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'To the End' Filmmaker Rachel Lears Exposes Courageous Activism

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'To the End' Filmmaker Rachel Lears Exposes Courageous Activism

Filmed over four years of hope and crisis, "To the End" captures the emergence of a new generation of leaders and the movement behind the most sweeping climate change legislation in U.S. history. 

The award-winning film follows Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), activist Varshini Prakash, climate policy writer Rhiana Gunn-Wright, and political strategist Alexandra Rojas as they grapple with new challenges of leadership and power and work together to defend their generation's right to a future. From street protests to the halls of Congress, these four exceptional young leaders fight to shift the narrative around climate, revealing the crisis as an opportunity to build a better society.

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Navajo Filmmaker Creates 'Powerlands' as Act of Resistance

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Navajo Filmmaker Creates 'Powerlands' as Act of Resistance

Editor’s note: “Powerlands” will screen as part of the One Earth Film Fest on Tuesday, March 7, at 6:30 p.m. CST, both virtually and in person at two locations: Pilot Project Brewing in Chicago and Oak Park Public Library in Oak Park. Get tickets for all options here.

Ivey-Camille Manybeads Tso is a young Navajo filmmaker who investigates the displacement of Indigenous people and the devastation of the environment caused by the same chemical companies exploiting the land where she was born. Her award-winning documentary, “Powerlands,,” chronicles the eerily similar struggles of Indigenous communities across Colombia, the Philippines, Mexico, and Standing Rock.  Despite being worlds apart, these communities face the same battles against the same big energy companies, like Peabody, BHP and Glencore. 

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Highlights from the 11th Annual One Earth Film Fest

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Highlights from the 11th Annual One Earth Film Fest

In the two years since the pandemic forced a pivotal shift, One Earth Film Festival didn’t retract. In fact, it grew and is now reaching audiences well beyond the Chicago area. You might say the festival has become a whole-Earth event.

This year One Earth Film Festival drew viewers from Hawaii, Japan, Africa and Australia as well as California, Massachusetts, Kansas and many other states. That meant that more people could be moved to take action—to “Turn the Tide.”

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Young Filmmakers Contest Reveals Passion for Animals and Planet

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Young Filmmakers Contest Reveals Passion for Animals and Planet

From manatees to koalas to pangolins, endangered wildlife was a recurring theme among 148 submissions to the 2022 One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest. Students ages 8 to 25 revealed the impact of weather extremes and plastic pollution on people, animals, and the planet, with a new note of urgency about the climate crisis in their short films.

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Interview with Julie Winokur, Director of 'The Sacrifice Zone'

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Interview with Julie Winokur, Director of 'The Sacrifice Zone'

Q: The Sacrifice Zone. That’s a powerful title. It’s raw. Talk about it.

A: The concept is that we have chosen to sacrifice certain people for the benefit of others. They’re collateral damage. There’s an intentionality to it. Collectively, we’ve decided that it’s okay to put all this toxic industry in certain neighborhoods. And somehow we have the idea that the people who live there don’t care, because if they didn’t like it, they’d move.

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Filmmaker Irja von Bernstorff Features Unheard Voices in the Climate Crisis

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Filmmaker Irja von Bernstorff Features Unheard Voices in the Climate Crisis

“Girls For Future” is an inspiring documentary that follows four girls on four continents, all dealing with the harshest consequences of the climate crisis. Coming from Senegal, Indonesia, Australia, and India, their lives are vastly different, but they all have something in common: they are fighting for a better future.