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Since I was working for The Nature Conservancy (TNC), I have been aware of the D.C. Environmental Film Festival. I try to go to at least one screening a year (although sometimes even that didn't happen). Of course this year the festival was virtual. At first I thought I wouldn't bother to watch: why would I want to just watch movies on my computer when I used to be able to make an event out of it and go to a theater in the "before times" ? But we're still in a pandemic, and since I'm stuck at home watching a lot of TV anyway, I figured I should at least make sure I'm watching something educational.
Even though I had a few binge nights of EFF movies, I couldn't possibly watch them all. I mostly watched shorts, which was especially conducive for quarantine watching since I could watch a little bit here and there between doing other things. I'm not sure how many I watched in the end, but the list is too long for one blog post. But here are some of the films I watched, categorized under the very fancy labels of "good" and "bad." Let's start with the bad first (just to get them out of the way).
BAD
Ain't Your Mama's Heatwave
Comedy is already subjective: what one person finds funny, another person thinks is dumb. But I think we've all seen amateur comedy, and all of it is pretty bad. The comics featured in this special were no exception. First of all, I was disappointed by the lack of climate-related bits that were in the routines. The whole idea of the show was to address the important issue of climate change, but each comic really only referred to it once, mostly regarding sea level rise (which of course is one impact of climate change, but it's not the only one). Then most of them didn't have great stage presence or a good rapport with the crowd; one of them kept calling the audience "stupid" and telling them to shut up! That's not the kind of show I want to watch, getting berated by a C-level comic! Most of this show wasn't funny, and since it was the first film I watched during the festival, I didn't have high hopes for the rest of the films. Luckily the rest were much better!
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Cormie: The Pickpocket Cormorant
I watched this because I think cormorants are cool, and Cormie is such a sweet name! But the film was mostly about trying to teach a cormorant to take dollar bills with her beak as a ploy for donations. Don't get me wrong: the Wildlife Center of the North Coast is doing great work to help save animals. But a short film about the inability of a bird to grab a dollar bill in her beak and put it into a box doesn't really make for a good story. Also, the film shows the executive director handing out branded tote bags to possible supporters, most of the time giving them more than one; if you need donations, why not charge for the bag? Even just $1!
Mother of the Air
I couldn't watch this short film all the way through. It's just a voiceover of a mournful song as you watch the burning forests of the Amazon. Of course the destruction of this beautiful natural resource is devastating, but it doesn't mean I need to watch it for 10+ minutes.
The Whelming Sea
I was interested in watching this short film because it was supposed to focus on horseshoe crabs, a species that I have seen myself on the beaches of Delaware. But the film itself wasn't that good. Most of the footage was shot at night, so you can barely see anything. A lot of the dialogue is hard to hear; you're not even sure what's going on. There must be better films out there to highlight the importance of these ancient animals.
GOOD
Aguilucho: Dance of the Harpy Eagle
I did not know Harpy Eagles lived in Panama; actually, I'm not sure where I thought they lived. But it was really cool to see how the local people of the Darien Gap rainforest are helping to protect the birds and use their conservation as part of eco-tourism. The footage of the birds is beautiful, and the people interviewed are so clearly dedicated to protecting these rare birds.
America's Heartland: Wild Prairie Reborn
This film is about the plight of the American bison and how the animals are being protected on Montana's American Prairie Reserve. These amazing animals are necessary for grassland ecosystems, and their numbers have been decimated ever since pioneers moved out west. When I worked for TNC, I actually had the opportunity to see bison in their natural habitat in Illinois, where the organization had helped bring them back to those grasslands. It was amazing to watch these large animals move as a herd, at times disappearing completely behind rolling hills. As America's national mammal, I hope we can continue to protect the bison for generations to come.
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Again, I knew what ocelots were, but I didn't know they lived in the U.S.! This documentary was about studying these cats in Texas, and finding ways to protect this critically endangered species. Plus, who wouldn't want to watch a film about these cute cats?!
Citizen Nobel
I REALLY liked this film! It follows Jacques Dubochet once he won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2017. He is such a down-to-earth man, and yet clearly he has some genius in him. You want to know the guy in real life! He is humble, funny, and so passionate about protecting our planet for the future. I would never have learned about him otherwise, so I'm so glad EFF included this film in this year's festival!
Dive Tierra Bomba Dive
This film follows a young woman from an island in Colombia who is passionate about diving and protecting the ocean, especially the local coral reef. I'm always impressed by young people who start early in trying to make the world a better place. She wants to go to college to study marine science and works with the local fishermen and others to empower the community to protect their reefs and therefore their fishing livelihoods. You go, girl!
From Kurils with Love
This was one of my favorites of all the films I watched. The Kuril Islands are north of Japan and south of Kamchatka (which I only knew of because of the old Risk board game), and there is a large sea lion population there. Vladimir, a 60-year-old biologist, has been studying the animals in this habitat for decades, and he is showing younger scientists the islands, their importance to the sea lions, and the impacts climate change has had on the area. His passion is infectious and you can tell how much he loves both his work and sharing it with others. Make sure to watch through the credits: the best part is near the very end!
