIsaac

In a lyrical and visually contemplative manner, Warming focuses on the interconnected nature of the ecosystems and societies in which we live, it explores the causes and effects of global warming across the planet through an ever-shifting montage of painted watercolor images. Trailer and screening times >>

Short Film

Waste = Food

Directed by Rob van Hattum

An amazing and inspiring story that will change your way of thinking about production and consumption. Everybody knows the story of the limited earth: natural resources are being depleted on a rapid scale while production and consumption are rising rapidly in nations like China and India. Waste production is enormous and if we do not do anything we will soon have turned all our resources into one big messy landfill. An American designer, William McDonough, and a German chemist, Michael Braungart, think they have found a way out. Their aim is to re-design every product according to the principle that nature uses to grow: Waste = Food. Use waste products as valuable nutrients for the biosphere or the techno-sphere. Re-cycling is old fashioned; up-cycling is the new paradigm. High production, high consumption, economic growth and a clean environment go hand in hand according to this new paradigm. This Cradle-to-Cradle design concept is an idea that is not only embraced by some of the world largest companies but also by the fastest developing economy: China. Are we on the verge of the next industrial revolution? Directed by Rob van Hattum and produced by VPRO/Tegenlicht. Trailer and screening times >>

Feature Film

Water Detectives

Directed by David Springbett

Local conservation efforts can have far-reaching results. This lesson is made concrete through the experience of youth in Matamoros, Mexico, where a severe water shortage led the city to take the unusual step of putting local children in charge of changing adult attitudes and habits. Thousands of schoolchildren were enlisted as "water detectives" - educated in concepts of water conservation, and encouraged to discuss the importance of proper water usage with adults. Trailer and screening times >>

Short Film

Wonder Water Web

Directed by Roger Blonder

Through poetic narration and vibrant flowing animation, Wonder Water Web carries its voyager on a nautical journey from a drop in the clouds to the depth of the seas. This tribute to the oceans raises awareness about the relationship between humans and the seas while playfully inspiring an appreciation for the interconnectedness of life. Trailer and screening times >>

Short Film