2016 Festival Report - Environmental Film Festival

2016 FESTIVAL REPORT
ENVIRONMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL
IN THE NATION’S CAPITAL
Laura Dunn, award-winning director of
The Seer: A Portrait of Wendell Berry
Audience packs Carnegie Institution for Science for
opening night screening of Sherpa.
The 24th Annual Environmental Film
Festival, the largest and longestrunning festival of its kind in the U.S.,
presented 150+ films from March 15-26
across the Washington, D.C. metro area.
The Festival theme, Parks: Protecting
Wild, saluted the Centennial of the
U.S. National Park Service. The awardwinning film, An American Ascent, was
among 30 films that explored the vital
role of parks and protected areas in
conserving our planet’s resources.
27,000+ 154
ATTENDEES
FILMS
Catching the Sun director Shalini
Kantayya at post-screening discussion.
“DCEFF is simply the best
opportunity anywhere to see
so many outstanding new
environmental films with likeminded people who love film
& our planet.
It is a learning experience…
a happening.” —2016 Filmmaker
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88
271
57
COUNTRIES
PREMIERES
FILMMAKERS
& SPECIAL GUESTS
VENUES
100%
recycled
paper
OPENING & CLOSING NIGHTS
OPENING NIGHT | REACHING NEW HEIGHTS
DCEFF 2016 kicked off with the Washington,
D.C. premiere of Sherpa, a documentary about
Nepal’s Sherpa community and the Mt. Everest
climbing tragedy that forever changed it. Bank
of America’s Alex Liftman introduced the film to
a packed house. An emotionally charged panel
discussion, moderated by Discovery Channel’s
Jon Bardin, followed with cinematographer Ken
Sauls, 17-time Everest summiteer Lakpa Rita
Sherpa and Norbu Tenzing Norgay, son of the
Tenzing Norgay, the first person to ever summit
Everest. Afterward, audience members and
guests joined us for our annual launch party.
CLOSING NIGHT | ADVOCACY IN MOTION
At our 2016 finale event, Oscar-nominated filmmaker
Josh Fox (Gasland) was awarded the 2016 Documentary
Award for Environmental Advocacy for his new film How
to Let Go of the World (and Love all the Things Climate
Can’t Change), which highlights resilience in confronting
the challenge of global warming. He charged audience
members at the D.C. premiere to join him in taking an
anti-fracking pledge. Inspired by the film’s message, they
took to the aisles to dance along with him. Special guests
included environmental activist Tim DeChristopher, Queens
community organizer Aria Doe, and the Reverend Lennox
Yearwood. A festive reception closed out the evening.
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24th Annual Environmental Film Festival
FESTIVAL AWARDS 2016
Each year, DCEFF honors works that exemplify excellence in environmental filmmaking. Four outstanding films from
the 2016 Festival were selected for the following awards:
WILLIAM W. WARNER
BEAUTIFUL SWIMMERS AWARD
DOCUMENTARY AWARD
FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCACY
Recognizes a film that reflects a spirit of
reverence for the natural world.
Recognizes a film that inspires advocacy in response
to a compelling environmental challenge.
Winner: The Seer: A Portrait of Wendell Berry
Director: Laura Dunn
Winner: How to Let Go of the World
Director: Josh Fox
Annie Kaempfer, DCEFF Board Member and granddaughter
of William W. Warner, moderates a panel discussion
with Director Laura Dunn, Producer Jef Sewell and film
subject Mary Berry, daughter of Wendell Berry.
Oscar nominated Director and anti-fracking
icon Josh Fox accepts award with DCEFF Board
Chair Caroline Gabel and DCEFF Director of
Programming Brad Forder.
ERIC MOE SUSTAINABILITY
FILM AWARD
POLLY KRAKORA AWARD
FOR ARTISTRY IN FILM
Recognizes an innovative short film that provides
solutions for balancing the needs of humans and nature.
Recognizes the artistic, cinematic, and technical
value of an environmental film.
Winner: Bluebird Man
Directors: Neil Paprocki & Matthew Podolsky
Editor Emily Bender, Co-Director Matthew Podolsky
and film subject Al “Bluebird Man” Larson, talk with
DCEFF Advisory Council Member Greg McGruder.
Co-presented by the National Wildlife Federation.
Visit our website dceff.org for more information and program updates
Winner: The Birth of Saké
Director: Erik Shirai
DCEFF Advisory Council Member Joseph Krakora
who established the award, congratulates Director
Eric Shirai.