The Falconer
This was another great film that I'm so glad I watched. I knew of Rodney Stotts before watching this documentary; I think I had read about him in a National Audubon Society magazine or something like that. It's pretty cool to have one of few African-American falconers right in the D.C. area. I knew about his work as a falconer, but this film goes into his background, which makes his story all the more inspiring. SPOILERS: He was one of nine inner-city youth to help with the Earth Conservation Corps, cleaning up local waterways and staying out of trouble. In the end, half of the group died early, mostly from violence (one of the girls was raped and murdered their first night in Houston traveling for a clean-up). He named his first female bird after his lost friend, and he has commemorated all of those lost in the bird sanctuary he has built with his bare hands. Stotts has many facets: he's a falconer, an educator, a carpenter, a poet... He has made so much out of humble beginnings and tough circumstances. Definitely a local to be admired!
Nature's Fear Factor
I've always been amazed by wild animals: my parents love animals and taught my sister and me so much about wildlife. So this film about reintroducing African wild dogs (also known as painted wolves) to Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique was right up my alley. During the years of civil war in the region, many of the natural predators were killed or displaced, which caused the ecosystem to be unbalanced; prey species weren't eating their normal diets or living in their regular habitats. But reintroducing the painted wolves helped the ecosystem go back to its usual stasis, because when the prey animals had fear as part of their daily lives, they acted as they would have before the war, when big cats, hyenas, and these wolves were living in the park. It was fun to see the wolves thriving; they went from 14 individuals to more than 40 in a year because of the puppies they had; their population was doing well just as the others were. Such a cool story!
Peng Yu Sai
I think we're all aware of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and its use of animal parts; I wrote a paper on this very subject in college on TCM's use of tiger bone, bear bile, and rhino horn. But I didn't know that the Chinese make soup from the gills of manta rays as a remedy as well. This documentary follows a young woman, Malaika Vaz, who follows the illegal wildlife trade of these animal parts from the Indian Ocean all the way to China. The hardest part of the film is to see dozens, maybe hundreds, of these dead animals laying upside down on the beach. And what's astonishing is that because these animals are higher on the food chain, that means toxic substances build up inside of them through all the food they eat; people eating manta ray gill soup may actually be poisoning themselves with mercury! Just another instance when a culture doesn't accept science to the detriment of beautiful, innocent creatures.
Shepherd's Song
A woman named Jenya lost both of her parents when she was young, and while she wasn't sure of her life path, she found it as a shepherd with the man she loves. They live the kind of lifestyle that takes a special person: you're outside all day tending to the flock, and traveling hundreds of miles as the sheep graze over a large area. I am inspired by the passion she and her partner have for that rustic life, and I admire how, even after such tragic loss, she has made her way to have a fulfilling life.
The Waters that Heal Us
This short documentary highlights the work of the National Capital Chapter of Project Healing Waters, which takes disabled veterans out into nature to go fly fishing. Many veterans in these circumstances don't have the opportunity to get outside in this way, and those interviewed were so excited to be a part of this program. I know how much I love being immersed in nature, and I could see the joy that it brought to these people who made such sacrifices for our country.
Where I Belong
Christine (Chris) Hill is an African-American woman who loves to go fishing. This short film is about her love of the outdoors and her mission to show other people of color that they do belong in nature. I remember when I worked for TNC, I remember leading a group of kids from D.C. on a walk at Great Falls National Park in VA, and they commented on the fact that they had never seen such big trees or heard so many different kinds of birds. Many people from different backgrounds don't have the opportunities to get outside when they're young, and then frequently don't seek out those chances as adults. Hill was raised in a way in which she did experience nature as a child, and that love of the outdoors has continued; she wants to share that with others, too. I liked her story; this film makes me want to be her friend!
This film shows a science educator taking three teenagers on a multi-day camping adventure along Florida's Lake Wales Ridge (i.e. the "backbone" of Florida). The group hikes, bikes, and rides horses along the journey, seeing all of the different habitats that region has to offer. The kids are so excited and appreciative of the opportunity, and you can tell by watching the film that this is an experience they will carry with them for the rest of their lives. I liked living vicariously through them as they were seeing these incredible parts of nature that could potentially disappear because of development in the state.
Wildlife Killing Contests
This was by far the most disturbing film I watched during the entire festival. BUT I have listed it under the "good" category because I think it's an important issue for Americans to know about. Only a handful of states have outlawed wildlife killing contests, the sport in which hunters kill as many of one species of animal in a certain timeframe, and whoever kills the most wins thousands of dollars. How is this okay in 40+ states?! The hunters claim they are doing this to help with predator management, but many scientists within the film say that there is no evidence that killing SO many of a certain animal, be it foxes, wolves, or coyotes, is good for a natural ecosystem; even some hunters in the documentary agree that it's just too many animals. Some of these men (ahem) even kill animals that aren't part of the contest just for the hell of it, or kill the animals by running over them with snowmobiles instead of shooting them. The images of piles, dozens, hundreds of beautiful, murdered animals is shocking and horrifying. I hope films like this will encourage people to contact their government representatives and ask (and vote!) that these contests be banned in their states. This should not be allowed ANYWHERE, EVER.
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All in all, I was very impressed by this year's festival. The Eventive platform made it easy to register for screenings and offered you 48 hours to watch any that you picked. This was especially great for the screenings of multiple shorts; I could watch 20 minutes here, 10 minutes there, while doing my own thing at home in between, which wouldn't have been possible in-person. And there were so many different films to watch! Great variety, from the awe-inspiring to the blood-boiling. I also was thrilled to see so many films that focus on the stories of women. And I could see all of these (and more) for free! I did end up making a donation to EFF because I did thoroughly enjoy the program and I'm so thankful for their hard work in putting together such an amazing festival. I can't wait for next year's!
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