Shorts Programs

Shoulders Deep

Playing in front of Mossville USA, 2020, 7 min.

Aniya Wingate was 17 years old when Hurricane Harvey viciously swept into her hometown of Houston, Texas, and displaced her from her grandmother’s home. She tragically became a climate refugee, which will become an all-toocommon story with millions more expected to follow this bleak path in the future. However, Wingate was determined not to let this derail her life and decided to process this extremely challenging experience through a beautifully compelling dance performance.

DIR John Fiege

PROD Anita Grabowski, Walter Hull, Christopher Lucas

Step Outside

On the Edge Shorts USA, 2020, 9 min.

The environmental movement has been working towards positive change for at least half a century, yet this remains hard to come by. That is why many in the movement believe that peaceful civil disobedience is the best tactic for change. Step Outside tells the story of a one-day protest walk in the Bay area in an activist effort to shut down the Wells Fargo global headquarters.

DIR

Quinn Costello PROD Ralph King

The Church Forests Of Ethiopia

Offbeat Green Shorts USA, 2019, 10 min.

Allies in the environmental movement can be surprising sometimes. Cue Ethiopia, where the Orthodox Churches have stepped up in the effort to save the country’s forests. The Churches are often surrounded by pockets of primary forest, their faithful making it their duty to help preserve these native landscapes struggling and clear cut from farming and grazing. It is not easy work but perhaps made easier because the church people believe they are doing God’s work.

DIR Jeremy Seifert PROD Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee

The Long Haul

On the Edge Shorts USA, 2019, 14 min.

Keeping expeditions supplied is hard work out there on the northside of Alaska’s Denali mountain. Motorized support is not permitted, and the conditions are brutal, with efforts considered to be more perilous than the world-famous Iditarod. Of course, the people who do this work are not famous, but this short doc shows just how challenging their task is and why they are the right ones to do the job.

DIR Scott Yorko, Zach Doleac PROD Scott Yorko

The Love Bugs

Science in Action Shorts USA, 2019, 34 min.

“Our love for each other is just beyond me to analyze … we’re scientists, not behaviorists,” says Charles O’Brien, lifelong entomologist, and dedicated husband. While he is reluctant to talk about their relationship, he is voluble about the work that he and his wife, Lois, did over their career, which has led to the collection and identification of more than a million insect species -- the world’s most extensive private collection. This joyful, and yes, loving film recognizes and appreciates their pure passion for each other and the marvelous yet peculiar field of entomology while highlighting their efforts to protect the future of their invaluable insect collection in their old age.

DIR Allison Otto, Maria Clinton

PROD Allison Otto, Maria Clinton, Jane Julian

The River Is Me

USA, New Zealand, 2018, 17 min. This river is now legally a person, but what constitutes a river is up for debate.

DIR David Freid

The Wild Inside

Playing in front of Fire on the Hill: The Cowboys of South Central L.A. USA, 2019, 14 min.

Horses can be healing for people and in the short documentary Wild Inside, those people are prisoners and the horses they are learning to train are wild. It’s hard and dangerous work but it gives these men purpose and a real skill that could be helpful on the outside. It also can help them process their problems through that unique bond between man and horse.

DIR Andrew Michael Ellis

PROD Andrew Michael Ellis, Shane Slattery-Quintanilla

This Land

Playing in front of Last Wild Places USA, 2019, 10 min.

Conservationists used to be primarily white men - sometimes bearded, usually cranky - but today’s activists are often people of color. They are also young, passionate, and willing to put themselves in peril for their cause. Faith E. Briggs, advocate and owner of public lands, makes an impact by running 150 miles through three imperiled National Monuments. Arduous but worthwhile, her act inspires each of her fellow landowners to do more to preserve this land.

DIR Chelsea Jolly, Whit Hassett PROD Faith E. Briggs

Venture Out

On the Edge Shorts USA, 2020, 15 min.

For some people, coming out as LGBTQ is intimidating enough, but what about queer folks that also want to get out - as in outdoors? To lead the inexperienced, Perry Cohen started a non-profit called Venture Out that works to encourage and inspire the LGBTQ community to take trips into the wilderness and see what a life-improving - if not life-saving - experience this can be.

DIR Palmer Morse, Jamie DiNicola, Matt Mikkelsen

PROD Jamie DiNicola, Palmer Morse, Matt Mikkelsen

When The Earth Moves

Playing in front of The Great Green Wall USA, 2020, 7 min.

In 1970, Earth Day was a smart new idea that has since turnedfifty years later - into a global phenomenon. This short documentary shares the origin story of how this all came about by using old footage and new interviews with people who carry on the critical work of saving our planet today.

DIR Julio Palacio PROD Tia Nelson, Andy Adams

WILD SPACE

Canada, 2019, 9 min.

This high-energy, fast-paced short documentary follows Natalie Panek who is an actual rocket scientist who focuses on space junk. She also loves getting into the backcountry and its wide open spaces, which is perhaps why she is so committed to also making sure that we clean up those outer orbits.

DIR Jordan Manley

PROD Diana Bruccullieri, Kaitlyn Stewart, Angela Percival, James Kim, Jill Young, Laura Yale