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A Disappearing Forest

Thursday March 2st | 6:00 pm

 Virtual

USA | 2023 | 9:00

Documentary | Short

Grant Downie, a generational sea urchin diver, has spent his life working in the kelp forests of California. In recent years, he has struggled to keep his long-standing career in urchin diving alive as the disappearing kelp forests have forced him to rethink his profession and come to terms with a new future. He has now dedicated his life and career to finding a solution to save California’s kelp forests and restore his livelihood.

Directed by Tyler Schiffman

Agriculture is Over

Virtual

France | 2023 | 19:55

Documentary | Short

A farm closes its doors and as the last animals leave, the weight of the past reappears.

Directed by Antoine de Bujadoux

Axinos

Thursday March 21st | 6:00 pm 

Virtual

Greece | 2023 | 5:00

Short

A little girl tries to protect her sand turtles from the danger that the summer has!

Directed by Anna Maria Kakona and Calliopi Villy Kotoula

 

 

Belle River

Virtual

Canada | 2022 | 11:00

Documentary | Short 

2019. Spring flooding in Mississippi hits record highs. In Louisiana, the residents of Pierre-Part are preparing for the worst. Barring an unexpected turn of events, local authorities will soon be forced to open the floodgates of the Morganza Spillway, in order to save the cities of New-Orleans and Bâton-Rouge from further uncontrolled flooding. Faith and resilience are the two best weapons they still have in the face of uncertainty.

Directed by Guillaume Fournier, Samuel Matteau, and Yannick Nolin

 

Canary

Friday March 22nd | 12:00 pm

La Jolla Riford Public Library /Virtual

USA| 2023 | 1:44:00

Documentary | Feature

Witness the extraordinary life of Dr. Lonnie Thompson, an explorer who went where no scientist had gone before and transformed our idea of what is possible. Daring to seek Earth’s history contained in glaciers atop the tallest mountains in the world, Lonnie found himself on the frontlines of climate change—his life’s work evolving into a salvage mission to recover these priceless historical records before they disappear forever.

Directed by Danny O’Malley and Alex Rivest

*Filmmaker in attendance

Circles

Thursday March 21st | 6:00 pm

Virtual

Austria | 2023 | 2:30

Documentary | Short

On the Yamal Peninsula in the far north of Siberia, a family of the Nenets people lives from reindeer herding. But their traditional nomadic lifestyle is threatened by the thawing of the permafrost and the extraction of fossil fuels. The film follows them in their daily routines, tells of their love for their endangered homeland and makes an appeal to all of us to stand up for stronger climate protection policies.

Directed by Oliver Rienzner and Christoph Amort

 

City to Sea – Inspiring Youth with WILDCOAST and City Surf Project

Saturday March 23rd | 6:00 pm | Patagonia Cardiff in the Sea

Virtual  

USA  | 2024 | 7:00

Documentary | Short

 

Join San Francisco Bay Area youth on a journey of discovery as they learn to apply the healing powers of surfing to protecting and preserving ocean habitats and coastal wetlands in California.

 Directed by Jordan Miller 

Filmmaker in Attendance

 

Code Rose

Thursday March 21st | 6:00 pm

MOPA / Virtual

France | 2022 | 5:08

Animated | Short

In the open sea, a flamingo lands on an aircraft carrier. To keep the runway clear and get the planes to take off, the military have to get rid of it. But the flamingo and its congeners return relentlessly to put pink on the grey war machine.

Directed by Taye CIMON, Pierre COËZ, Julie GROUX, Sandra LEYDIER, Manuarii MOREL, and Romain SEISSON

Connection

Saturday March 23rd | 11:45 am

Encinitas Community Center / Virtual

USA | 2023 | 10:00

Short

What impact does one human being have on the future of Earth?

