We are thrilled to be bringing highlights from our 2024 and 2025 festivals (as well as some new special selections) to an iconic museum, alongside the Jeu de Paume’s blockbuster exhibition of the late photographer Martin Parr, Global Warning.

Paris has been pushing the climate conversation forward through green urbanism and with municipal support for climate culture, and it’s now more important than ever to build strong connections across borders and languages.

18 Films. 6 Screenings. 3 days.

We’re celebrating opening night on Friday, April 24th with Searching for Amani (2024, dir. Nicole Gormley, Debra Aroko) from CFF 2024, including a conversation between Agathe Duliscouet (ChangeNOW) and the film’s director, Nicole Gormley. Followed by a reception at the Jeu de Paume and the Tuileries gardens featuring sustainable wines from Chêne Bleu.

On Saturday, we continue with Soft Rains, Hard Truths, our fiction shorts block from CFF 2025, followed by a conversation between Alissa Aubenque (Ecoprod), Dogan Kocer (Climate Spring), and Oriane Berthou (Nouvelle Séquence). In the afternoon, we’ll continue with To Hold a Mountain (2026, dir. Biljana Tutorov, Petar Glomazić), fresh off its award-winning run at Sundance earlier this year. Finally, we’ll screen a special French avant-première screening of Ghost Elephants (2025, dir. Werner Herzog), followed by a Q&A.

Sunday beings with Tectonics, experimental shorts from CFF 2025, followed by a Q&A with filmmakers Maxfield Biggs, Tehya Jennett, Stéphanie Lagarde, and Mélia Roger, moderated by CFF’s Artistic Director Dr. J. English Cook. Finally, we wrap up with the special avant-première of Yanuni (2025, dir. Richard Ladkani).

A heartfelt thanks to the sponsors and supporters who made this possible: The Carmack Collective and Anew for sustaining support, Chêne Bleu for sustainable wine, Ecoprod for ecosystem support, and Studio Rodrigo for design.

Explore the Paris Edition

In this Newsletter:

• 🌍 Earth Week Events

  • CFF x WE ACT Earth Day Screening: Solar Solutions

  • Oceania Screening at NYU

  • CFF x Jeu de Paume, Paris

• 🌱 Opportunities & Events

Tonight! CFF & WE ACT’s Annual Earth Week Film Screening

📆 Monday, April 20 at 6pm (door & refreshments) / 7pm (screening & Q&A) [waitlist only!]

📍 Maysles Documentary Center, 343 Malcolm X Blvd, New York, NY 10027

🍿 Solar Solutions short films

Tonight, CFF and WE ACT for Environmental Justice are co-hosting our third-annual free Earth Week screening! We’ll show three short films that focus on scaling solar energy and other clean energy solutions, followed by a panel and Q&A discussion. The three films you’ll see are:

• Green the City (2021, dir. Kika Tuff, Elana Kimbrell, Rese Cloyd, Matt Talarico, and Pete Hoffman)

• Powering a Nation with the Sun (2022, dir. Maya Lilly, Joel Bach, and Drew Magratten)

• The Light Won’t Dim (2025, dir. Jackson Hyland-Lipski)

RSVP to Solar Solutions

Oceania Screening at NYU

📆 Wednesday, April 22 at 7pm

📍 Cantor Center, NYU, 36 East 8th St.

​🍿 Oceania: Journey to the Center (2024, dir. Natalie Zimmerman) + Q&A

Don’t miss the feature documentary Oceania: Journey to the Center (2024, dir. Natalie Zimmerman), followed by a Q&A conversation highlighting the emotional, social, and spiritual dimensions of our current ecological moment.

About the film: Oceania begins on a coral atoll—predicted to become uninhabitable by 2030 due to rising sea levels and temperatures brought by climate change. The film invites us on a journey with a mother and her adult son as they strive to maintain their culture, freedom, and independence after decades of colonizing encounters. ​​Watch the trailer.

RSVP to Oceania @ NYU

CFF at Jeu de Paume, Paris

📆 Friday, April 24 - Sunday, April 26

📍 Jeu de Paume, Tuileries Garden, 1 Pl. de la Concorde, 75001 Paris, France

​🍿 3-Day Climate Film Festival: Explore the program.

