Films
A Quiet Place To Make Noise (8 min)
Moving beyond the physical world around us, A Quiet Place to Make Noise is an abstract meditation on a vision of natural beauty, loss and rebirth. (Brian Ziffer, 2006)
A River Reborn: The Restoration of Fossil Creek (57 min)
Takes viewers behind the scenes of a 15-year struggle over the fate of Fossil Creek. Tells the exciting story of the decommissioning of Arizona’s oldest hydroelectric facility and shows how conflicts between environmentalists and a utility were resolved in favor of environmental healing. As a case study, Fossil Creek reveals both challenges and opportunities associated with riparian restoration and the critical role of science in environmental restoration projects. (Paul Bockhorst, 2006/2007)
After the Storm: Compassion, Wisdom, Change (3+ min) and After the Storm (30 sec)
These two “Little Pearls” are intended to challenge American viewers to remember who we are and what we cherish at the deepest levels, to consider the bigger issues for ourselves, to participate as citizens in constructive dialogue and change, and to take inspired action. (Linda McLean/Little Pearls, 2006)
Arid Lands (102 minutes)
Takes us into a world of sports fishermen, tattoo artists, housing developers, environmental activists, and radiation scientists living and working near the Hanford nuclear site in southeast Washington. Sixty years after producing plutonium for the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Hanford today is a landscape of incredible contradictions. Coyotes roam among decommissioned nuclear reactors, salmon spawn in the middle of golf courses, wine grapes grow in the sagebrush, and federal cleanup dollars spur rapid urban expansion. Marked by conflicting perceptions of wilderness and nature, Arid Lands is a moving and complex essay on a unique landscape of the American West. (Grant Aaker & Josh Wallaert, 2006)
Atlantis Approaching (52 min)
Will the tiny island nation of Tuvalu vanish beneath the waves as the sea slowly rises in a warming world? Journey into the heart of Polynesia for a new look at global warming and sustainability through the colorful lens of an island microcosm. (Elizabeth Pollock, 2006)
Below the Clouds: Rainier Impressions (46 min)
A personal journey to discover Rainier, “The Mountain.” A film without words so the audience is free to become fully immersed in the stunning imagery and inspiring original score. Progresses from the purely natural world, then looks at human presence—human impacts and interactions. Explores the subtle blending of both worlds, a resilient mountain reclaiming what’s been lost to time, and the simple harmony between animals and their habitat. Reveals the mountain’s force; beauty and spirit; balance and form; bounty and greatness. One central message echoes: “The Mountain” commands respect and deserves protection—a testimony for preservation. (Robert Chrestensen, 2006)
Beyond Closed Doors (57 min)
Examines the science, ethics and politics of animal agriculture. Leading world experts take the viewer beyond the rhetoric of important issues in agriculture, rarely covered by the mainstream media, yet have the potential to affect the lives of all Americans. (Hugh Dorigo, 2006)
Binta and the Great Idea (30 min, French with subtitles)
academy award nominee for best live action short
Binta is a 7 year old girl who lives in a small charming village on the Casamance river in southern Senegal. She goes to school. Her cousin Soda does not have the same good fortune. She is not allowed to learn about the things of the world. Binta admires her father, a humble fisherman who, concerned about the development of mankind, is determined to carry out an idea that has occurred to him. (Luis Manso, 2004)
Caguayo (6 min, Spanish)
Filmed in Cuba, caguayo is a poetic exploration of the curiosity of nature. Through beautiful images and voice, including words from leading scientist Luis Diaz from the Museum of Natural History in Havana together with other local people, caguayo explores the great diversity of lizards in Cuba. While discovering the range of habitats, behavior and colors of lizards, the film brings a message of how people are connected to nature in complex ways. (Elena Sierra/Jennifer Galvin/Uliana Duarte, 2006)
Climate: A Crisis Averted (4 min)