Directed by Daniel Lir and Bayou Bennett

* Filmmakers in Attendance

Creatures of the Kaleidoscope

Thursday March 21st at 6:00 pm

Virtual

England | 2023 | 19:00

Documentary | Short

Exploring one of nature’s most magical creatures, the cuttlefish. Discover how they use their colour changing and shape shifting abilities to survive and thrive in the open ocean.

Directed by Hannah Jodie Alexander

Disappearing Jewels

Sunday March 24th | 1:45 pm

La Jolla Riford Library  / Virtual

USA | 2023 | 15:00

Animated | Short

Remembering the filmmaker’s grandfather who was a blind man and walking weather forecast, Will Kim interviews ocean experts and brings his perspective on the impact of climate change and ocean warming.

Directed by Will Kim

* Filmmaker in Attendance

Down to the Last Drop

Thursday March 21 | 6:00 PM

Virtual

Austria | 2023 | 30:00

Documentary | Short

The last wild rivers of the Alps are in danger, and in Tyrol in particular, hydroelectric power is on the verge of total expansion. Filmmaker Harry Putz explores the unspoiled high alpine Platzertal valley, which is to be dammed into a reservoir according to the plans of the Tyrolean state energy provider TIWAG. 

Directed by Harry Putz

Downwind

Saturday March 23rd  | 2:00 pm

La Jolla Riford Public Library /Virtual

USA | 2023 | 1:36:00

Documentary | Feature 

Hiroshima. Nagasaki. Mercury, Nevada? The latter was the site for the testing of 928 large-scale nuclear weapons from 1951 to 1992. Martin Sheen narrates this harrowing exposé of the United States’ disregard for everyone living… downwind.

Directed by Mark Shapiro and Douglas Brian Miller

*Writer in attendance

Drowning Fish

Virtual

Egypt | 2023 | 9:00

Documentary | Short

Drowning Fish is a short documentary about one of the last few fishermen in Lake Qarun in Fayoum, Egypt. Samir, a 67-year-old fisherman, lives in Shakshouk village where the entire community depends on fishing as a key source of income. Over the years, the lake suffered from many pollution problems which made young fishermen in the village leave to coastal cities across Egypt while old fishermen live in memory of golden days of the lake. Through telling a simple story, the film sheds light on the consequences of damaging the ecosystem on the fishermen community in Egypt.

Directed by Amir El-Shenawy

* Filmmaker in Attendance

Eyes on the Seafloor

Saturday March 23rd | 11:00 am

Encinitas Community Center / Virtual

USA | 2023 | 11:00

Documentary | Short

You can’t protect what you can’t see. ‘Eyes on the Seafloor’ will take you on a journey below the surface of the ocean with Marine Applied Research and Exploration (MARE) to explore and document never before seen areas. With a fleet of underwater submersibles, MARE explores deep ocean environments to support scientific research and education. Diving down to depths of 1,000 meters the MARE Team collects data to inform ocean management in our changing oceans.

Directed by Natasha Benjamin

* Filmmaker in Attendance

For Everything There Was A Season

Friday March 22nd at 2:30 pm

Virtual

USA | 2023 | 20:00

Documentary | Short

A changing climate alters the fragile balance of survival for both wildlife and people in the Greater Yellowstone region. Visualized as the story of each of the four seasons, we’ll show you how a changing world is impacting nature and humans – and give you tangible actions we can all use to make a positive difference.

Directed by Trevor Bloom

Foreigner

Saturday March 23rd | 2:45 pm

Encinitas Community Center / Virtual

USA | 2023 | 17:00

Animated | Short

An alien looking for life on other planets arrive on earth now made of wastelands. He descends into a large cave in the underworld. He discovers prehistoric animals brought back to life thanks to genetic experiments of a now extinct human civilization. He discovers a laboratory where the last humans had holed up to defend themselves from animal attacks. There are no survivors but only digital messages left by the last humans who knew they were close to death. The alien doesn’t understand human language and take a fertilized animal egg to examine it on the mother ship. He doesn’t know yet that an even greater danger was described in the messages.