We’re off to Paris for a three-day Climate Film Fest at Jeu de Paume, one of France’s leading centers for contemporary image-making. Our Paris program brings together 18 films from the 2024 and 2025 festivals, along with avant premières, special screenings, and more, offering European audiences a dynamic cross-section of today’s most urgent and innovative climate storytelling.

Here’s what’s playing at Jeu de Paume—click the links to learn more and get tickets!

• Searching for Amani (2024, dir. Nicole Gormley, Debra Aroko)

• Soft Rains, Hard Truths: Narrative Shorts from CFF 2025 (selection of seven short films)

• To Hold a Mountain (2026, dir. Biljana Tutorov, Petar Glomazić)

• Ghost Elephants (2025, dir. Werner Herzog, avant première)

• Tectonics: Experimental Shorts from CFF 2025 (selection of seven short films)

• Yanuni (2025, dir. Richard Ladkani, avant première)

Learn More & Get Tickets

The Plastic Detox Screening at Columbia University

📆 Monday, May 4 from 5:30-7pm

📍 The Forum at Columbia University, 601 W. 125th St., New York, NY 10027

​🍿 The Plastic Detox (2026, dir. Josh Murphy and Louie Psihoyos) + Q&A

Columbia Climate School, the Climate Film Festival, and Moms Clean Air Force are co-hosting an Earth Month screening of The Plastic Detox (2026, dir. Josh Murphy and Louie Psihoyos), followed by a post-screening discussion exploring the film’s themes around plastic pollution, its connections to climate change, and the broader environmental impacts of plastics. This free event will be open to the public with advance RSVP.

The 50-minute short version screening will be followed by a discussion and Q&A, moderated by Sandra Goldmark, Professor of Professional Practice in the Faculty of Climate, Columbia Climate School, and featuring Jasmine McDonald, Associate Professor of Epidemiology, Columbia School of Public Health, and Alexandra Zissu, author and journalist.

RSVP to Plastic Detox

🎥 Earth Week Discount for CFF ’26 Submissions

Ready to submit your film for our upcoming September festival? This week only, take an exclusive 10% discount on submission fees—just enter code CFFEarthWeek26 when completing your submission.

PS: We’re in the final stretch of film submissions! Our final deadline is May 15.

Submit Your Film on FilmFreeway

🌱 Opportunities & Events

• 4/20: CFF & WE ACT Solar Solutions Earth Week Screening & Panel

• 4/20: Catapult Film Fund Development Grant Application Deadline

• 4/21: Films of Return: Special Climate Short Film Screening + Q&A

• 4/22: CFF Earth Day Screening: Oceania at NYU

• 4/24 - 4/26: CFF Pop-Up at Jeu de Paume, Paris

• 4/25: Hahapocalypse: A Comedy Show to Support Climate Activists Under Attack

• 4/29: Chicken & Egg Films, 2027 (Egg)celerator Lab

• 5/4: CFF Screening & Discussion: The Plastic Detox at Columbia University

• 5/14: The 2026 Redford Center Grants Open Call Deadline

• 5/15: Climate Film Festival Open Call Submission Deadline

• 5/20: Center for Craft, Craft Archive Fellowship

• Ongoing: Northeast Historic Film, the Chicago Film Archives, & the Lesbian Home Movie Project, The Woman Behind the Camera

• Ongoing: Pulitzer Center Work/Environment Reporting Grants

In this Newsletter:

• 🏙️ CFF’s Earth Week Film Screenings in NYC

• 📖 Your Next Read: Climate Wayfinding by Dr. Katharine K. Wilkinson

• 🎥 CFF Open Call Final Deadline (save 10% for Earth Week!)

• 🌱 Opportunities & Events

🏙️ CFF’s Earth Week Film Screenings in NYC

Based in NYC? Join one (or more) of our film screenings during Earth Week!

🎥 Film Screening: The Unfixing (2024, dir. Nicole Betancourt)

So popular we had to add a second screening! We’ll be at New Plaza Cinema for two days showing The Unfixing, a film that follows one woman’s quest for self-discovery after a surfing accident triggers inexplicable and life-altering symptoms. Guided by dreams, natures, and wisdom from others, Betancourt weaves an immersive diary of destruction, trauma, love, and renewal. Watch the trailer here.

📆 When: Saturday, April 18 at 12:15pm (sold out) AND Sunday, April 19 at 6:15pm (new showtime!)

