The thirtieth annual DC Environmental Film Festival is on! The films will be showing from March 17-27. A huge range of topics are available, and while we may have a bias towards the ocean related films, there is a a ton to check out.
Click here to view a schedule of all the available films, and check out some of our picks below. Let us know which ones you see and what you think!
Becoming Cousteau - Adventurer, filmmaker, inventor, author, unlikely celebrity and conservationist: For over four decades, Jacques-Yves Cousteau and his explorations under the ocean became synonymous with a love of science and the natural world. As he learned to protect the environment, he brought the whole world with him, sounding alarms more than 50 years ago about the warming seas and our planet’s vulnerability. In Becoming Cousteau, from National Geographic Documentary Films, two-time Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker Liz Garbus takes an inside look at Cousteau and his life, his iconic films and inventions, and the experiences that made him the 20th century’s most unique and renowned environmental voice — and the man who inspired generations to protect the Earth.
Coral Ghosts - Combines a hundred-years of underwater photography with the timely quest of Dr. Tom Goreau, a marine biologist who inherited the family legacy of protecting the world’s coral reefs at a time when they have never faced greater threats. Told through intimate verite, never seen before archival film and photographs, and stunning underwater photography, this character driven film brings viewers from a dusty attic in Cambridge to the shores of Jamaica, Australia, Bikini Atoll and Bali on a “Mad” Scientist’s journey to protect the coral that his father died documenting.
El Naturalista Isleño (Island Naturalist) - Explores conservation photographer Eladio Fernandez’s unique relationship with nature, revealing hidden stories on the islands of the Caribbean. For most, the Caribbean is a vacation spot known for its white-sand beaches and turquoise waters. For Eladio, the islands are biodiversity hotspots that are largely undocumented. These islands, and the natural wealth they possess, are in a race against time. Overpopulation, deforestation, mining, poverty, and corrupt governments threaten many of the very species this island naturalist fights to preserve. Obsessed by his quest to document and save nature, Eladio takes us on a tour of the most important humpback whale calving area, the discovery of a new pornographic flower, the conservation of a critically endangered bird, and the rediscovery of a Magnolia, once lost in Haiti. Island Naturalist is an entertaining journey that will forever change the way we see the Caribbean.
Last of the Right Whales - North Atlantic right whales are dying faster than they can reproduce. With just over 330 remaining, these great whales rarely die of natural causes. Instead they are run over by ships or suffer lethal injuries from fishing gear. With unprecedented access to film the right whale migration from their calving ground off the coast of Florida to their shifting feeding grounds in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Last of the Right Whales brings a message of hope about a great whale on the brink of extinction. Featuring breathtaking footage of the majestic but rarely seen North Atlantic right whale – as observed through the eyes of scientists, photographers, rescuers and fishermen - we bear witness to their struggle and bring hope for their survival.
The Loneliest Whale: The Search for 52 - A cinematic quest to find the “52 Hertz Whale,” which scientists believe has spent its entire life in solitude calling out at a frequency that is different from any other whale. As the film embarks on this engrossing journey, audiences will explore what this whale’s lonely plight can teach us — not just about our changing relationship to the oceans, but to each other. Executive Produced with Leonardo DiCaprio and Adrian Grenier and directed by Joshua Zeman.
Ocean Odyssey - 500 million years ago, life left this blue womb and colonized the land, but we are still intricately linked to the ocean. Our climates, coastlines, ecosystems, and economies are tied to the perpetual movement of water between continents. The great ocean currents are the arteries and veins of Planet Earth! This is the story of one particularly fascinating flow – the East Australian Current, a massive oceanic river that stretches the length of Australia’s east coast.
Plus many more...