2024 Festival Recap
WORLD PREMIERES
Open Space
An Ode to the Nature Around Us
Modern life is hectic. There’s so much happening all around us.
It activates our primal sense of fight or flight. But a solution is in our own backyard.
DIRECTED BY: Cody Westheimer
COUTRY OF ORIGIN: United States
Tagliamento
The King of the Alpine Rivers
The last wild river in Europe, flowing freely through unspoiled landscapes and supporting rare wildlife, unlike much of the tamed wilderness in Western Europe.
DIRECTED BY: Giuseppe Bucciarelli
COUTRY OF ORIGIN: Austria
R.E.S.C.U.E
A Community United for Elephants
R.E.S.C.U.E. is a heartwarming short documentary about resilience, hope, and triumph in the fight to protect a species and to empower women and their communities.
DIRECTED BY: Keenan Ferguson
COUTRY OF ORIGIN: Kenya
Animal Pride
This is Nature's Coming Out Story
(World Premiere in partnership with Innsbruck Nature Film Festival)
(World Premiere in partnership with Innsbruck Nature Film Festival)
Through a journey of scientific discovery, naturalist Connel Bradwell explores queerness and sexual diversity in Nature, and questions why we’ve been missing it all along.
DIRECTED BY: Rio Mitchell
COUTRY OF ORIGIN: Canada
Climbing For Furley
Epic Bill Bradley Summits Mt. Denali
Climb alongside extreme endurance athlete Epic Bill Bradley as he attempts to summit Mt. Denali (North America’s tallest mountain) in the wake of the tragic loss of his best friend.
DIRECTED BY: Ridgley Curry & Nick Brumfield
COUTRY OF ORIGIN: United States
Otter Space
Otters & Humans Learn to Live Together
Once thought hunted to extinction, Southern Sea Otters have rebounded successfully. Now their adorable nature has brought a new challenge.
DIRECTED BY: Michael Love
COUTRY OF ORIGIN: United States
Ploverize
Small-town conservation of the snowy plover
The Western Snowy Plover is a teeny tiny lil’ cutie birdie that’s endemic to the California Coast. Oh and it’s also a threatened species with less than 3000 in existence. These folks up in Lompoc have had enough of the plovers sh*t. They want their beaches back gosh darn it.
DIRECTED BY: Alex Spell, Vivian Chou, Rigo Gomez, Hope Macias, LiLi Young
COUTRY OF ORIGIN: United States
NORTH AMERICA PREMIERES
The Ice Builders
The Ladakh's battle against climate change
Nestled in the heart of the Western Ghats, Kodagu is a land where the rhythm of life is set by the flow of rivers. From the sacred Kaveri to the pristine forests, this region is a haven for biodiversity.
DIRECTED BY: Francesco Clerici & Tommaso Barbaro
COUTRY OF ORIGIN: Italy
Kodagu
Where Rivers Set Rhythym
The last wild river in Europe, flowing freely through unspoiled landscapes and supporting rare wildlife, unlike much of the tamed wilderness in Western Europe.
DIRECTED BY: Adarsh Raju
COUTRY OF ORIGIN: India
Kewang
Nature's Ancient Guardians
For 400 years, the guardians of Haruku have preserved their local environment and traditional customs. As the grip of climate change takes hold, can this customary management approach prevail?
DIRECTED BY: Indah Rufiati
COUTRY OF ORIGIN: Indonesia
L'età Sperimentale
The Experimental Age
When the old age feels like an experiment, you never stop discovering yourself. Erri begins the tale by climbing, without a rope, 180 metres of wall on the scenic hump of Monte Argentario.
DIRECTED BY: Marco Zingaretti
COUTRY OF ORIGIN: Italy
Altitudes
Altitude Connects Them
From the glaciers of the Andes to the peaks of the Himalayas, via the Alps and the plateaus of the High Atlas, the mountains have transformed their destinies.
DIRECTED BY: Louise Thaller & Stanislas Giroux
COUTRY OF ORIGIN: France & Switzerland
Sliding
Traversing the Swiss Alps.. Head First
A female athlete traverses the Swiss Alps on her sled… headfirst. Picturesque mountains and the sounds of nature surround her as she drops in on her sled, headfirst.
DIRECTED BY: Katie Tannenbaum & Matīss Spaile
COUTRY OF ORIGIN: Switzerland
USA PREMIERES
The Dingo Fence
The Longest Fence in the World
Dingoes have Australia for the past 150 years, but with new research coming to light, is it time for this to change?
DIRECTED BY: Kate Church
COUTRY OF ORIGIN: United Kingdom
The Magic of Freedom
The limits of Himalayan adventures
Join five paragliding pilots as they venture into Pakistan’s Karakoram mountains, Pushing to the edge of their limits.