📍 Where: New Plaza Cinema at Macaulay Honors College, 35 W 67th St, New York, NY 10023

​🍿 What’s Playing: The Unfixing, followed by a live Q&A with the director and Furhana Husani, Waterfront Alliance’s Director of Programs and Climate Initiatives (4/18) and Gianna Lum, Co-founder of Climate Cafe NYC (4/19)

🤝 Partner Shoutout: This event is presented by CFF, Climate Imaginarium, and Women Make Movies.

Get Tickets for The Unfixing

🎥 CFF x WE ACT Earth Week Film Screening: Solar Solutions (NYC)

CFF and WE ACT for Environmental Justice are co-hosting Solar Solutions, our third-annual free Earth Week screening! This selection of short films focus on scaling solar energy and other clean energy solutions that are critical to tackling climate change and energy resilience issues. Food and refreshments will be provided.

📆 When: Monday, April 20 at 6pm (door and refreshments) / 7pm (screening and Q&A)

📍 Where: Maysles Documentary Center, 343 Malcolm X Blvd, New York, NY 10027

​🍿 What’s Playing: The three short films below, followed by a panel and Q&A with director Jackson Hyland-Lipski and other clean energy experts.

• Green the City (2021, dir. Kika Tuff, Elana Kimbrell, Rese Cloyd, Matt Talarico, and Pete Hoffman)

• Powering a Nation with the Sun (2022, dir. Maya Lilly, Joel Bach, and Drew Magratten)

• The Light Won’t Dim (2025, dir. Jackson Hyland-Lipski)

🤝 Partner Shoutout: This event is presented by CFF and WE ACT for Environmental Justice, featuring panelists from Fossil Free Media and Vote Solar.

RSVP to Solar Solutions

🎥 Earth Day Screening: Oceania @ NYU

​Join us for a free Earth Day screening of the feature documentary Oceania: Journey to the Center (2024, dir. Natalie Zimmerman). Oceania begins on a coral atoll—predicted to become uninhabitable by 2030 due to rising sea levels and temperatures brought by climate change. The film invites us on a journey with a mother and her adult son as they strive to maintain their culture, freedom, and independence after decades of colonizing encounters. ​​Watch the trailer.

📆 When: Wednesday, April 22 at 7pm

📍 Where: Cantor Center, NYU, 36 East 8th Street

​🍿 What’s Playing: ​Oceania: Journey to the Center, followed by a Q&A conversation highlighting the emotional, social, and spiritual dimensions of our current ecological moment, and their broader implications for climate communications and environmental justice.

🤝 Partner Shoutout: This event is presented in partnership with the NYU Center for Urban Science + Progress, the NYU College of Arts and Sciences Core Curriculum, Global Rise: Stories for the Future, and NYU Office of Sustainability.

RSVP to Oceania @ NYU

📖 Book Launch: Climate Wayfinding

When maps come up short and the path ahead is uncertain, how do we find our way? That’s the question at the heart of Climate Wayfinding: Healing Ourselves and the Planet We Call Home, a new book by Dr. Katharine K. Wilkinson, writer, teacher, creator, co-editor of All We Can Save, and friend of CFF! Dr. Wilkinson gave introductory remarks at CFF’s first-ever Narrative Change Summit this past September.

A compassionate and empowering guide, Climate Wayfinding helps us navigate from ache to action, doubt to possibility—through stirring personal essays, wisdom of other climate leaders, and the beauty of poetry, art, and song. Whether steeped in climate or newly curious, readers will find something grounding and generative in these pages and the proven process they share. It’s a book to read, as well as one you can “do.”

Order a copy, learn about reading groups, and find book tour events at www.climatewayfinding.earth. Until May 5, Bookshop.org is offering 15% off + a limited edition art print (promo code: Climate 15).

Order Climate Wayfinding on Bookshop.org

🎥 Earth Week Discount for CFF ’26 Submissions

Time is running out to submit a film to CFF ’26! We’re looking for bold storytelling across multiple genres and formats that helps move the climate conversation. Our final deadline is May 15.

PS: Since it’s Earth Week, we’re providing a special discount code until April 25th! Enter code CFFEarthWeek26 when completing your submission to unlock 10% off.