Looks back from 2056 and recounts how ordinary citizens in 2006—realizing that global warming was a scientific fact and not a climatic theory—take action to demand clean energy and other planet-friendly options. The movie describes how a movement called Renew US effected real change with an action plan, or ‘call-to-arms’ on global warming. (Climate Counts, 2006)
Coal, Earth, Home (40 min, German with subtitles)
What home means to a group of villagers who may lose their 750-year-old hometown, Heuersdorf. The Saxon village is to be razed for the expansion of the adjacent open-pit, brown coal mine. Portrays a conflict of economics, resources, politics, and the individual person common the world over in the face of “progress.” Prize winner, Catalonia Int’l Film Festival 2006. (Robert Harding Pittman, 2005)
Cowboys, Indians, and Lawyers (57 min)
A huge western water project pits a radical Native American activist against his own tribal government and their politically connected lawyer. In an intimate portrait of pork barrel politics, the film explores Anglo-Indian relations and American democracy through a rural community battle over money, power, and water. (Julia Dengel, 2005)
Crows (19 min)
Tells a thematic story of one of the most mysterious of birds. With discussion on everything from their rigid black feathers and nightly roosting antics, to their representation of deathly omens, Crows takes its viewers through a visually stunning and atmospheric journey. (Mike McKinlay, 2006)
Das Rad (9 min)
Das Rad, aka Rocks, is an animated short where, apparently, rocks are having conversations all around us, but they talk very, very slowly. The stone-people Hew and Kew have seen a lot in their everlasting lives on top of their mountain. Therefore, they’re only mildly amazed by the goings-on in the valley below - but all of a sudden mankind is discovering and inventing, instead of just woozeling, and this new behavior starts to threaten Hew’s and Kew’s stoic peacefulness… (Chris Stenner/Heidi Wittlinger/Arvid Uibel, 2001)
Deep Presence (32 min)
Neither a drama nor a travelogue, Deep Presence is an invitation to drop into the wild, wherever you find yourself. The DVD features a series of filmic tone poems, poetry, spare and carefully arranged music inviting you into the wild wherever you find yourself. (Dan Kowalski, 2005)
Desert Gold (20 min)
While the desert may appear lifeless it is, in fact, full of life. Desert Gold explores those rare moments when wildflowers bloom in an immense, mysterious spectacle. The film tells a story of fragile plants, the secrets they hold, and a web of life that reaches far beyond the desert. (Peter Rhalter, 2006)
Endless Fallout (54 min)
Bhopal, Chernobyl, Exxon Valdez… three names that have taken on mythical proportions. They signify three of the worst technological disasters that humankind has ever known. Twenty years later, survivors are still struggling with the aftermath. (Robert Cornellier, 2006)
Expedition Earthscope (27 min)
America’s turbulent geologic story and earth scientists’ biggest push yet to uncover its deepest secrets. (Earth Images Foundation, 2006)
Freedom Fuels (49 min)
Takes an in-depth look at biofuels from a global perspective and explores how the petroleum industry and alternative fuels have interacted over the last 150 years. (Martin O’Brien, 2006)
Global Focus III: The New Environmentalists plus selections from Global Focus I & II (~60 min)
The third annual installment of a half hour program that features intimate portraits of six passionate and dedicated activists. These are true environmental heroes who have put themselves between corrupt governments, greedy corporations, and other intimidating adversaries. Their goal: safeguarding the Earth’s natural resources from shortsighted exploitation and unbridled pollution. (John Antonelli, 2006)
Gone (3 min)
Fuses art, social commentary, and music to spark debate on what it means to be alive and grapple with the consequences of environmental change. The video communicates the need to reverse the effects of climate change while there’s still time. Directed by Andrew Watson of Current TV, an interactive cable TV channel founded by Al Gore. (Bill Madden, 2006)
Greenpeace: Making A Stand (48 min)
