2021 Films A-Z
Friday, March 5, 6:30 p.m. CST
A decade...A 10-spot...two hands...whatever you call it, we’ve made it 10 years! Help us celebrate, whether you’ve been with us since 2012 or are just joining us this year. Jenn White, host of NPR’s nationally syndicated show, 1A, will lead a riveting online conversation with three special guest filmmakers: Anthony Baxter, Director of “Flint: Who Can You Trust?” Christi Cooper, Director of “Youth v Gov;” and Sanjay Rawal, Director of “Gather.” We’ll also see trailers and a Young Filmmakers Contest winning film. Angela Tovar, Chief Sustainability Officer for the City of Chicago will help us kick things off.
Dave Mayers/2020/18 min/Health, People & Cultures, Social Justice
Monday, March 8, 6:30 p.m. CST
International Women’s Day
FILM DESCRIPTION: Not seeing herself reflected in the community she loves, mountain biker, skier and artist Brooklyn Bell created her own role model: a hand-drawn hero called Ruby J. With Ruby J as a guide, Brooklyn spent the next few years trying to “live like her, breathe like her, be unapologetically black like her,” and in the process shaped her own identity, one that intertwines her love for dirt, snow and art—and a voice with which to advocate for diversity and inclusion.
This film will precede “Maxima.”
Michael Peterson and Steven Hawley/2019/51 min/Water, Wildlife
Wednesday, March 10, 6:30 p.m. CST
FILM DESCRIPTION: For eons, a one-of-a-kind population of killer whales has hunted chinook salmon along the Pacific Coast of the United States. For the last 40 years, renowned whale scientist Ken Balcomb has closely observed them. He’s familiar with a deadly pattern, as salmon numbers plummet, the whales starve.
These important mammals need roughly a million salmon a year. Where can we find them? The solution, says Balcomb, is getting rid of four fish-killing dams 500 miles away on the largest tributary to what once was the largest chinook producing river on earth.
This film will follow “Mermaids Against Plastic.”
Anjali Nayar and Senain Kheshgi/2020/23 min/Energy, Social Justice, Health
Sunday, March 14, 3 p.m. CDT
FILM DESCRIPTION: Sadly, the majority of Los Angeles industrial oil drilling activity takes place in communities of color and low-income communities. “District 15” highlights the hope and tenacity of the young activists of Wilmington, California, as they push the L.A. City Council to prohibit new and existing oil and gas drilling operations within 2,500 feet of homes, schools and hospitals. Communities for a Better Environment is behind this effort. The group does critical work on environmental justice and empowers Californian communities to stand up to polluting industries and build a green energy future.
This film will precede “Reclamation: The Rise at Standing Rock.”
Louie Schwartzberg/2019/81 min/Wildlife, Conservation, Food & Agriculture, Waste
Sunday, March 14, 6:30 p.m. CDT
FILM DESCRIPTION: When so many are struggling for connection, inspiration and hope, “Fantastic Fungi” brings us together as interconnected creators of our world. “Fantastic Fungi” is a consciousness-shifting film about the mycelium network that takes us on an immersive journey through time and scale into the magical earth beneath our feet, an underground network that can heal and save our planet. Through the eyes of renowned scientists and mycologists like Paul Stamets, best-selling authors like Michael Pollan, Eugenia Bone, Andrew Weil and others, we become aware of the beauty, intelligence and solutions that fungi kingdom offers in response to some of our most pressing medical, therapeutic, and environmental challenges.
Tickets available to North American viewers only.
Anthony Baxter/2020/119 min/Social Justice, Water, People & Cultures, Health
Saturday, March 6, 6:30 p.m. CST
FILM DESCRIPTION: Filmed over 5 years and long after the story was front page news, “Flint: Who Can You Trust?” is full of new twists and turns. Journalist/filmmaker Anthony Baxter goes beyond the headlines in Flint, Michigan, where a government poisoned its own citizens’ water supply, to show the complete breakdown of authority, public trust and faith in the truth itself. “Flint” is a powerful investigation of the breathtaking scope of toxic pseudo-science, celebrity activism, and official negligence. The film reveals the devastating impact on poor people and people of color, which make up the majority of the residents in Flint, as they continue to seek justice and clean water. Featuring Marc Ruffalo and narrated by Alec Baldwin. Produced by Richard Phinney and Sabrina Schmidt Gordon.
Tickets available to U.S. viewers only.
Sanjay Rawal/2020/83 min/Food & Agriculture, Historical Perspectives, People & Cultures, Social Justice
Saturday, March 6, 3 p.m. CST
FILM DESCRIPTION: “Gather” is an intimate portrait of the growing movement among Native Americans to reclaim their spiritual, political and cultural identities through food sovereignty, while battling the trauma of centuries of genocide. “Gather” follows Nephi Craig, a chef from the White Mountain Apache Nation (Arizona), opening an Indigenous café as a nutritional recovery clinic; Elsie Dubray, a young scientist from the Cheyenne River Sioux Nation (South Dakota), conducting landmark studies on bison; and the Ancestral Guard, a group of environmental activists from the Yurok Nation (Northern California), trying to save the Klamath river.