Submit Your Film on FilmFreeway

🌱 Opportunities & Events

• 4/16: CFF Pop-Up Screening at LA Climate Week

• 4/16: Rhizome Fellowship: Pathways for Regenerative Futures Application Deadline

• 4/16: May 14: Human Impacts Institute Exhibition: 2026 Creative Climate Awards, Collective Power

• 4/17: Catapult Film Fund & True/False Film Fest: Rough Cut Retreat Application Deadline

• 4/18: Co-Creation Studio and Agog: The Immersive Media Institute, 2026 WORLDING INCUBATOR on Climate Futures

• 4/18: Rockaway Film Festival Earth Day Celebration: Trash Pickup at Dubos Point Wildlife Sanctuary and Free Screenings at Arverne Cinema

• 4/18: CFF Screening of The Unfixing & Panel Discussion (sold out)

• 4/19: CFF Screening of The Unfixing & Panel Discussion (second screening—tickets available!)

• 4/20: CFF & WE ACT Solar Solutions Earth Week Screening & Panel

• 4/20: Catapult Film Fund Development Grant Application Deadline

• 4/21: Films of Return: Special Climate Short Film Screening + Q&A

• 4/22: CFF Earth Day Screening: Oceania at NYU

• 4/24 - 4/26: CFF Pop-Up at Jeu de Paume, Paris

• 4/25: Hahapocalypse: A Comedy Show to Support Climate Activists Under Attack

• 4/29: Chicken & Egg Films, 2027 (Egg)celerator Lab

• 5/14: The 2026 Redford Center Grants Open Call Deadline

• 5/15: Climate Film Festival Open Call Submission Deadline

• 5/20: Center for Craft, Craft Archive Fellowship

• Ongoing: Northeast Historic Film, the Chicago Film Archives, & the Lesbian Home Movie Project, The Woman Behind the Camera

• Ongoing: Pulitzer Center Work/Environment Reporting Grants

Read on to explore the full lineup and get tickets.

In this Newsletter:

• 🎟 Get Tickets to CFF @ Jeu de Paume

• 🎬 CFF @ Jeu de Paume Film Program

• 🌱 Opportunities & Events

🎬 CFF @ Jeu de Paume

Will you be in Paris from April 24 to April 26? We’d love to see you for one, two, or all three days of our mini-fest!

📆 When: Friday, April 24 through Sunday, April 26

📍 Where: Jeu de Paume, Tuileries Garden, 1 Pl. de la Concorde, 75001 Paris, France

Explore the Program

Jeu de Paume Opening Night: Friday, April 24

Searching for Amani (2024, dir. Nicole Gormley, Debra Aroko)

📆 19:30

🎟 Get tickets here

In Searching for Amani, a young aspiring journalist investigates his father’s mysterious murder within the boundaries of one of Kenya’s largest wildlife conservancies. As a ravaging drought encroaches, his quest to find the killer shifts as the collateral damage of a warming world is revealed. Winner of CFF’s 2024 Best Documentary Award.

After the film, attendees of the opening night film screening will be welcome to join a reception for guests, filmmakers, and partners!

Language: In Swahili and English, with French subtitles.

Tickets: Searching for Amani

Jeu de Paume Program: Saturday, April 25

Soft Rains, Hard Truths: Narrative Shorts from CFF 2025

📆 11:30

🎟 Get tickets here

Mythical creatures, mushroom trips, alien archaeologists, and mutating children—this collection of short narrative films bends time, genre, and logic to explore the wild edges of climate collapse. Darkly funny and deeply felt, these stories imagine the legacies we pass down—of culture, resistance, and survival—when nature starts talking back. This block will feature the following films:

• “Everything is Fine” (2024, dir. Areeya Jitaree)

• “HOT SODA” (2023, dir. Nello DiGiandomenico)

• “There Will Come Soft Rains” (2025, dir. Elham Ehsas)

• “Kuhaan” (2025, dir. Vinati Makijany)

• “Kataw” (2024, dir. Alyssa Ashley Manugas)

• “The Human Fossil” (2024, dir. Rebecca Huang)

• “The Persistence of Memory” (2025, dir. Genevieve Hannelius, Zulema Young-Toledo)

Languages: Original versions, in English or with English subtitles.

Tickets: Narrative Shorts

To Hold a Mountain (2026, dir. Biljana Tutorov, Petar Glomazić)

📆 14:30

🎟 Get tickets here

In To Hold a Mountain, set in the pristine mountains of Montenegro, a mother and daughter defend their herding tradition and land from becoming a NATO military training ground while facing ongoing violence against women and nature in the region.

Language: In Montenegrin, with French subtitles.