What inspires people to risk their lives for their beliefs - to sail a ship into a nuclear test zone, to get between a pod of whales and an explosive harpoon, or to block bulldozers mowing down a forest? This documentary looks at the 35 year evolution of Greenpeace from the early days of the environmentalist movement, in the 1970’s, to the front lines of a current campaign in Argentina. (Leigh Badgley, 2006)
Hurricane on the Bayou (40 min)
Takes viewers on a breathtaking tour of one of the most vibrant places in America, the Louisiana bayou and the city of New Orleans, a place overflowing with life, love, music and heartbreaking natural beauty. Here, in the region’s bountiful coastal wetlands, alligators, humans and other wildlife have lived in harmony for centuries. Tragically, these wetlands are eroding into the sea at the speed of one acre every thirty minutes, leaving the entire region more vulnerable to major hurricanes. Hurricane on the Bayou offers an emotional portrayal of this environmental calamity and the staggering effects of one of the most devastating natural disasters in American history, Hurricane Katrina. (Greg MacGillivray, 2006)
Hurricanes on the Brink (32 min)
An independent documentary on the compelling evidence linking global warming and increasingly severe hurricanes and how some of the world’s foremost climatologists say that this scientific evidence is being swept under the rug by the United States government. (Drew McKeen, 2006)
I Am a Climate Activist (2 min)
Phil Mitchell, real-life climate activist and founder of 2People.org, offers his experiences and solutions in this spunky, information-dense two minutes of real solutions. Produced by 2People in association with GALLxSEE::media:: for the Treehugger.com “Convenient Truths” video contest. (Amy Burgess, 2006)
In the Company of Wild Butterflies (45 min)
Witness the lives of several species of butterflies as they’ve never been filmed before. Spectacular close-up photography reveals details such as: butterflies hatching from their eggs, smelling with their feet, and pushing their heads from their skulls in preparation for molting. You will observe events in butterflies lives that even experts have never seen! You’ll also learn how to make gardens butterfly-friendly. (Bill Levinson, 2005)
John James Audubon: Drawn From Nature (54 min)
The story of John James Audubon is a dramatic and surprising one. The history of his life reveals much about his era and his nation - he was at once a merchant, artist, businessman, woodsman and scientist - a one-man compendium of American culture of his time. His tale is larger than life, and his legacy lives on in the conservation movement of today. (Lawrence Hott, 2006)
Nest (9 min)
Korean animation. A beautiful and abundant village is in a festal mood. But in the cloudy and gloomy night, two moons are shining. The village is gradually transformed with disturbing machinery noises and is reflected in the two eyes of the main character, running away… (Suin Choi, 2005)
Once Upon a Time There Was the Forest (12 min, Italian with subtitles)
Will the primary forest of the Congo Basin survive exploitation by logging? Traveling into the Cameroon forest, the host tries to answer this question by showing the effect of logging on both the people of the forest (the Pygmies) and the animals (lowland gorillas in particular). The journey ends in Italy, where the timber arrives on a ship to reach the western markets. (Davide DeMichelis, 2006)
Out of Balance: ExxonMobil’s Impact on Climate Change (65 minutes)
A documentary exposé of the largest, most powerful company in the world. The primary focus is on ExxonMobil’s spearheading of a misinformation campaign about the human impact on climate and the urgency to move away from fossil fuel dependence. Out of Balance also puts ExxonMobil’s actions into historical context, from Standard Oil days, to Exxon Valdez, to the present, showing a distinct pattern of behavior. Through leading climate scientists and writers such as Bill McKibben and Elizabeth Kolbert, the film points to the actions we all need to take in order to ensure a livable planet for future generations. (Joe Public Films, 2006)
Peak Oil (4 min)
Have you noticed? More cars, more trucks, more road building. Peak Oil deals with recent world-wide speculation that global oil production has reached its peak and may now be in serious decline. An atmospheric piece shot in the Northern-Rivers region on NSW Australia, this film tackles the big question: What happens when the oil starts running out? (Larry Larstead, 2006)
