Screening includes a pre-recorded filmmaker Q&amp;A. Screening only available to viewers in the United States and its territories. ﻿Our experience of nature is often constrained by a limited perspective. Blending microscopic and macroscopic worlds with holistic organization, these shorts offer a visual journey that reexamines the ecology of our environment.

Takes the viewer into the unseen world of living microscopic plankton. It is a voyage into a secret universe, inhabited by alien-like creatures. These stunningly beautiful, very diverse and numerous organisms are unknown to most of us, because they are invisible to the naked eye. However, they are wandering beneath the surface of every water around us. They play an important role in the production of oxygen, the aquatic food web and the carbon life cycle. Jan van IJken filmed the plankton through his microscopes, revealing the beauty and delicate structures of the minute organisms in the finest detail. The film is without any voice-over or explanation.Renowned Norwegian artist Jana Winderen made a sound composition for the film. She recorded sounds of all kinds of aquatic creatures, waves, ice-bergs, etc.

Planktonium

A voyage into a secret universe, inhabited by alien-like creatures invisible to the naked eye.

Follows the intimate journey of an astronaut going up into space, guided by metaphors from the life on earth. The film reveals the emotional complexity of the astronaut’s journey and raises questions about our shared home and our broader collective consciousness.

A View from Above

Follows the intimate journey of an astronaut going up into space, guided by metaphors from the life on earth.

From the ocean, a volcanic island rises into steamy mist. The black rock of the earth stands in sharp contrast to the billowing vapor that hovers and drifts above the surface. A narrator describes how the island’s first inhabitants sought to explain the violent eruption by attributing the devastation to the wrath of angry gods. With breathtaking black-and-white cinematography, this poetic exploration considers the human relationship to this volatile land, where residents live alongside the looming threat of eruption with reverence, fear, and awe. A collection of scenes where dark and light miraculously coexist illuminates both the physical and spiritual landscapes of this extraordinary place, where life endures the perils of the natural world.

Spirits and Rocks: an Azorean Myth

A poetic exploration considering the human relationship to a volatile volcanic island, where residents live alongside the looming threat of eruption with reverence, fear, and awe.

An animated extravaganza of plastic collected from beaches, roadsides, attics and junk shops. This is an elegy to a love affair that has gone sour, a fond farewell to that most beautiful material that has enslaved our planet – plastic. This 7 minute experimental film is a development of Paul Bush’s pioneering technique of animated photographs and stop frame animation of objects.

Orgiastic Hyper-Plastic

An animated extravaganza of plastic collected from beaches, roadsides, attics and junk shops.

Shows human action from the insect's level. A botanical garden is an artificial nature-like installation where each room has its own microclimate. Despite human attempts to control the environment, pests are spreading and eating the plants all over the garden. The gardeners are fighting against the pests with cryptobugs; thousands of ladybirds that are specially bred for killing and imported from abroad. But since cryptobugs alone don’t solve the problem, the gardeners have to rely on the help of an exterminator who kills the pests as well as all the other insects with poisons. As the remedies get harsher, the bystanders will have to face the consequences.

Under Control

Shows human action from the insect's level.

We are backing up the planet, creating 3D models of animals, rainforests, cities and people. We are archiving as if ecological collapse could be staved off through some digital Noah’s Ark of beasts and objects. Our Ark is an essay film on our efforts to create a virtual replica of the real world.

Our Ark

We are backing up the planet, creating 3D models of animals, rainforests, cities and people. This essay film explores our efforts to create a virtual replica of the real world.

A boy grows up spending his days amongst the trees. Through his daily visits of climbing, playing and swinging from branches, he develops a loving friendship with the tree and her saplings. But, the boy grows up. His visits become few and far between and he loses his affection for the natural world. He follows his lineage into the field of logging; therefore he must choose between protecting or slaughtering his beloved family of trees. Under Review: Katahdin tells the heart-wrenching story of our evolving relationship with trees.

Under Review: Katahdin

A boy grows up spending his days amongst the trees. Through his daily visits of climbing, playing and swinging from branches, he develops a loving friendship with the tree and her saplings.

Jan van IJken (Director, Planktonium) is a photographer and filmmaker from the Netherlands, fascinated by nature, biology and microscopy. <a href="https://dceff.org/filmmaker/van-ijken/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Full bio here</a>. Deniz Tortum (Co-director, Our Ark) works in film and immersive media. His work has screened internationally, including at the Venice Film Festival, IFFR, SxSW, IDFA, Sheffield DocFest, and Dokufest. <a href="https://dceff.org/filmmaker/tortum-deniz/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Full bio here</a>. Kathryn Hamilton (Co-director, Our Ark) aka Sister Sylvester, is an artist and self-taught microbiologist making work in New York and Istanbul. <a href="https://dceff.org/filmmaker/hamilton-kathryn/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Full bio here</a>. Kelly Ashton Todd&nbsp;(Director, Under Review: Katahdin) lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. She received a BFA in Modern Dance from Texas Christian University and a Double Minor in Biology and Environmental Science along with a Master’s in Sustainability Leadership from Arizona State University 2021. <a href="https://dceff.org/filmmaker/todd-kelly-ashton/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Full bio here</a>.&nbsp;Steve Ellington (Moderator) makes films for the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) a non-profit organization based in Washington D.C. <a href="https://dceff.org/filmmaker/ellington-steve/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Full bio here</a>.

Visionary Greens Shorts: Filmmaker Q&A

Featuring filmmakers Jan van IJken, Deniz Tortum, Kathryn Hamilton, and Kelly Ashton Todd.

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Visionary Green Shorts

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DCEFF30 ran March 17-27. Screenings have now ended. Stay tuned for future screening announcements. 

The 30th Anniversary Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital will be all-virtual March 17-27. Featuring dozens of screenings and discussions -- many FREE and available to audiences around the globe! Opens with Sundance Favorite FIRE OF LOVE and an interview with Dr. Jane Goodall.

Here are the LIVE Q&As scheduled for DCEFF30! Can't make it? No sweat. These Q&A livestreams will be available for on-demand viewing immediately after they conclude. Note: films will not be broadcast live. They are available to watch separately from the live discussion.