Tickets: To Hold a Mountain

Ghost Elephants (2025, dir. Werner Herzog, avant première)

📆 19:30

🎟 Get tickets here

Announcing the French avant première of the newest project from acclaimed director Werner Herzog! For over a decade, Dr. Steve Boyes, conservation biologist and National Geographic Explorer, has been in search of a mysterious, elusive herd of Ghost Elephants in the highlands of Angola, deep within its forests. Herzog’s Ghost Elephants follows Boyes on an epic journey as he sets out with some of the best master trackers in the world, in pursuit of an animal long believed to be a myth.

Language: In English, with French subtitles.

Tickets: Ghost Elephants

Jeu de Paume Program: Sunday, April 26

Tectonics: Experimental Shorts from CFF 2025

📆 11:30

🎟 Get tickets here

Through temporal imagery and fragmented narratives, the first edition of CFF’s Tectonics program offers meditations on the intangible undercurrents of the Anthropocene. These experimental works foreground subjectivity, non-human perspectives, fictional possibilities, and rhythmic structures that expand conversations about climate into broader socio-political terrains. The program includes:

• “Dear Phonocene” (2024, dir. Mélia Roger)

• “Common Pear” (2025, dir. Gregor Božič)

• “Alheio” (2024, dir. Pedro Paulo Araujo)

• “O Jardim em Movimento” (2024, dir. Inês Lima)

• “The Instability of Clouds” (2024, dir. Zazie Ray-Trapido)

• “Dreamland” (2024, dir. Tehya Jennett, Maxfield Biggs)

• “Extra Life (and Decay)” (2025, dir. Stéphanie Lagarde)

Languages: Original versions, in English or with English subtitles.

Tickets: Experimental Shorts

Yanuni (2025, dir. Richard Ladkani, avant première)

📆 15:00

🎟 Get tickets here

YANUNI (avant première) follows the extraordinary journey of Juma Xipaia, an Indigenous chief from the Brazilian Amazon, as she rises from a remote village in Xipaya territory to the political frontlines of climate justice. Spanning years of activism and personal sacrifice, the film captures Juma’s historic appointment as Brazil’s first Secretary of Indigenous Rights under President Lula. Told with intimate access and cinematic urgency, YANUNI is both a love story and a call to action. It illuminates one of the world’s most critical environmental and human rights struggles through a deeply personal lens. At once epic and intimate, YANUNI is a powerful portrait of resilience, Indigenous sovereignty, and the fight to protect the world’s largest rainforest—for future generations and the planet we call home.

Language: In Portuguese and English, with French subtitles.

Tickets: Yanuni

🌱 Opportunities & Events

• 4/13: Sundance Institute Documentary Fund & Sandbox Films: Sandbox Fund

• 4/13: Berkeley Film Foundation, 2026 Documentary Grant Program

• 4/14: Woodman Family Foundation, Housing Stability Grant for Artists

• 4/14: Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Climate Comedy Show, Hosted by Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson

• 4/15: Science New Wave Fund III

• 4/15: South Street Seaport Museum, The Keeper Film Screening

• 4/16: CFF Pop-Up Screening at LA Climate Week

• 4/16: Rhizome Fellowship: Pathways for Regenerative Futures Application Deadline

• 4/16: May 14: Human Impacts Institute Exhibition: 2026 Creative Climate Awards, Collective Power

• 4/17: Catapult Film Fund & True/False Film Fest: Rough Cut Retreat Application Deadline

• 4/18: Co-Creation Studio and Agog: The Immersive Media Institute, 2026 WORLDING INCUBATOR on Climate Futures

• 4/18: Rockaway Film Festival Earth Day Celebration: Trash Pickup at Dubos Point Wildlife Sanctuary and Free Screenings at Arverne Cinema

• 4/18: CFF Screening of The Unfixing & Panel Discussion (sold out)

• 4/19: CFF Screening of The Unfixing & Panel Discussion (second screening—tickets available!)