Protecting New Orleans, Saving Venice (12 min)
Post-Katrina, Mississippi Delta restoration expert Dr. John Day shows how to rebuild Louisiana’s coastal wetlands in order to safeguard New Orleans against future hurricanes. The film compares and contrasts the situation in New Orleans with that of Venice, Italy. (Marylou Tibaldo-Bongiorno, 2006)
Repercussions (42 min)
Explores solutions to environmental challenges at Expo AICHI JAPAN 2005. Entitled “Nature’s Wisdom,” the first expo of the 21st century is also the first international expo dedicated to reducing negative environmental consequences human activity. Solutions and issues profiled include clean and renewable energies, biodegradable plastic, ecological transportation, and the Kyoto Protocol. (Anton Fischlin, 2006)
Returning Home: Bringing the Common Murre Back to Devil’s Slide Rock (24 min)
In 1986, an oil spill off the coast of California between San Francisco and Monterey killed an estimated 10,000 sea birds, including over 6,000 Common Murres, a small diving seabird native to Northern California. The breeding colony of Murres on Devil’s Slide Rock was wiped out, but a small group of scientists from various government and nonprofit groups was determined to bring the Murres back to the rock. Returning Home documents their innovative restoration project and shows how a small group of dedicated people really can make a big difference. (Kevin White, 2000/2006)
Return of the Condor (26 min)
Once down to merely six wild individuals, the California condor has staged a remarkable comeback. In what began as a risky experiment more than twenty years ago, captive breeding has successfully returned more than one hundred birds to the wild. They are still highly endangered, and their ultimate survival remains in doubt. Return of the Condor will take you inside the world of this magnificent creature, a giant bird with wings that span up to ten feet across, and show you intimate, rare footage of their daily life. (Andrew Bell, 2005)
Ride of the Mergansers (11 min)
The Hooded Merganser is a rare and reclusive duck found only in North America. Every spring, in the Great Lakes region, the wary hen lays and incubates her eggs in a nest high in the trees. Just 24 hours after hatching, the tiny ducklings must make the perilous leap to the ground below to begin life in the wild. This age-old rite is rarely observed by humans. You’ll be entertained, educated, and inspired - and leave with a newfound appreciation of the phrase “leap of faith.” (Steve Furman, 2006)
Super Natural (6 min)
An animated fairytale that expresses hope for a world where Nature and the man-made environment are more in balance. (Nina Young, 2005)
Swim for the River (56 min)
Chris Swain braved whitewater, sewage, snapping turtles, hydroelectric dams, homeland security patrols, factory outfalls, and PCB contamination to become the first person to swim the entire length of the Hudson River from the Adirondack Mountains to New York City. In the film, Swain’s experience links together stories of the river, which begins in wilderness and ends in one of the nation’s densest population centers. (Tom Weidlinger, 2006)
The Aistear (26 min)
The 21st Century is an age where human beings’ relationship with the natural world continues to diminish. This documentary chronicles one community’s determination to maintain this connection by the creation of a project called “The Aistear.” (Siobhan Donnellan, 2006)
The Company We Keep (24 min)
“When the filmmaker’s grandmother tells him that he will one day inherit her shares in the multinational mining corporation Rio Tinto, he heads off around the UK to find out if the company is really as bad as its reputation. Along the way, he meets an ex-head of Friends of the Earth, who now works for the company, and goes to the Eden Project in Cornwall, where they sing the company’s praises. Have the environmentalists sold their souls to big business? Encouraged by the lure of “a little windfall,” the filmmaker contemplates whether it is time for him to grow up and become part of the capitalist conspiracy…” (National Film and Television School website). (Simon Chambers, 2004)
The Curse of Copper (34 min)