Jared P. Scott/2019/92 min/Climate Change, Health, Social Justice, People & Cultures
Tuesday, March 9, 6:30 p.m. CST
FILM DESCRIPTION: Take an epic journey along Africa's Great Green Wall—an ambitious vision to grow an 8,000km "Wall" of trees stretching across the entire width of the continent to restore land and provide a future for millions of people. Traversing Senegal, Mali, Nigeria, Niger and Ethiopia, Malian musician and activist, Inna Modja follows the burgeoning Great Green Wall through Africa’s Sahel region—one of the most vulnerable places on earth (temperatures are rising 1.5 times faster than the global average)—laying bare the acute consequences of accelerating climate change the Wall aims to counteract: drought, resource scarcity, radicalization, conflict and migration. By Executive Producer Fernando Meirelles (Academy Award and Golden Globe Nominated Director of City of God and the Constant Gardener).
Tickets available to U.S. viewers only.
Philip Hunt/2020/36 min/Family, Advocacy, Wildlife
Saturday, March 6, 11 a.m. CST
FILM DESCRIPTION: “Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth” is about a precocious 7-year-old who, over the course of Earth Day, learns about the wonders of the planet from his parents and from a mysterious exhibit at the aptly titled Museum of Everything. Based on the best-selling book by Oliver Jeffers. Voiced by film stars Chris O'Dowd (Moone Boy), Ruth Negga (Preacher and Loving), Jacob Tremblay (Room and Wonder) and the inimitable Meryl Streep.
Rebecca Tickell and Josh Tickell/2020/84 min/Food & Agriculture, Climate Change, Health, Waste
Saturday, March 13, 11 a.m. CST
FILM DESCRIPTION: Narrated and featuring Woody Harrelson, “Kiss the Ground” is an inspiring and groundbreaking film that explores the first viable solution to our climate crisis. “Kiss the Ground” reveals that, by regenerating the world’s soils, we can completely and rapidly stabilize Earth’s climate, restore lost ecosystems and create abundant food supplies. Using compelling graphics and visuals, along with striking NASA and NOAA footage, the film artfully illustrates how, by drawing down atmospheric carbon, soil is the missing piece of the climate puzzle. This movie is positioned to catalyze a movement to accomplish the impossible–to solve humanity’s greatest challenge, to balance the climate and secure our species’ future.
Ann Kaneko/2020/82 min/Historical Perspectives, Social Justice, Water, People & Cultures
Sunday, March 7, 3 p.m. CST
FILM DESCRIPTION: “Manzanar, Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust” provides a fresh interpretation of the Japanese American confinement site by examining the environmental and political history behind the World War II camp. Prior to the war, Manzanar was where Native Americans were driven out and farmers and ranchers were bought out by the L.A. Department of Water and Power (LADWP). By connecting this camp to California’s environmental history, this film shows the intersectionality of how Japanese Americans, Indigenous communities, and locals have been mistreated by government entities that have not served the interests of all of their citizenry. This film aspires to bridge these communities and engage in important public discussion. Manzanar is a site of conscience that all of these communities can claim as their own.
Tickets available to U.S. viewers only.
Claudia Sparrow/2019/53 min/People & Cultures, Social Justice, Historical Perspectives, Water
Monday, March 8, 6:30 p.m. CST
International Women’s Day
FILM DESCRIPTION: “Maxima” follows Peruvian indigenous farmer Máxima Acuña in her fight to protect her land as she stands up to the largest gold producer in the world: US-based Newmont Mining Corporation. Throughout Máxima’s fight for justice, the film provides an illustrative case study in the tactics used by transnational corporations to commit human rights violations and environmental crimes, the role played by non-profits and The World Bank, and, ultimately, the resilience of one woman who refuses to back down.
Tickets available to U.S. viewers only.
This film will follow “Becoming Ruby.”
Sylvia Johnson/2020/10 min/Waste, Water, Health, Wildlife
Wednesday, March 10, 6:30 p.m. CST
FILM DESCRIPTION: “Mermaids Against Plastic: Tamara,” is a short film revealing the extent of the marine plastic pollution problem in the Mexican Caribbean. The film follows a diver as she searches for solutions to protect the ocean she loves. Tamara is from the ocean and water runs in her veins. Born in a fishing village on the Mexican coast, she returned to her roots to become a full time scuba instructor. When she discovers plastic in her beloved ocean, she sets out to get the diving industry to stop using single use plastic.
This film will precede “Dammed to Extinction.”
Debby Lee Cohen and Atsuko Quirk/2019/79 min/Family, Youth, Waste, Advocacy, Health
Sunday, March 14, 11 a.m. CDT
FILM DESCRIPTION: “Microplastic Madness” is the story of 56 fifth graders from Public School 15 in Red Hook, Brooklyn, living in the frontline of the climate crisis. Their actions on plastic pollution morph into extraordinary leadership and scalable victories. With stop-motion animation, heartfelt kid commentary, and interviews of experts and renowned scientists who are engaged in the most cutting edge research on the harmful effects of microplastics, this alarming, yet charming narrative, conveys an urgent message in user-friendly terms.