Directed by Giovanni A Lodigiani

*Filmmaker in attendance

Great Ocean Love

Saturday March 23rd | 6:00 pm

Patagonia Cardiff in the Sea/ Virtual

Australia | 2024 | 20:00

Documentary | Short

Great Ocean Love is part documentary, part road-trippin’ surf flick that follows Belinda Baggs, Linley Hurrell, and Lilly Pollard on a journey of discovery along the Great Ocean Road. Centred around the teachings of Gunditjmara whale dreamer Yaraan Bundle. Along the way, they meet saltwater women who share their love for the rugged coastline they call home.

Directed by Ella Bourne *Patagonia

* Filmmaker in Attendance

In The Whale

Saturday March 23rd | 4:30 pm

La Jolla Riford Public Library 

USA | 2023 | 1:21:00

Documentary | Feature

In The Whale is an award-winning feature-length film about arguably the greatest fish story ever told, though this one is true. It’s the account of a man who survived to tell the tale of being swallowed by a whale, and what happened after being spit out. 

Directed by David Abel

 

InBetweening Beings

Thursday March 21st 6:00 pm

Virtual

Canada | 2023 | 5:00

Animated | Short

Inbetweening Beings connects animation and ecology. With projected installation, outdoor stop-motion, and found materials, humans are invited and implicated into nature.

Directed by Isaac King

Inside Greenpeace

Friday March 22rd |4:45 pm

Riford Public Library La Jolla / Virtual

Germany | 2024 | 52:00

Documentary | Short

The five-part documentary series ” Inside Greenpeace” accompanies the activists for a year on their mission to save our planet, following them on a global journey to gain exclusive insights. The film team not only accompanies the crew of the icebreaker “Arctic Sunrise” on their month-long journey off the coast of Africa to the eternal ice of Antarctica, but is also at the forefront of some of Greenpeace’s most spectacular and secretive campaigns. They also delve into the lesser-known side of Greenpeace, including their legal campaigns, scientific work at the highest level and political lobbying right at the heart of power. For the first time, Greenpeace is also granting exclusive access to previously unaired material selected for the five-part Sky Original, from an 18,000 tape archive spanning fifty years.

Directed by Florian Noethe

Producer in Attendance

Inundation District

Saturday  March 23rd | 12:45 pm

Encinitas Community Room 

USA | 2023 | 1:19:00

Documentary | Feature

 

INUNDATION DISTRICT is a feature-length film about the implications of one city’s decision to ignore the threats posed by climate change and spend billions of dollars on building a new waterfront district — on landfill, at sea level. 

Directed by David Abel

Náttúrubönd

Saturday March 23rd | 3:45 pm

Encinitas Community Room / Virtual

Iceland | 2023 | 10:38

Documentary | Short

Náttúrubönd is a poetic inquiry in our changing relationship with nature, explored through the bond of four people with the Icelandic landscape.

Directed by Sven Peetoom, Gríma Irmudóttir, and Jonathan Damborg

Older Than Trees

Virtual

South Africa | 2023 | 20:00

Documentary | Short

James Lea grew up dreaming of sharks; enigmatic monsters of the deep. In his first few years as a field biologist he fell in love with silky sharks in the Red Sea, where he got to interact with them and learn their individual personalities. But, in the space of just a few years he watched as almost each and every animal he had got to know was lost to the shark fin trade. Feeling heartbroken and helpless, James resolved to use his expertise as a scientist to protect sharks in places where they still have a chance to thrive. Older Than Trees highlights Lea’s work in the field, and the success he’s contributed to in getting protection for these ancient species through the creation of marine protected areas.

Directed by Pippa Ehrlich

Orca: Black & White Gold

Friday March 22nd | 6:00 pm | La Jolla High School 

Virtual

Austria | 2023 | 1:32:00

Documentary | Feature

When a truth-seeking investigative journalist uncovers the illicit Russian orca trade to a billion dollar market in China, fearless activists issue a call to action. 

