2020 Films

Film Directory

October 2 - 11, 2020

A Failure of the Imagination

[10 minutes]

Every year the UK food industry wastes 1.9 million tons of food. England Your England returns to share the story of one chef and his efforts to change the way we approach food consumption in the country.

[57 minutes]

Ay Mariposa tell the story of three characters in the Lower Grande Valley of Texas whose lives are upended by plans to build a US-Mexico border wall. Meanwhile the butterfly, la mariposa, fight its own daily battle for survival.

[3 minutes]

In the midst of a desolate wasteland, a farmer boy hopes and dreams that he may one day see a real live bird. Amidst the wreckage of climate change and on the heels of mass extinction, little Ayeo represents the future.

[86 minutes]

Barefoot is a portrait of Mike Baumer, a writer and activist who walked barefoot over 100 days to protest climate change. In a voice The New Yorker praised as "reminiscent of Andy Kaufman", Baumer narrates his walk sharing how we can all make a difference.

[49 minutes]

Narrated by David Suzuki, Beyond Climate explores the human and environmental impacts of climate change in British Columbia, and is a timely contribution to the province and country as we grapple with climate change.

[12 minutes]

Born and raised in one of the toughest neighborhoods, Tyrhee Moore, mountaineer, outdoor education advocate, and founder of Soul Trak, tells the story of his connection to the outdoors that was fostered at a young age.

[11 minutes]

Members of the Quinault Indian Nation relied on the blueback salmon for as long as they can remember - until they couldn't due to the impact of climate change. This film tells the story of fight to recover the Blueback.

[60 minutes]

Faced with worsening floods and a prized salmon population on the brink of extinction, communities along Washington's Chehalis River must decide how to prepare for climate impacts - and if a new dam is the answer.

[4 minutes]

Coastal Requiem investigates the plight of displacement due to climate change amongst five coastal communities around the globe... weaving Diane Tuft's photography and haikus with deeply personal interviews, the short film portrays the global climate refugee crisis due to rising sea levels.

[21 minutes]

Experience Greenland through the eyes of Artist Zaria Forman, Nasa scientist, John Sonntag, and Inuit Elder Angaangaq Angakkorsuaq "Uncle."

[77 minutes]

The Taki Vatan community of Bunun people in Wanrong Tonwship, Hualien County decided to retrace the Guanmen Old Trail in early 2018 to their ancestral homeland, the old Danda village in Nantou County.This documentary chronicles the struggles of the difficult journey and the deep yearning of the community members toward their homeland.

[60 Minutes]

Congo's Call of the Wild travels to the heart of Africa's biggest rainforest to capture the challenges facing rangers, conservationists, local communities and wildlife living around Salonga National Park and the Congo basin.

[13 Minutes)

How may times do you wonder if what you do makes a difference in the world? In this short we weave together inspiring stories about the Ripple Effects of our actions in an interconnected world.

[30 Minutes]

Wyn Wiley (he/him), aka Pattie Gonia (she/her), has made waves over the past year as an environmental advocate and drag queen. We follow Wyn as he travels to Hawaii to see first-hand the impacts of careless consumption and plastics on Mother Nature (or as Pattie says, "Mother Natch").

[67 Minutes]

We are in Northeastern Brazil, in Part, in the heart of the Amazon forest. But the landscape in front of us is quite different from our expectations. There are no trees. There are no exotic animals. There is only a red clearing.

[9 Minutes]

A film showing three friends on a skiing adventure in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). This film focuses on the importance wild places have in our lives and why conservation of ANWR is so important.

[18 minutes)

Professional nature photographer, Marsel van Oosten, wants to travel to Socotra, an isolated island located southeast of Yemen. The island is so isolated that many plant species are nowhere else to be found on Earth.

[77 minutes]

Emperors of the Deep is a unique documentary that takes the viewers on a journey into the world of sharks. From coral reefs to seagrass beds, the filmmaker changes his views of sharks as mindless killers.

[56 minutes]

50 years ago, a unique afforestation project took root on an eroded desert plateau in South India. Today the lush Auroville forest is an outstanding example of eco-restoration that recreates a tropical rainforest.