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LOCAL & GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES
LOCAL FILMS
Among the major highlights were films that focused
on issues in and around the nation’s capital, many
presented by local filmmakers. Two of these films
were featured on WAMU’s Kojo Nnamdi Show:
Rebekah Wingert-Jabi’s Another Way of Living: The
Story of Reston, VA and City of Trees, by Brandon
and Lance Kramer. The Festival hosted a dual-D.C.
premiere of City of Trees: at Carnegie Institution for
Science in Northwest and THEARC in Southeast,
where the most recent cohort of the DC Green
Corps celebrated their graduation. Other local films
included Sandy Cannon-Brown’s Beautiful Swimmers
Revisited, and Sam Sheline’s When Mickey Came to
Town, both world premieres.
INTERNATIONAL FILMS
As a festival that aims to promote global awareness
of environmental issues, we were proud to include
78 international films in this year’s lineup and to
collaborate with nine embassies. Foreign films
included The Russian Woodpecker, On the East
and The Living Fire with Ukrainian filmmaker Ostap
Kostyuk, as well as Illia Gladshtein and Nadia
Parfan of Ukraine’s “86” Festival; Ice and the Sky
with Oscar-winning French filmmaker Luc Jacquet,
presented in partnership with the Embassy of
France; and a selection of films from the Dominican
Republic Environmental Film Festival, screened
with the Global Foundation for Democracy and
Development .
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24th Annual Environmental Film Festival
FESTIVAL STANDOUTS
Films were presented at 57 collaborating venue partners, including museums, embassies, libraries, universities
and local theaters in all eight wards of the city. In addition to 27,000+ attendees, over 270 filmmakers and
special guests enhanced our screenings with their knowledge and expertise and 125 volunteers contributed to
the success of this year’s Festival. Over 60 percent of film screenings were free and all were open to the public.
WOMEN IN FILM
DCEFF 2016 showcased the largest number of women filmmakers
in the Festival’s 24-year history. Nearly 35 percent of the films
screened were directed or produced by women, including Kings
of Nowhere, directed by Betzabé Garcia; The Babushkas of
Chernobyl, directed by Holly Morris; and River of Gold, produced
by Sarah duPont. Women in Film and Video and EFF Founder Flo
Stone hosted a breakfast for filmmakers Sandy Cannon-Brown
(Beautiful Swimmers Revisited), Marilyn Weiner (Dispatches from
the Gulf) and Natasha Despotovic (The Value of Life), whose films
were screened in the Festival.
WORLD PREMIERES
The Festival presented 10 world premieres showcasing
environmental threats on land and sea. Filmmakers Hal and Marilyn
Weiner’s Dispatches from the Gulf provided a frontline report
on groundbreaking efforts to mitigate the impact of petroleum
pollution from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Director Jon
Bowermaster’s film Dear President Obama evaluated the ongoing impact of fracking on Americans. SEED: The Untold Story,
directed and produced by Taggart Seigel and Jon Betz, explored
efforts to reverse the tremendous loss of genetic diversity in
vegetable seeds to ensure the future of our food supply.
Visit our website dceff.org for more information and program updates
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HIGHLIGHTS REEL
Story mentors, science experts and technology advisors convened
for the first ever “HatchLab,” a new global storytelling workshop, cohosted by DCEFF and the National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture.
“Tons of diversity in terms of programming and venues,
strong community focus, amazing volunteers + staff.”
The Festival’s annual impact panel at American University was
hosted by Chris Palmer, Director of the Center for Environmental
Filmmaking. Award-winning filmmaker Wendy Ettinger, Co-Founder,
Chicken & Egg Pictures; Caty Borum Chattoo, Co-Director, Center
for Media & Social Impact; and Josh Fox joined the discussion.
- Lance Kramer, City of Trees
Policy analyst and organic
food advocate Elizabeth
Kucinich at the screening
and discussion of Circle of
Poison.
Māori cultural dancers perform at the screening of Ever the Land, which
took place at the National Museum of Natural History. New Zealand
Ambassador Tim Grosser introduced the film.
Presentation by Dr. Matthew
Scott, President of Carnegie
Institution for Science, a key
festival partner.
“Amazing venues with enthusiastic audiences
that were very engaged.”
