Feature Films

UT Dallas, a Bee Campus USA university, provides habitats that protect and promote the glorious bee and its role in our world. From bees, energy-efficient buildings to drought-tolerant landscapes, Comets take pride in stewarding our Earth and its resources. #speedofbright

FEATURE FILMS 53

SHORTS PROGRAMS 56

FAMILY FRIENDLY 61

Current Sea

Cambodia/Malaysia/USA, 2020, 90 min. Overfishing of the ocean’s waters is happening all over the world, having a horrendous impact not only on marine ecosystems but also on the local fishermen who depend on these habitats for their livelihood. That is undoubtedly the case in Cambodia, where illegal fishing is devastating this once robust seascape. Current Sea explores the situation in a tense and riveting way by following a couple of deeply committed expats who are determined to end this scourge and bring justice to the perpetrators, but of course, put themselves into great peril along the way.

DIR Christopher Smith

PROD Stephanie Lincoln, Christopher Smith

FIRE ON THE HILL: THE COWBOYS OF SOUTH CENTRAL L.A.

USA, 2019, 79 min.

South Central Los Angeles is known for a lot of things, but being home to an urban cowboy culture is not top of the list. Fire on the Hill tells the story of this littleknown community, and how a mysterious fire in 2012 nearly wrecked it all, but ultimately, this film celebrates how resilience is the key to navigating life. They may have different paths, but being on a horse keeps these three cowboys moving forward against all the odds.

DIR Brett Fallentine

PROD Brett Fallentine, Jenna Cedicci, Jordana Glick-Franzheim, Steven Amato, Jimmy Greenway, Sean-Michael Smith

Last Wild Places

USA, 2020, 60 min.

The famed biologist E.O. Wilson has worked to start a campaign called Half Earth, which posits that we need to put aside fifty percent of the planet’s surface and dedicate it to animal species. It is a big, bold idea, and the National Geographic Society is making its own ambitious efforts on this with its own Campaign for Nature, which aims to protect thirty percent of the planet by 2030. Last Wild Places is a film that looks at different areas around the world where this effort is already underway, and it has to be given how quickly 2030 is coming up.

DIR/PROD Vanessa Serrao, Sarah Joseph

MOSSVILLE: WHEN GREAT TREES FALL USA, 2019, 75 min.

Mossville is haunting, disturbing and essential viewing. It tells the story of Mossville, a small town in Louisiana where a giant chemical plant has landed, displacing its long-time African-American residents. One of them says in a home video: “I am human just like you. I breathe. I think. Just like you.” She died from cancer not long after, and her son Stacey says, “That is why we fight.” In the long-time, uphill battle for environmental justice, “disposable people,” as another character says, are left behind. It is tragic and heartbreaking, but there are people - and you meet them in this forcible documentary - who are not going to go without a fight, which is deeply inspiring. “I want them to know that we existed.”

DIR Alexander John Glustrom

PROD Catherine Rierson, Katie Mathews, Daniel Bennett

An Eco-Star-Studded Evening of Elegance

Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020, 6:30pm

Live from the the Historic Downtown, Dallas, Texas

Master of Ceremonies

DR. EVAN ANTIN

Host of Animal Planet's Evan Goes Wild