[19 minutes]

Eyes in the Forest follows an expedition into some political contested territories in Columbia where illegal logging is taking place at unprecedented rates. The team is working hard to protect the country's biodiversity before it is too late.

[3 minutes]

The film documents how the San Ysidro border community is threatened by air pollution stemming from traffic at the US-Mexico border port of entry. The documentary highlights community efforts toward change.

[22 minutes]

Through interviews with scientific, environmental, and indigenous cultural leaders, the film explores the importance of alpine, glacier, and forest eco-systems on Vancouver Island. It also explores the current state of the region and what steps are necessary to obtain a sustainable future.

[3 minutes]

Fracking Beyond Science is a short documentary about hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking. A scientist and several citizens weigh in on the question: is fracking safe?

[87 minutes]

In Southern Manitoba, Terry and Monique are pouring their hearts into a small, ecological farm. In love with the land, their methods are derived from generations of farming tradition, along with best organic farming knowledge.

[8 minutes]

Girls in Sistan and Baluchestan Province of Iran have to go far away from their village to get water. In most of the available water sources there lives an Iranian crocodile called Gando, which is also a sign of water.

[46 minutes]

In Southeast Asia, elephant tourism is booming. Elephant shows, elephant ridings, ethical elephant parks… everyone has their choice. But do we choose the right thing? We wanted to discover first hand.This expository documentary sheds some light on the Southeast Asian elephant industry.

[18 minutes]

Gitxsan: Our Land, Our Culture, Our Laws takes viewers on a journey deep into the unneeded land of the Gitxsan people to uncover their traditional laws and protocols that stand strong today.

[3 minutes]

Columbia Riverkeeper’s mission is to protect and restore the water quality of the Columbia River and all life connected to it, from the headwaters to the Pacific Ocean. A short film inspired by our collective legacy of advocacy.

[26 minutes]

California, has the largest farming economy in the United States, but climate change is threatening to change that. Hear from farmers as they connect the dots between development, water rights, and food justice.

[11 minutes]

As sea levels continue to rise, coastal communities are trapped between the reality of climate change and the antiquated political policies that threaten their future. Battered by stronger, more frequent storms, residents are faced with an impossible decision.

[8 minutes]

Wildfire is the end and beginning of a process that has been happening for millennia. This cinematic journey through time bears witness to this cycle as the land is scorched by flame, then begins the long period of regrowth and recovery.

[24 minutes]

L’eau Est La Vie: From Standing Rock To The Swamp follows water protector Cherri Foytlin as she leads us on a no nonsense journey of Indigenous resistance to the Bayou Bridge Pipeline (BBP) in the swamps of Louisiana.

[30 minutes]

Vanuatu, named by the UN as the most prone country to hazardous risks due to cyclones, earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis, is also gobsmackingly beautiful. Witness communities working together for a sustainable future.

[11 minutes]

Motherfish is a mother’s spoken-word thoughts on the meaning that fishing has brought to the lives of her son and his best friend. It isn’t about catching fish – it is a quiet celebration of the lost art of patience, and how a mother can help bring meaning to her children’s lives by enabling adventure.

[6 minutes]

Unable to sit idly by while her daughters stood to inherit an increasingly poisoned planet, Wirth organized meetings in her home with other moms in her Massachusetts neighborhood.

[27 minutes]

Hundreds of California’s municipal water supply systems rely on contaminated sources. Meet activists, laborers, lawyers, and politicians all seeking solutions to the problem of this silent killer.

[57 minutes]

Indigenous scientists, artists and elders from several Oregon interior tribes share observations of their changing environment, natural resource issues, and the beauty of tribes’ traditional arts, music and storytelling.

[60 minutes]

Necessity traces the fight in Minnesota against the expansion of pipelines carrying toxic tar sands oil through North America. The film follows indigenous activists and non-indigenous allies in their resistance to the pipelines traversing native lands and essential waterways.

[25 minutes]

Two stories weave the perspectives of Hindu individuals in India and the band of Chippewa Native Americans in Red Lake, Minnesota. Both explore the connection people share with water, either by religious or cultural practice.

[19 minutes]

One Word Sawalmem explores the intersection of youth, Earth healing and indigenous wisdom. For Winnemem Wintu Michael “Pom” Preston, Sawalmem represents an entire worldview, a vital vision for healing the world.

