America's Wilderness, (c) Sarah Gulick
At the Environmental Film Festival's 21st year in Washington, we considered the vital role of earth’s rivers in human survival and their vulnerability in the changing global environment. Audiences joined us in March as our Festival, presented in collaboration with 75 partnering venues across the Washington area, screened a record 190 diverse and arresting films from 50 countries. This year’s Festival featured 110 Washington, D.C., United States and world premieres; 196 filmmakers and environmentalists enlivened our screenings with their perspectives and knowledge.
Featured among the Festival’s opening night films was the world premiere of Hot Water, exposing the toxic effects of uranium mining in the American West with Dennis Kucinich, who is featured in the film, and filmmakers Elizabeth Kucinich and Lizabeth Rogers. The Washington, D.C. premiere of acclaimed director Terrence Malick’s latest film, To the Wonder, an exploration of love set against the majesty of nature, was a Festival highlight, along with Canadian filmmaker and environmental activist Rob Stewart’s new film, Revolution, empowering youth to save the natural world and humanity itself!
The zany documentary, Lunarcy!, another Washington, D.C. premiere, looks at people who are obsessed with the moon. Jessica Woodworth’s latest feature, The Fifth Season, is a haunting, poetic meditation on nature in revolt against humans. The Festival’s closing film, The Fruit Hunters, examines another obsession – those who scour the world searching for exotic fruits.
Films heralding the upcoming Smithsonian exhibition, “Earth Matters: Land as Material and Metaphor in the Arts of Africa,” profile Jane Goodall and explore the struggles of farmers, fishermen, lions and bonobos in Africa today. Classic films shot by John Huston in Africa address themes that are still relevant today.
Notable among our river films, Lost Rivers investigates the hidden river networks beneath major cities. A series of films following the Rhine River from its source in Switzerland to its delta in the Netherlands highlighted this storied river’s natural, cultural and economic value. Amazon Gold and A Journey to the Source of the Lena reveal devastation and wonders along two major rivers on opposite sides of the world. Where the Yellowstone Goes embarks on a trip down the longest free-flowing river in the United States, while Rock the Boat follows a controversial kayaking trip on the cemented-in Los Angeles River that led to its protection under the Clean Water Act.
Not Yet Begun to Fight shows how rivers can offer outlets for human healing and revitalization while Willamette Futures provides a creative plan for how to restore Oregon’s largest river. Potomac: The River Runs Through Us points out just how close our connection is to the local river that is the source of our drinking water. The Anacostia was celebrated through a series of “Riverstories” about people engaging with the river.
Thank you to all who engaged in our annual salute to film and the environment. The environment, our life support system, is all around us and rivers are a major part of it. Lifelines to people around the world and sacred to many, rivers, as our films suggest, run through us all.
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One of the country’s most influential conservation leaders, Russell Train was a force for the environment in the U.S. and around the world for six decades. EFF recognized Russell and Aileen Train with our highest honor in 2007. (photo: Russell Train in Nepal by Bruce Bunting)
As the longstanding administrator and Board Member of the MARPAT Foundation and an ardent conservationist, Joan was an early and enthusiastic supporter of the Environmental Film Festival. (photo: Joan Koven in Fiji)
The Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital seeks to advance public understanding of the environment through the power of film.
Founded in 1993, the Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital has become one of the world’s largest and most influential showcases of environmental film and a major collaborative cultural event in Washington, D.C. Each March the Festival presents a diverse selection of high quality environmental films, including many Washington, D.C., U.S. and World premieres. Documentaries, narratives, animations and shorts are shown, as well as archival, experimental and children’s films at venues throughout the city. Films are screened at partnering museums, embassies, libraries, universities and local theaters and are attended by large audiences. Selected to provide fresh perspectives on global environmental issues, most Festival films are accompanied by discussions with filmmakers, environmental experts and special guests, including national decision makers and thought leaders, and are free to the public. The Festival’s Web site serves as a global resource for environmental film throughout the year.
The Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. All donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law. Our Federal ID Number is 83-0469770.
For general inquiries, please e-mail info@envirofilmfest.org.
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