Directed by Sarah Nörenberg

*Filmmaker in attendance

PlasticSphere

Friday March 22nd | 3:30 pm

Encinitas Community Center 

Guatamala  | 2024 | 1:13:00

Documentary | Feature

The documentary follows a group of Latin American environmentalists and scientists on their risky expedition through the second largest reef in the world. Its objective is to investigate and document the alarming plastic and microplastic pollution that is seriously affecting marine life, tourism and fishing resources in the region, as well as human health. As they delve into the depths of the ocean, they discover the magnitude of the problem and how it has transcended the social and political sphere. The documentary shows the fight to raise awareness about this environmental problem and how research and activism can make a difference in environmental conservation.

Directed by Sergio Izquierdo Bloemen

*Filmmaker in attendance

 

PLSTC

Thursday March 21| 6:00 pm

MOPA / Virtual

France | 2022 | 1:37

Animated | Short

Welcome to the world of PLSTC, an undersea dystopia that submerges you in the disturbing reality of plastic pollution in our oceans. Through a series of graphically confronting AI-generated and hand-composited images of ocean creatures, this experimental animated film confronts you with the devastating consequences of our habits on marine life, and leaves you gasping for breath.

Directed by Laen Sanches

Protecting the River Krupa

Virtual

Croatia | 2022 | 4:00

Documentary | Short

With Western Europe’s waterways clogged by thousands of dams, Balkan countries are rallying to protect the continent’s last free-flowing rivers—before it’s too late. In Croatia’s popular tourist region of Dalmatia, The Nature Conservancy and its partners helped protect the Krupa River in perpetuity, one of the first conservation wins of its kind in the region.

Directed by Ciril Jazbec

Relentless

Friday March 22 | 2:30 pm

La Jolla Riford Public Library /Virtual

USA/Canada | 2023 | 1:31:00

Documentary | Feature

Oscar-winning actor J.K. Simmons narrates RELENTLESS, the fascinating true story told in a procedural style about remarkable people tackling an exotic species invasion that nearly destroyed the largest freshwater ecosystem on Earth: the Great Lakes. 

Directed by Thomas Lindsey Haskin

*Filmmaker in attendance

Resilience

Thursday March 21st at 6:00 pm 

Virtual

France | 2023 | 6:00

Animated | Short

Today, all eyes are on deep seas. What are their secrets? What resources do they contain? At the center of the debate on their exploitation: the resilience of these vulnerable and little-known ecosystems. The animated film Reslilience proposes a reflection about the impact of anthropogenic activities on hydrothermal vent fauna and flora through a parallel with human resilience, emotional or physical.

Directed by Irène Mopin, Angèle Nicolas, and Noémie Barcat

Seasick

Virtual

New Zealand | 2022 | 1:25:00

Documentary | Feature

Saving a unique harbour in New Zealand from environmental collapse using ancient indigenous knowledge.

Directed by Simon Mark-Brown



Send Kelp!

Thursday March 21 at 6:00 pm

Virtual

Canada | 2023 | 1:30:00

Documentary | Feature 

A bootstrapping seaweed nerd takes on climate change and global food insecurity armed with nothing but determination when she sets-up her own kelp farm.

Directed by Blake McWilliam 

Single-Use Planet

Virtual

USA | 2023 | 1:00:00

Documentary | Feature 

A search for the true headwaters of plastic entering the ocean finds more than it bargained for.

Directed by Steven Cowan

Slaves to Water

Thursday March 21 | 6:00 pm

MOPA / Virtual

France | 2023 | 10:00

Documentary | Short

In the south of Madagascar, the village of Belemboké has no running water, no taps and no school. To access liveable amounts of water, 3 kids have to travel excruciating distances and make their way underground to the bowels of the Earth… everyday.