DIRECTED BY: Jake Holland
COUTRY OF ORIGIN: Pakistan
Mataperra
Conquering 3 Legendary Ascents
Yelda embarks on a quest that drives her to achieve much more than her climbing dreams.
DIRECTED BY: Rachel Trudeau
COUTRY OF ORIGIN: Canada
Heart of The Osa
NGOs unite to protect the Osa Peninsula
In the heart of Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula, dedicated NGOs must unite to protect one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth.
DIRECTED BY: Matteo Clarke & Roman Willi
COUTRY OF ORIGIN: UK/Switzerland
WEST COAST PREMIERES
Mataperra
DIRECTED BY: Rose Casella, Floris Leeuwenberg
COUTRY OF ORIGIN: The Netherlands
Entropy
DIRECTED BY: Inuk Jørgensen
COUTRY OF ORIGIN: Greenland
The Careist
DIRECTED BY: Matthew boyd
COUTRY OF ORIGIN: United States
Aldo's Bug Adventure
DIRECTED BY: Neil Losin
COUTRY OF ORIGIN: United States
The Birds & The Beans
DIRECTED BY: Pete Warren
COUTRY OF ORIGIN: United States
Welcome Home
DIRECTED BY: Alan Lacy
COUTRY OF ORIGIN: United States
Lead it Go
DIRECTED BY: Phillip Baribeau
COUTRY OF ORIGIN: United States
Body of a Line
DIRECTED BY: Henna Taylor
COUTRY OF ORIGIN: United States
CALIFORNIA PREMIERES
Elladj
DIRECTED BY: Mike Schwartz
COUTRY OF ORIGIN: United States
River Mama
DIRECTED BY: Sarah Hamilton
COUTRY OF ORIGIN: United States
To Know A Place
DIRECTED BY: Brendon Young
COUTRY OF ORIGIN: United States
Unseen Peeks
DIRECTED BY: Roo Smith
COUTRY OF ORIGIN: United States
One For All
DIRECTED BY: Michael CB Stevens, Spencer Miller
COUTRY OF ORIGIN: United States
The Thin Green Line
DIRECTED BY: Hugh Allen
COUTRY OF ORIGIN: United Kingdom
The Hanenyeo of Jeju Island
DIRECTED BY: Vern Moen
COUTRY OF ORIGIN: United States
A Life of Intent: Growing Desert Roots
DIRECTED BY: Caroline Boyd
COUTRY OF ORIGIN: United States
Embracing the Grim
DIRECTED BY: Aleksandra Janiak
COUTRY OF ORIGIN: France/England
Drawn In
DIRECTED BY: Jessa Gilbert and Justin Taylor Smith
COUTRY OF ORIGIN: Canada and Antartica
Immaculate
DIRECTED BY: Ningjing Wang
COUTRY OF ORIGIN: United Kingdom
Against the Herd
DIRECTED BY: Jaxon Derow
COUTRY OF ORIGIN: United Kingdom
Wild Flower
DIRECTED BY: Carina Pierro Corso
COUTRY OF ORIGIN: Brazil, Spain, Portugal
Orient
DIRECTED BY: David O’Brian
COUTRY OF ORIGIN: Scotland
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PREMIERES
Jane Goodall - Reasons for Hope
DIRECTED BY: David Lickley
COUTRY OF ORIGIN: Canada
Tule
DIRECTED BY: Jocelyn Garcia
COUTRY OF ORIGIN: United States
399: Queen of the Tetons
DIRECTED BY: Elizabeth Leiter
COUTRY OF ORIGIN: United States
Judy's Creek: Discovering the Secret Life of the Streambed
DIRECTED BY: Jeremy Monroe, David Herasimtschuk
COUTRY OF ORIGIN: United States
SHORT FILMS
- Wrought –
- The Bee
- The Walking Forest
- Mer, Mere
- Welcome to Summerland
- Two Point Four
- Coming Home
- Judy’s Creek – Discovering the secret life of the streambed
- The Nightingale’s Song
- The Waiting
- Won’t Give Up
- Canyon Chorus
- I am the nature
- Planetwalker
- Eat Flowers
- Slides on the Mountain
- 109 BELOW
- Nature Always Finds A Way
- Chasing Time
- With the Tide
- Streets To The Peaks
- Near The River
- Flora, Fauna, Funga
- Understory
- One For All
- Blue Whales: Return of the Giants
- Gath & K’iyh: Listen to Heal
- Ice Waterfalls
- The Deer Divide
- Heart Of The Osa
FEATURES
- Wilding
- Hunt for the Oldest DNA
- Aquatic Culture
- Silverback
- Surfing and Aquatic Culture
- Wade in the Water: A Journey into
- Black Surfing and
- We Are Guardians
- Farming While Black