Combining stunning scenery with insightful commentary on the state of river conservation from Senator Tom Udall, Theodore Roosevelt IV, American Rivers president Bob Irvin, Rio …
Environment
52 films
5,000 Miles of Wild
A Few Acres at a Time
Lani Malmberg, a self-identified “gypsy goat lady”, brings life back to the land with her herd of 500 goats.
A Tale of Two Cities
A Tale of Two Cities tells the story of two very different Michigan communities, small-town Evart and industrial Flint, that have found their futures inextricably linked by a …
Adventuring in the Name of Science
Family Friendly
Ricky Jones converted his van into his home, spends his nights in nature, and during the day makes a living making a difference — collecting data from the backcountry to help …
Bare Existence
Adult Content/Graphic
Bare Existence gives a behind the scenes look into the plight of the polar bear and the biologists on the front lines of protecting these species as they battle against the …
Being Hear
Fc Flashback
For most of his life, Gordon Hempton has been in pursuit of nature’s myriad and multi-faceted soundscapes as an Emmy-winning acoustic ecologist. During that time, he has …
Bloom Lagoon
Fc Flashback
In the film, the world’s freshwater supply has become too toxic to support mass human life. A lone survivor is mystically transported back in time to the present day, where …
Blue Carbon
Blue carbon is carbon that is captured and stored by coastal wetlands, helping to mitigate climate change. This film is about mud and the multiple benefits that estuaries provide …
Carving Landscapes
Atypical for her time, Mary Vaux defies all gender roles, mountain weather, and traditions to spark the first glaciology study in North America. Her perseverance brings her back to …
Clay Bolt
Family Friendly
Clay Bolt is a natural history and conservation photographer for World Wildlife Fund and has been featured in prominent magazines such as National Geographic. Affectionately …
Collapsing Time
Zoe Keller is a graphite artist creating large-scale, highly detailed drawings. Using the traditions of scientific illustration, she weaves complex visual narratives about at-risk …
Counter Mapping
Subtitles
Zuni farmer and museum director Jim Enote is rethinking map-making. After all, who’s to say that north has to be at the top, geographic features must be to scale or roads …
Creek Sessions
Nature has a rhythm – it just takes one to tune into it. Jess Kilroy – musician, climber, and conservationist – travels to wilderness areas around the West …
Environment, Memory & Things
The film, based on the book, Water Rising, by Garth Evans and Leila Philip, interweaves poems from the book read by the Philip, conversation with the authors of Water Rising and …
Every Nine Minutes
Artists find a unique way to raise awareness about plastic waste.
Flipping the Switch
LeeAnne Walters led a citizens’ movement that tested the tap water in Flint, Michigan, and exposed the Flint water crisis. The results showed that one in six homes had lead …
Great Old Broads for Wolves
Welcome to the southwest, where the land is wild and the women…might be even wilder. Introducing the Great Old Broads for Wilderness and their fight to keep southwestern …
Greenland Melts
Dr. Konrad Steffen, the Swiss climate scientist whose research propelled Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” and “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to …
Grizzly Country
After serving in the Vietnam War, author and eco-warrior Doug Peacock spent years alone in the Wyoming and Montana wilderness observing grizzly bears. This time in the wild changed …
Herd Impact
Adult Language/Swearing
A North Texas couple lets nature dictate how they graze their cattle. They are having tremendous success in regenerating their land and their lives.
Hike the Line
Hike the Line follows two long-distance backpackers, Tenny Ostrem and Claire Wernstedt-Lynch, on the first ever thru-hike of the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border. For 175 days, these …
Homecoming - A Boundary Waters Story
Homecoming is a paddling adventure that raises awareness about the threat of proposed sulfide-ore copper mining near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Northern …
Insect Guardian – Butterfly Paradise
Subtitles, Family Friendly
Back in 1980, Willem bought a remote potato farm and transformed it into a butterfly paradise. He has worked the land with shovel and scythe for almost 40 years in order to …
Lost in Light
Family Friendly
Lost in Light, a short film on how light pollution affects the view of the night skies, beautifully illustrates how the view gets progressively better as you move away from …
Mules In Michigamme
Family Friendly, Filmmaker in Attendance
In October 2018, a once in a lifetime project was completed in the McCormick Wilderness Area, deep within the Michigamme Highlands in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The Nature …
Nobody Dies in Longyearbyen
Subtitles, Adult Language/Swearing
They say that when you’re hit by the polar bug, you never leave. Don’t say we didn’t warn you. Nobody dies in Longyearbyen, or so goes the rumor. We went to the …
One Small Step
Family Friendly
An ambitious young girl aspires to become an astronaut with the support of her humble father.