- Jake Oelman, Learning to See
Closing Night Reception
Tabling on opening night.
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DCEFF Advisory Council member Katie Carpenter led a
discussion with film subject Dr. Brian Hunt; Claire Christian,
Acting Executive Director of the Antarctic and Southern Ocean
Coalition; and filmmaker David Sington after License to Krill.
Photo Credits:
Mary T. An, Joy Asico, Julia Gorina,
Bruce Guthrie, Aaron Hedquist,
Yurim Kim, Megan King, John McShane,
Claire Saillour
24th Annual Environmental Film Festival
FESTIVAL 365
FOUNDER
YOUTH ENGAGEMENT
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Flo Stone
To promote environmental awareness among youth, the Festival hosts an
annual film program for Washington, D.C. public and charter school students.
This year’s screening was held at DAR Constitution Hall, where we showed
An American Ascent, a documentary about the first team of black climbers
to attempt the summit of Alaska’s Denali. Some 2,450 students were in
attendance from 41 different schools. Elwood York, leader of the U.S. Forest
Service’s wilderness programs, introduced the film and encouraged students
to engage with America’s wild places. Director Andy Adkins joined the postscreening discussion, along with film subject and D.C. native, Tyrhee Moore.
Additional films geared toward children and young adults were shown at public
libraries around the city. In total, over 21 youth programs were presented.
Chair: Caroline D. Gabel
Vice Chair: Gary Rahl
Treasurer: John van D. Lewis
Secretary: Max Williamson
Elizabeth Berry, Marion Guggenheim,
Anita Herrick, Annie Kaempfer,
Dan M. Martin, Josie Merck,
Dane Nichols, Liz Norton,
Peter O’Brien, Nora Pouillon,
E. William Stetson III, Flo Stone,
Roger D. Stone, Catherine Wyler
Charles Lord Chair Emeritus
Joan D. Murray Trustee Emerita
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Chair: Gregory McGruder
Wendy Benchley, Caroline Beresford,
Katie Carpenter, Harriett Crosby,
Sarah Davidson, Alice & Lincoln Day,
Diana Lady Dougan, Sarah duPont,
Anne Emmet, Mark Epstein,
Nelse Greenway, Grace Guggenheim,
Laurence Hausman, Elizabeth Kucinich,
Joseph Krakora, Gay Lord,
Mary McCracken, Helen McNeill,
Sally Meadows, Gouri Mirpuri,
Chris Palmer, Peggy Parsons,
Susan Rappaport, Deborah Rothberg,
Edith Schafer, Joan Shorey,
Susan Vitka, Mary Wallace,
Georgiana Warner, Joe & Mikel Witte
YEAR-ROUND SCREENINGS
STAFF
DCEFF brings new films and filmmakers to the nation’s capital all year round.
These included the D.C. premieres of Inhabit: A Permaculture Perspective,
exploring how to reduce our human footprint; Indian Point, examining
nuclear safety issues, with discussion by former Chairman of the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission Gregory Jaczko, Director Ivy Meeropol and film subject
Phillip Musegaas; and How to Change the World, the story of the Greenpeace
pioneers, followed by a discussion with Leila Deen of Greenpeace and Bobbi
Hunter, a Greenpeace Co-Founder.
How to Change the World
Indian Point Panel Discussion
Christopher Head Acting Executive
Director
Brad Forder Director of Programming
Jessie Brinkley Director of Development
Helen Strong Director of Public Relations
Saaret Yoseph Director of Online
Communications and Engagement
Owen Davies Director of Strategic
Partnerships
Heidi Hermisson Development Manager
Chelsea Parker Programming Manager
Arjumand Hamid Programming Associate
Molly Berg Office Manager
Sky Sitney Programming Consultant
Jeanne Sobel Festival Producer
Donna Purchase Volunteer Manager
Rana Koll-Mandell Public Relations Consultant
Festival Interns: Megan Chun,
Elizabeth Herzfeldt-Kamprath,
Mirae Kim, Nicolas Rueda-Sabater,
Stephanie Toft
OUR SPONSORS
DCEFF gratefully acknowledges the foundations, corporations, public agencies,
and individuals who make the Festival possible.
Kaempfer
Family Fund
Josephine A. Merck
Jane Watson Stetson & E. William Stetson III
Elva and Lawrence O’Brien Family Trust
Joseph Krakora
Van Metre
Family
Foundation
Catalyst
Foundation