[16 minutes]

The short film, Open Water, is a triptych narrative, based on the lives of three Greenlanders; a Hunter, a Ship’s Captain and a Fisherman, individuals whose very existence and heritage is intertwined with the Arctic Ocean.

[31 minutes]

A queer African American woman disrupts the outdoor adventurer stereotype in a space where marginalized folx don’t feel welcome. Mercy's work by design – is a subversion of the oppressive structures within which we exist.

[20 minutes]

An unlikely environmentalist, Bryan Wells, finds himself standing between Yellowstone National Park and an industrial-scale gold mine, threatening both an iconic National Park and his community’s way of life.

[40 minutes]

A salt-of-the-earth farmer, a German potter, a young Indigenous multimedia artist and an experienced citizen scientist rise up to protect their communities against a proposed coal seam gas-field in the Pilliga forest; a million acres of iconic Australian bush.

[22 minutes]

Political Climate: Vote For Your Future explores the importance of activism and voting in saving the planet. This is the fourth film in the award winning series KIDS CAN SAVE THE PLANET.

[20 minutes]

Robin Food is a non-profit in Haifa, Israel and a pay-as-you-feel restaurant with a mission: rescue, cook and serve food that otherwise would go to waste to raise public awareness on issues of food waste, sustainability and climate change.

[51 minutes]

Sockeye, a species of wild salmon, is born in Kamchatkan waters and spends its entire life in the Pacific Ocean. Only once does it return to fresh waters – to give offspring, start the circle of life, and die.

[11 minutes]

Chile is rich with natural beauty and treasured customs. Starting Small: Open Data in Chile takes to the village of Pomaire and the peaks of Patagonia to see how people from different backgrounds and generations are using data to effect real change.

[71 minutes]

Agbogbloshie is the largest e-waste dump on earth. Told from the unique perspectives of 4 young Ghanaians, verité sequences capture moments dismantling and burning electronic appliances from around the world, and the toll this takes on them and the environment.

[10 minutes]

The Energy of Love is a short documentary that tells the story of how the pure form of Chocolate (Theobroma Cacao) revives in modern society as “the Food of the Gods” with its divine message of unconditional love while exploring how our current disconnection is no longer sustainable for the future of humanity..

[19 minutes]

In the tiny hamlet of Tooleville, California, a small cadre of water warriors – regular people living without access to clean water – fight for their right to safe, clean drinking water, despite the unbelievable odds and a system stacked against them.

[14 minutes]

This film investigates the crippling and harmful effects of the fast fashion industry. Many in this industry never realize and continue to take part in the consumption process.

[52 minutes]

The divided community of Pictou County, Nova Scotia is facing a major turning point in the fifty-year old controversy surrounding the pulp mill located on the shores of Pictou Harbour.

[84 minutes]

The Agent Orange catastrophe did not end with the war in Vietnam. The chemical wreaks havoc on the human genome, causing deformed births and deadly cancers. Two heroic women are leading a worldwide movement to end the plague and hold the manufacturers accountable.

[26 minutes]

This film addresses women’s empowerment to wildlife conservation, a story out of India that must be told. We hope to create awareness about a bird that was once considered as ‘ugly’ and dirty because of its scavenging habits.

[10 minutes]

Faith E. Briggs used to run through the streets of Brooklyn every morning. Now, she’s running 3 US National Monuments that lay in the thick of the controversy around public lands. This is a story about land access told through a journey of inclusion and empowerment.

[10 minutes]

Jason Cajune lives in Livingston, MT where he designs and builds wooden drift boats. Last summer, Jason packed up one of his custom boats and led his family on a float trip down the Missouri River, through the American Prairie Reserve.

[15 minutes]

Vancouver is a green city, we recycle, compost and dispose of our garbage appropriately but what if we went beyond recycling? Trashless focuses on an inspirational organisation that accepts materials from the Vancouver Film and TV industry that may otherwise end up in the landfill.

[4 minutes]

Vatna Glacier takes a close look on the brutal reality of the melting Vatna Glacier in Iceland. It is the biggest glacier in Europe, and it is melting with enormous speed because of climate change.