• 4/20: CFF & WE ACT Solar Solutions Earth Week Screening & Panel

• 4/20: Catapult Film Fund Development Grant Application Deadline

• 4/21: Films of Return: Special Climate Short Film Screening + Q&A

• 4/22: CFF Earth Day Screening: Oceania at NYU

• 4/24 - 4/26: CFF Pop-Up at Jeu de Paume, Paris

• 4/25: Hahapocalypse: A Comedy Show to Support Climate Activists Under Attack

• 4/29: Chicken & Egg Films, 2027 (Egg)celerator Lab

• 5/14: The 2026 Redford Center Grants Open Call Deadline

• 5/15: Climate Film Festival Open Call Submission Deadline

• 5/20: Center for Craft, Craft Archive Fellowship

• Ongoing: Northeast Historic Film, the Chicago Film Archives, & the Lesbian Home Movie Project, The Woman Behind the Camera

• Ongoing: Pulitzer Center Work/Environment Reporting Grants

In this Newsletter:

• ⭐️ Get Tickets for CFF’s Free Pop-Up at LA Climate Week

• 🚢 The Keeper Film Screening & Panel Discussion

• 🌍 Get Tickets for CFF’s Earth Week Film Screenings in New York & Paris

• 🎥 Final Open Call Deadline for CFF ’26 is May 15

• 🌱 Opportunities & Events

⭐️ See You at LA Climate Week!

Calling all Angelenos! Have you snagged your tickets for CFF’s free pop-up event at LA Climate Week? We’re screening seven short films from CFF ’25. These films showcase a vast array of climate storytelling, and will be followed by a filmmaker panel discussing the importance of art and culture in changemaking.

📆 When: Thursday, April 16 from 6:30-9:30pm PDT

📍 Where: Solotech Los Angeles, 6700 Santa Monica Blvd Entrance at 1017 N Las Palmas Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038

​🍿 What’s Playing: Our (free!) screening block includes:

• ​There Will Come Soft Rains (2025, dir. Elham Ehsas)

• ​​The Instability of Clouds (2024, dir. Zazie Ray-Trapido)

• ​Dreamland (2024, dir. Tehya Jennett, Maxfield Biggs)

• ​Alheio (2024, dir. Pedro Paulo Araujo)

• ​Qotzuñi (2024, dir. Gastón Zilberman, Michael Salama)

• Sayu-Limpia (2025, dir. Greer Fawcett)

• ​The Last Garden (2024, dir. Eloise Jenninger)

🎙️ Panel Discussion: The screening will be followed by a filmmaker Q&A featuring some of the films’ directors—Greer Fawcett, Tehya Jennett & Maxfield Biggs, and Zazie Ray-Trapido—and moderated by Heather Fipps, Executive Director of the Hollywood Climate Summit.

🤝 Partner Shoutout: This program is organized as part of LA Climate Week, in collaboration with Stranded Astronaut Productions and Earth Calling.

Get Tickets to CFF @ LA Climate Week

🚢 The Keeper Film Screening at South Street Seaport Museum

Don’t miss a special free screening of the documentary The Keeper (2025, dir. Jon Bowermaster), presented by CFF’s partners at the South Street Seaport Museum and featuring a film by past CFF ’24 filmmaker!

📆 When: Wednesday, April 15 at 6pm

📍 Where: Tall Ship Wavertree at the South Street Seaport Museum, 89 South St, New York, NY 10038

​🍿 What’s Playing: The Keeper film screening + filmmaker Q&A

Get Tickets for The Keeper

About the film: The Keeper explores the life and legacy of John Lipscomb, who spent 25 years patrolling and protecting the Hudson River—taking on industrial and human pollution, weathering setbacks, and celebrating hard-won victories. It’s a story of resilience, activism, and the enduring fight to protect our waterways. And a must-watch this Earth Month. Watch the trailer here.

🌍 Earth Month Events from CFF

Based in NYC or Paris? Join one (or more) of our film screenings during Earth Week! Here’s an at-a-glance look at what’s coming up:

🎥 The Unfixing (2024, dir. Nicole Betancourt): Film Screening + Director Q&A

• When & Where: Saturday, April 18 at 12:15pm (sold out) AND Sunday, April 19 at 6:15pm (new showtime!) at New Plaza Cinema.

• What’s Playing: The Unfixing follows one woman’s quest for self-discovery after a surfing accident triggers inexplicable and life-altering symptoms. She weaves an immersive diary of destruction, trauma, love, and renewal as her journey transforms grief into a new story. Watch the trailer here. The screening on 4/18 will be followed by a live Q&A with the director and Furhana Husani, Director of Programs and Climate Initiatives, Waterfront Alliance.

• Partner Shoutout: This event is presented by CFF, Climate Imaginarium, and Women Make Movies.

