The Earth Connection Film Festival Connects Climate Film Makers From Around the World
The Earth Connection Film Festival was held on Earth Day, April 22 at the IU Cinema at the University of Indiana Bloomington. Free to the public, it featured 17 international films enjoyed by 300 attendees across the day. The festival was divided into three themes– Responsibility, Interdependence and Hope. Each filmmaker received a screening fee for their work and were eligible for award money.
While the films were international in scope, the festival made sure to engage the local community. In the fall before the event, the film festival team taught toddlers how to film nature at a local forest school, Cedar Valley Farm and Forest. The footage captured by the toddlers became a part of the trailer for the festival.
In between two showings, the Festival hosted a Plant Propagation Party. Led by Sarah Lasley, one of the festival’s co-directors, the team taught attendees how to propagate plants. As well as enjoying this hands-on experience, they were able to bring home several propagated plants with them as a keepsake.
The festival also included two audience Q&A sessions. The first Q&A allowed the audience to discuss the festival directly with its directors Jessica Eise and Sarah Lasley. The second brought onstage film director Julie Busse of ‘The Old Bear,’ which won 1st place for the Interdependence theme. As Julie explained to the audience, when old bears go to the mountain for the last time, they aren't just digging their den - they're digging their graves. By interweaving family stories with the final days of bears in the Alaskan wilderness, "The Old Bear" film reflects on what nature can teach us about parenthood, aging, and death.
The festival focused on collaboration across organizations and groups and brought together stakeholders from the Bloomington community and the international film community. Earth Rising is proud to support art as an important part of climate resistance.
To learn more about the festival visit the link here.