Directed by Bertrand Loyer

Swim Tuff: How I Swam My Way Out of the Bottle

Sunday March 24th | 2:45 pm

La Jolla Riford Public Library / Virtual

USA | 2023 | 47:31

Documentary | Short

Ben Tuff found recovery from alcohol and mental illness in 2012. He is a record-holding ultramarathon swimmer who has created the movie “Swim Tuff” with Producer, Matt Corliss. Over ten years ago, Ben gave up the bottle and taught himself to swim. “Swim Tuff” captures Ben’s perseverance and joy in sobriety while looking to destigmatize the idea of addiction and help people learn to follow their dreams. The documentary “Swim Tuff: How I Swam my Way Out of the Bottle” chronicles Ben’s journey and will animate, inform, and inspire each and every person to adopt a growth-mindset to bring about change or take on new challenges to their lives one stroke at a time. Ben partnered with the local environmental group, Clean Ocean Access, and raised over $270K.

Directed by Matt Corliss

*Filmmaker in attendance

Tahlequah The Whale: A Dance of Grief

Thursday March 21st at 6:00 pm

Virtual

Lithuania | 2023 | 15:00

Animated | Short

In the aftermath of her newborn baby’s sudden death, orca mother Tahlequah carries her daughter’s body across the Salish Sea in the incredible true story that captivated the world.

Directed by Daniel Kreizberg

The Herring People

Friday March 22nd | 12:00 pm

Encinitas Community Room / Virtual

Canada | 2023 | 1:49:00

Documentary | Feature

A group of volunteers struggle to mimic nature in two compromised estuaries to help save endangered pacific herring populations near Squamish and Vancouver British Columbia only to discover much greater forces are destroying herring populations along the Pacific Coast of North America.

Directed by Scott Renyard

*Filmmaker in attendance

Treasure of the Caribbean

Sunday March 24 | 4:15 pm

La Jolla Riford Public Library  / Virtual

Austria | 2023 | 1:26:00

Documentary| Feature

In 2013, a Guatemalan fisherman made a stunning discovery: a massive, uncharted coral reef, seemingly untouched by the bleaching that has decimated other reefs across the Caribbean. To protect what may be a rare “super reef,” scientists partner with local fishers to chronicle its riches and fight for its conservation.

Directed by Ana Salceda

*Filmmaker in attendance

Whale Nation

Thursday March 21st | 6:00 pm

MOPA Theater

France | 2024 | 1:30:00

Documentary | Feature

 A humpback whale is beached on a remote shore. During the fight to save its life, scientists discover the story of these extraordinary creatures, with unknown territories and a barely known society.

Directed by Jean Albert Lievre 

*Filmmaker in attendance

Whales of the High Desert

Friday March 22nd | 11:00 am

Encinitas Community Center/ Virtual

USA | 2023 | 22:00

Documentary | Short

Whales of the High Desert explores the story of James Wickham; an Englishman who was reported to have brought whales to Great Salt Lake in the 1870’s. Though his story was reported as ‘true’ in newspaper articles in 1888, the truth of this local Utah legend no longer matters as the debate around its veracity has uncovered a greater truth—the Great Salt Lake is dying—and if we want to keep legends alive, we have to keep the very real Lake alive that can support the legends. Professor of Folklore, Dr. Lynne McNeill acts as our guide through the history and origin of Wickham’s tale, and shares with us why paying attention to his story today can secure the health future of Great Salt Lake.

Directed by Joseph Adam LeBaron

*Filmmaker in attendance

Wild Hope: The Big Oyster

Virtual

USA | 2023 | 28:00

Short

New York Harbor was once a haven of incredible underwater biodiversity—until centuries of pollution turned it into a cesspool. Today, an alliance of architects, restaurateurs, scientists, and high school students is working to restore the harbor and protect the city from climate change. At the heart of the effort is a tiny creature with an outsized talent for cleanup: the extraordinary oyster. WILD HOPE is a series that highlights the conservation changemakers who are sparking new hope for the future of our planet.

Sing Up