  Get Tickets for The Unfixing

🌞 CFF x WE ACT Earth Week Free Film Screening: Solar Solutions

• When & Where: Monday, April 20 at 6pm at Maysles Documentary Center.

• What’s Playing: A selection of short films, including The Light Won’t Dim (2025, dir. Jackson Hyland-Lipski), Green the City (2021, dir. Kika Tuff, Elana Kimbrell, Rese Cloyd, Matt Talarico, and Pete Hoffman), and other films focused on solar and clean energy solutions. The screenings will be followed by a panel and Q&A with director Hyland-Lipski and other experts advancing clean energy solutions in New York and nationally.

• Partner Shoutout: This is our third annual free Earth Week screening with WE ACT for Environmental Justice!

Get Tickets for Solar Solutions

🍿 Free Earth Day Film Screening: Oceania

• When & Where: Wednesday, April 22 at 7pm at NYU’s Cantor Film Center.

• What’s Playing: Oceania: Journey to the Center, a feature documentary centered on the island nation of Kiribati, which is predicted to be uninhabitable by 2030 due to rising sea levels brought by climate change. The film invites us to recenter our relationship to climate science data and facts, feeling the emotional, social, and spiritual dimensions of the ecological crisis. The screening will be followed by a Q&A conversation with the film’s director and three NYU faculty members. Watch the trailer here.

• Partner Shoutout: This event is presented in partnership with the NYU Center for Urban Science + Progress, the NYU College of Arts and Sciences Core Curriculum, Global Rise: Stories for the Future, and NYU Office of Sustainability.

Get Tickets for Oceania @ NYU

🌍 CFF x Jeu de Paume (Paris)

• When & Where: Friday, April 24 through Sunday, April 26 at the Jeu de Paume center for contemporary arts and media in Paris, France.

• What’s Playing: A mini-CFF! We’ll be screening 17 films, including selections from our 2024 and 2025 festivals and several special screenings.

• More details, including a link to buy tickets, coming soon!

🎥 Open Call Deadline for CFF ’26: May 15

Throw your hat in the ring for CFF ’26! Submit your film for consideration for our festival. Our extended deadline is May 15.

Submit your Film on FilmFreeway

🌱 Opportunities & Events

• 4/13: Berkeley Film Foundation, 2026 Documentary Grant Program

• 4/14: Woodman Family Foundation, Housing Stability Grant for Artists

• 4/14: Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Climate Comedy Show

• 4/15: Science New Wave Fund III

• 4/15: South Street Seaport Museum, The Keeper Film Screening

• 4/16: CFF Pop-Up Screening at LA Climate Week

• 4/18: Co-Creation Studio and Agog: The Immersive Media Institute, 2026 WORLDING INCUBATOR on Climate Futures

• 4/18: Rockaway Film Festival Earth Day Celebration: Trash Pickup at Dubos Point Wildlife Sanctuary and Free Screenings at Arverne Cinema

• 4/18: CFF Screening of The Unfixing & Panel Discussion (sold out)

• 4/19: CFF Screening of The Unfixing & Panel Discussion (second screening—tickets available!)

• 4/20: CFF & WE ACT Solar Solutions Earth Week Screening & Panel

• 4/22: CFF Earth Day Screening: Oceania at NYU

• 4/24 - 4/26: CFF Pop-Up at Jeu de Paume, Paris

• 4/25: Hahapocalypse: A Comedy Show to Support Climate Activists Under Attack

• 4/29: Chicken & Egg Films, 2027 (Egg)celerator Lab

• 5/15: Climate Film Festival Open Call Submission Deadline

• 5/20: Center for Craft, Craft Archive Fellowship

• Ongoing: Northeast Historic Film, the Chicago Film Archives, & the Lesbian Home Movie Project, The Woman Behind the Camera

In this Newsletter:

• 🎟️ Get Free Tickets for CFF’s LA Climate Week Pop-Up

• 🎬 Event Recap: Film Screening at Super South Summit in Atlanta

• 🏆 Call for Entry: Hollywood Climate Summit Awards

• 🎥 CFF Final Open Call Deadline: May 15

• 🌱 Opportunities & Events

🎟️ CFF Goes Hollywood: Pop-Up at LA Climate Week

Are you in Los Angeles? We want to see you at our very first Los Angeles pop-up event!