A Canadian mining company is planning to construct an open-cast copper mine in one of the world’s biological hotspots: a pristine cloud forest in the heart of the Andes Mountains in Ecuador. Local communities strongly oppose the mine for the effect it will have on their livelihoods and environment, home to many endangered species. The company is uses death threats, bribery, and intimidation to push the project forward with disastrous consequences. (Jenny Sharman, 2006)
The Edge of Eden: Living with Grizzlies (89 min)
Canadian Charlie Russell has been raising orphaned grizzly bear cubs in the wilderness of Russia for the past decade. Becoming their surrogate mother, he struggles to teach them everything they need to survive a life in the wild. But will it be enough? (Jeff and Sue Turner, 2006)
The Great Warming (82 min)
Narrated by Alanis Morissette and Keanu Reeves, The Great Warming is a dramatic film about climate change that sweeps around the world to reveal how a changing climate is affecting the lives of people everywhere. It has been called “the best film about global warming ever shot,” and taps into the growing groundswell of public interest in this topic to present an emotional, accurate picture of our children’s planet. (Stonehaven Productions, 2006)
The Meatrix II (5 min)
The sequel to the award-winning smash hit The Meatrix. The film, a humorous spoof on The Matrix, takes a look at the gap between our illusions about where food comes from and the reality of industrial meat and dairy production. (Diane Hatz, 2006)
The Meatrix II 1/2 (3 min)
This time, our heroes Moopheus, Leo, and Chickity take on another facet of industrial agriculture: meat processing. Picking up from their last adventure at a dairy farm, Leo and Chickity attempt to rescue Moopheus, who has been kidnapped and taken to a slaughterhouse. (Diane Hatz, 2006)
The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil (54 min)
The collapse USSR was an economic disaster for Cuba. Oil and food imports were cut drastically and people were desperate. From hardships to creativity, from industrial to organic farming and urban gardens, Cuba is an example of options and hope. (The Community Solution, 2006)
Transforming Energy (60 min)
Considers the promise of alternative energy as a solution to global warming and the end of cheap oil and natural gas. The film profiles people working to create a new energy paradigm: a political activist, a solar panel company president, student engineers racing solar cars, and a family living off the grid. Underscoring the urgency of the situation are the experiences of Native Alaskans who must evacuate their village near the Bering Sea due to global warming. Features interviews with Hunter Lovins, William McDonough, Jeremy Rifkin, and James Howard Kunstler. (Chuck Davis, 2006)
Walking the West: Hiking 2600 Miles from Mexico to Canada (56 min)
A New Zealander and an Irishman quit their jobs, cash in their savings and walk 2,626 miles from Mexico to Canada along one of the longest and most challenging foot trails in the world, the Pacific Crest Trail. Walking a challenging pace of 21 miles a day for 4-1/2 months, they must cross the Canadian border before winter storms hit the Cascades. This epic adventure is an exhilarating antidote to the predictability of modern life. (Myles Murphy, 2002)
We’re on the Brink (4 min)
The evidence is clear: global warming has begun. This clarion call for change graphically shows why we must act now to avoid an accelerating global meltdown. (Drew McKeen, 2006)
Whale Sharks of Holbox - How a Tiny Island is Helping Save the World’s Biggest Fish (5 min)
The islanders of Holbox, Mexico, facing a dwindling supply of fish, have successfully converted their economy to ecotourism. In doing so, they have helped protect the world’s largest fish, the Whale Shark. (Mike Wham, 2006)
White Gold - The True Cost of Cotton (8 min)
Reveals the extent of environmental damage and human rights abuses caused by the cotton industry of Central Asia, mainly to supply European demand. Awarded best short film last year at the 8th International Festival of Environmental Film and Video (FICA) in Brazil. (Gillian Hazell/The Environmental Justice Foundation, 2005)
Yukon Circles (27 min)
The inspirational story of how native tribes and nations in Alaska and Canada joined together to protect the waters and wildlife of the Yukon River from pollution. (Karin Williams, 2006)