Scott Saunders/2020/68 min/Conservation, Health, Wildlife, Food & Agriculture
Friday, March 12, 6:30 p.m. CST
FILM DESCRIPTION: “The Nature Makers” is a moving portrait of passionate people and the extraordinary creatures they’re fighting to preserve. In a world increasingly dominated by humans, three teams of wildlife conservationists go to seemingly unnatural lengths to try to save threatened species and habitat in the American heartland. Stunningly photographed in the Grand Canyon and on the American prairie, “The Nature Makers” follows rugged biologists who’ve deployed helicopters, giant bulldozers and a host of human tools to defend wild nature. In the 21st century, defending the wild often requires, quite paradoxically, technology and aggressive human intervention.
Jennifer Abbott and Joel Bakan/2020/106 min/Social Justice, Climate Change, Health, Food & Agriculture
Saturday, March 13, 6:30 p.m. CST
FILM DESCRIPTION: In the face of fracturing societies, climate change, and the hollowing out of democracy, “The New Corporation” is a cry for social justice, deeper democracy, and transformative solutions. From Joel Bakan and Jennifer Abbott, filmmakers of the multi-award-winning global hit “The Corporation,” comes this hard-hitting and timely sequel. “The Corporation” (2003) examined an institution within society. ”The New Corporation” reveals a world now fully remade in the corporation’s image, perilously close to losing democracy. We trace the devastating consequences, connecting the dots between then and now, and inspire with stories of resistance and change from around the world.
Tickets available to U.S. viewers only.
David Garrett Byars/2020/98 min/Conservation, Energy, Social Justice, People & Culture
Sunday, March 7, 6:30 p.m. CST
FILM DESCRIPTION: Our public lands and waters are under threat. Despite support from voters across the political spectrum, our public lands face unprecedented threats from extractive industries and the politicians in their pockets. Part love letter, part political exposé, “Public Trust” investigates how we arrived at this precarious moment through three heated conflicts—a national monument in the Utah desert, a mine in the Boundary Waters and oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge—and makes a case for their continued protection.
Michele Noble/2018/23 min/Energy, Water, Social Justice, Health, People & Cultures
Sunday, March 14, 3 p.m. CDT
FILM DESCRIPTION: In 2016, Indigenous youth unite the Native Nations and rise up in spiritual solidarity against the Dakota Access Pipeline. These young Native Leaders honor their destiny by leading a peaceful movement of resistance which awakens the world.
Tickets available to U.S. viewers only.
This film will follow “District 15.”
Arne Gielen and Gertjan Hulster/2020/70 min/Transportation, Climate Change, Social Justice, People & Cultures
Sunday, March 7, 11 a.m. CST
FILM DESCRIPTION: The film “Together We Cycle” investigates the critical events that have led to the revival of Dutch cycling culture. For most people, cycling in the Netherlands seems a natural phenomenon. However, until the 1970s the development of mobility in the Netherlands followed trends across the globe. The bicycle had had its day, and the future belonged to the car. The only thing that had to be done was to adapt cities to the influx of cars.
Then Dutch society took a different turn. Against all odds people kept on cycling. Why this happened in the Netherlands has no easy answer. In “Together We Cycle,” key players tell the story of the bumpy road which led to the current state, where cycling is an obvious choice for most citizens.
Tickets available to viewers in any country except The Netherlands.
“The eyes of all future generations are upon you.” —Greta Thunberg
Saturday, March 13, 3 p.m. CST
We invite you to join us for the 9th season of the Young Filmmakers Contest Awards & Screenings. You'll see the incredible films of motivated and inspired young people from ages 8 to 25. Their efforts show us there is a new generation of talented and wise environmental leaders and communicators on the horizon. Join us at the premiere screenings of the winning films, to be inspired by their creativity, and to learn more about the non-profit organizations that will benefit from matching grants the winners receive. Founding Director of the One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest Sue Crothers will introduce guest host, Adam Joel, of Aggressively Compassionate. He is a former contest winner for the film, "The Green Burger Challenge."
Christi Cooper/2020/109 min/Family, Youth, Climate Change, Advocacy, Social Justice
Thursday, March 11, 6:30 p.m. CST
FILM DESCRIPTION: “YOUTH v GOV” is the story of America’s youth taking on the world’s most powerful government. Since 2015, 21 plaintiffs, now ages 13 to 24, have been suing the U.S. government for violating their constitutional rights to life, liberty, personal safety, and property through its willful actions in creating the climate crisis these young people will inherit.
This is the story of empowered youth finding their voices and fighting to protect their rights and our collective future. This is a revolution designed to hold those in power accountable for the past and responsible for a sustainable future. And many of the movement’s leaders aren’t even old enough to vote. (Yet.)
Tickets available to U.S. viewers only.