Opening Night Showcase
Environmental Film Festival 2025 launches on Thu 16 Oct with an Opening Night showcase at Palace Kino, including the Australian premiere of 'Documerica, self-portrait of a nation on the brink', Canadian Indigenous short film 'River Revelations', a panel on 'Art, Environment & Storytelling' chaired by ABC star Maree Lowes, and a drinks reception, where you can toast the fest with the filmmakers and festival team.
River Revelations
2024, Canada, Animation
Along the banks of a sacred river in Northern Canada, a dreamlike world unfolds where animals carry the wisdom of the Earth. Drawing from Tr'ondëk Hwëtch'in knowledge and a distinctive art style, beings of land and sky illuminate deep-time connections and enduring relationships between people, land and nonhuman kin. Artists and filmmakers Chantal Rousseau and Darcy Tara McDiarmid deliver a captivating celebration and important reminder: the land still speaks and asks us to listen.
Documerica, Self-Portrait of a Nation on the Brink
2023, France & United States, Documentary | Australian Premiere
The art of photography reflects the onrush of pollution and destruction in this evocative recollection of the ‘Documerica Project’, a long-forgotten epic photo survey of the American environment launched in the early 1970s at the height of environmental awareness.
Bearing witness to the limits of the American Dream, when desecration and decay of the nation’s natural environments are taking hold, director Pierre-Francois Didek’s reflective documentary conjures another time in environmental history, reminding us of what is still at stake and of the power of images to shape the past and future.
Art, Environment & Storytelling: A panel on the confluence of arts, photography, media and the environment
Chaired by ABC star Maree Jay Lowes, we'll be joined by Han and Northern Tutchone artist and filmmaker Darcy Tara McDiarmid (River Revelations), visual artist Katrin Koenning, and Burrinja Cultural Centre's CEO Melanie Burge. The discussion will cover the place of art and media in conservation and climate action, the convergency of traditional cultural practices and environmental storytelling, and what would ‘Docu-stralia’ look like today.