Opening of the Earth: The Potato King (Director's Cut)
Subtitles, Family Friendly
Julio Hancco is a guardian of biodiversity, critical to the survival of humanity. He represents a people, a culture, and way of life that is being lost to modernization. Will their …
Papa Jack's Cottage
Family Friendly
Papa Jacks Cottage is a short story documenting the eroding shoreline on Lake Michigan and it’s affect it has on the landscape . The films conception and narration was …
Passion & Purpose: The Pursuit of an Outdoor Life
Michigan has a wealth of tourism each year that utilizes our lakes and rivers – leveraging the outdoor recreation businesses that facilitate us with the gear to enjoy a day …
Pictured Rocks
Family Friendly
With a perspective at once granular and cosmic, this gorgeously shot, immersive tone poem cpatures the ebb and flow of seasons along Michigan’s Upper Peninsula lakeshore.
Return from Desolation
Garret Eaton just doesn’t fit into a box. Which makes him a great subject for a short film. Especially for a filmmaker like Justin Clifton, who has a natural empathy for …
Rock-Paper-Fish
“Rock-Paper-Fish” takes audiences deep into the rainforest of Southeast Alaska where life is inseparable from the age-old rhythms of the Chilkat River. Every year, all …
Roots
Discover the daily work, hope, and perspective of one professional female tree-planter in Oregon — from an early start with coffee, through planting countless saplings in the …
Simon Beck: Snowartist
Fc Flashback
British artist Simon Beck walks with purpose through the snow, counting his paces and humming a tune. But Beck isn’t en rout to a typical winter adventure: Using snowshoes …
Smart Buoys: Preventing a Great Lakes Drinking Water Crisis
In 2006, hypoxic water entered the water intake at Cleveland Water, turning the water supply yellow for its millions of customers. What happened and why? And what can technology do …
Surface
Surf photographer Ben Thouard spends his days underwater, floating on blue-green Tahitian waves. In a quest to find an original angle for ocean photography, he waits on a weather …
The Biggest Little Farm
The Biggest Little Farm chronicles the eight-year quest of John and Molly Chester as they trade city living for 200 acres of barren farmland and a dream to harvest in harmony with …
The Boardman Review & The Leelanau Conservancy
Family Friendly
This film, by The Boardman Review, details an exciting new project by the non-profit Leelanau Conservancy and tells the story of building sustainable mountain bike trails at the …
The Center of Superior
Fc Flashback
A Superior Island is a personal travel documentary with stunning nature cinematography sequences that tells the story of when two diabetics set off to the Upper Peninsula into the …
The Last Green Thread
Amidst the backdrop of massive development and population growth, three friends embark on a journey through the Everglades Headwaters in Florida to survey a fragile wilderness …
The Last Straw
Family Friendly
Nine-year-old Milo expresses his concern about the millions of straws that pollute waterways, waste fossil fuel, and harm ocean creatures. He convinces restaurants to …
The Mighty Finn
Family Friendly
Born with half his brain, 7-year-old Finn Sheets lives with cerebral palsy. He’ll never walk or talk without assistance, and, his dad Ethan explains, has every reason to hate …
The River is Me
Subtitles
For many years, this river’s ownership was under dispute. Now, it owns itself. In what is believed to be a world’s first, the Whanganui River’s been granted legal …
Thomas Deininger. Trash Artist.
Adult Language/Swearing
Rhode Island artist Tom Deininger shares his perspectives on some big themes and how his anxieties and fears about human consumption and plastic waste create the foundation of his …
Totalité
Photographer Richard Bellia travels from France to the U.S. to photograph the 2017 eclipse from the Illinois countryside. This short film reflects on the creation of images and the …
Tracking Snow
Discover a novel way of studying elusive carnivores…using snow! Join two scientists – Jessie and Tommy – as they re-purpose an old technique in a way that not …
Undiscovered
Family Friendly
Sometimes going unseen is a choice–and sometimes, it’s a matter of saving face.
Walking on Water
Family Friendly
The frozen trails in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula look different every year. We’ll never get tired of exploring them.
Water II
Family Friendly
A gorgeous ode to the serenity and movement, the power and moods of the sea. Let it (wink) wash over you.
Wildlife and the Wall
This film takes us into the heart of Big Bend, the last true Texas wilderness, to consider what effects building a border wall might have on wildlife dispersal, migratory …
Wildly Yours
Adult Language/Swearing
A simple and savory reminder of our wild places, why they deserve more of our attention, protection and love, and what’s at risk if we lose them.