[8 minutes]

Voices from the Umpqua draws attention to the proposed threats to the North Umpqua River by the planned Umpqua Sweets timber sale; and the Bureau of Land Management’s clearcut-heavy forest plan for 2.5-million acres in western Oregon.

[24 minutes]

Deep in the remote Peruvian Amazon a road is quietly destroying a protected rainforest, causing conflict and fear. For some indigenous communities desperate for change, it brings hope, for others struggle.

[20 minutes]

In Melanesian countries, residents face the common challenge of climate change. In this context, captivating performers are using their talents to celebrate local culture and draw international attention to their islands’ plight, with the hope of spurring international solidarity and action against the perils of a warming world.

[9 minutes]

If you’ve ever hiked in the woods, you probably know the rule, “Leave No Trace.” Way to Go! tells the story of Mt. Shasta’s sun-powered composting toilet and the local volunteers who maintain it, keeping poop invisible and sweet at 7,900 feet.

[10 minutes]

The beautiful naturally dyed cloth of the Ba’ker’yaw (Sgaw Karen) people is famous. Spinning cotton, dying vibrant colors out of natural materials (bark, leaves, seeds and earth) relies on both the deep indigenous knowledge of the weavers, but also on a healthy ecosystem that supports the plants they use to dye the cloth.

[52 minutes]

The Darling River, known as the Barka to its people, is in a state of ecological collapse. Politicians blamed drought. Ecologists and water management experts placed the blame on the over allocation and extraction of water by cotton growers upstream.

[9 minutes]

An environmental lobbyist and angler, Chris never saw people like herself on the river until recently. Through social media platforms like Instagram, traditionally underrepresented voices are creating communities to encourage one another and amplify their message – we belong here too.

[3 minutes]

Ana is a young woman who reflects on the meaning of the verb eat and what we are and have been based on what we eat. Ana tells us that, “It is the history of humanity that we eat. It is the people’s struggle that we digest in each food.”

[7 minutes]

Yasuni National Park in Ecuador is one of the most bio-diverse places on Earth. It is home to over 5,000 different plant and animal species, and the Waorani indigenous tribe, all now at risk due lack of state protection.

Eugene Environmental Film Festival

Film Directory

October 2 - 11, 2020

A Failure of the Imagination

[10 minutes]

Ay Mariposa (Oh Butterfly)

[57 minutes]

Ayeo

[3 minutes]

Barefoot: The Mike Baumer Story

[86 minutes]

Beyond Climate

[49 minutes]

Bringing it Home

[12 minutes]

Can the Blueback Survive?

[11 minutes]

Chehalis: A Watershed Moment

[60 minutes]

Coastal Requiem

[4 minutes]

Colors of Change

[21 minutes]

Coming Home: Return to Danda Mountain

[77 minutes]

Congo's Call of the Wild

[60 Minutes]

Connectivity Project: Interconnections

[13 Minutes)

Dear Mother Nature

[30 Minutes]

Deforestation Made in Italy

[67 Minutes]

Descent of the Refuge

[9 Minutes]

Dragon Blood

[18 minutes)

Emperors of the Deep

[77 minutes]

Ever Slow Green: Re-afforestation in Auroville, South India

[56 minutes]

Eyes in the Forest

[19 minutes]

Fighting for Environmental Justice

[3 minutes]

Finding Solitude

[22 minutes]

Fracking Beyond Science

[3 minutes]

From Seed to Seed

[87 minutes]

Gando

[8 minutes]

Giant Slaves

[46 minutes]

Gitxsan: Our land, Our Culture, Our Laws

[18 minutes]

Hanford: A Future Worth Fighting For

[3 minutes]

Harvests of Hope

[26 minutes]

Home or High Water

[11 minutes]

Immolation

[8 minutes]

L'eau Est La Vie: From Standing Rock to the Swamp

[24 minutes]

Life and Limb

[30 minutes]

Motherfish

[11 minutes]

Mothers Out Front

[6 minutes]

Muerte Silenciosa: Toxic Water in the Valley

[27 minutes]

Native Wisdom: The Peoples of Eastern Oregon

[57 minutes]

Necessity: Oil, Water, and Climate Resistance

[60 minutes]

Nibi Eteg: Where the Water Is