Organized as part of LA Climate Week in partnership with Stranded Astronaut Productions and Earth Calling, we’ll be hosting a free screening of a selection of short films from CFF ’25 that demonstrate the range of what climate storytelling can look like—from narrative to documentary to experimental filmmaking. The screening will be followed by a filmmaker panel discussing the importance of art and culture in creating change.

📆 When: Thursday, April 16 from 6:30-9:30pm PDT

📍 Where: Solotech Los Angeles, 6700 Santa Monica Blvd Entrance at 1017 N Las Palmas Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038

​🍿 What’s Playing: Our (free!) screening block includes these films:

• ​There Will Come Soft Rains (2025, dir. Elham Ehsas)

• ​Sayu-Limpia (2025, dir. Greer Fawcett)

• ​The Instability of Clouds (2024, dir. Zazie Ray-Trapido)

• ​Alheio (2024, dir. Pedro Paulo Araujo)

• ​Dreamland (2024, dir. Tehya Jennett, Maxfield Biggs)

• ​Qotzuñi (2024, dir. Gastón Zilberman, Michael Salama)

• ​The Last Garden (2024, dir. Eloise Jenninger)

🎙️ Panel Discussion: After the films, stay for a filmmaker Q&A featuring some of the directors of the screened films: Greer Fawcett, Tehya Jennett & Maxfield Biggs, and Zazie Ray-Trapido. Moderated by Heather Fipps, Executive Director, Hollywood Climate Summit.

Get Tickets Now!

🎬 CFF Shorts at Super South Summit

Earlier this week, CFF popped up in Atlanta for Super South: Summit for Sustainable Innovation and Impact! We screened a selection of short films from our 2025 festival in a program called “Super Shorts: Films from the 2025 Climate Film Festival.”

Learn More About Super South

🎬 Super Shorts: Films from the 2025 Climate Film Festival featured the following films:

• The Last Garden (2024, dir. Eloise Jenninger)

• Portrait of a Seaweed Farmer (2025, dir. Jeff Siebert)

• Kelp Currency (2025, dir. Michael Stewart)

• How to Change the World | SAGE (2025, dir. Nicholas Mihm)

• Qotzuñi: People of the Lake (2024, dir. Gastón Zilberman, Michael Salama)

• Herders at the Edge (2024, dir. Delgerzaya Delgerjargal)

🏆 Hollywood Climate Summit Awards

We’re proud to amplify the new Hollywood Climate Summit Awards, which just launched in partnership with Jackson Wild! Submissions are now open.

The awards recognize climate and nature storytelling across narrative film, scripted and unscripted television, video games, comedy specials, podcasts, digital series, branded content, and impact campaigns.

A distinguished judging committee evaluates work using the HCS Climate Context Framework: climate or nature should be meaningfully woven into the work. It doesn’t need to be the central subject.

Winners will be recognized at a joint awards ceremony in Los Angeles this November alongside the Jackson Wild Media Award recipients.

Submit Your Project

Regular Deadline: June 22, 2026. Projects completed after June 1, 2024 are eligible. Full category details and submission can be found here.

🎥 Extended Open Call Deadline for CFF ’26: May 15

Are you still considering submitting your film to CFF? Are there people in your network with films to submit? You still have time! But the clock is ticking… May 15 is our final deadline.

Submit Your Film Today

🌱 Opportunities & Events

• 4/6: Changing Climate Changing Lives Film Festival, Film Grants

• 4/7: New York Foundation for the Arts Anonymous Was A Woman Environmental Art Grants

• 4/13: Berkeley Film Foundation, 2026 Documentary Grant Program

• 4/14: Woodman Family Foundation, Housing Stability Grant for Artists

• 4/15: Science New Wave Fund III

• 4/16: CFF Pop-Up Screening at LA Climate Week

• 4/18: CFF Screening of The Unfixing & Panel Discussion (sold out)

• 4/18: Co-Creation Studio and Agog: The Immersive Media Institute, 2026 WORLDING INCUBATOR on Climate Futures

• 4/20: CFF & WE ACT Solar Solutions Earth Week Screening & Panel

• 4/22: CFF Earth Day Screening: Oceania at NYU

• 4/24 - 4/26: CFF Pop-Up at Jeu de Paume, Paris

• 4/25: Hahapocalypse: A Comedy Show to Support Climate Activists Under Attack

• 4/29: Chicken & Egg Films, 2027 (Egg)celerator Lab

• 5/20: Center for Craft, Craft Archive Fellowship

• Ongoing: Northeast Historic Film, the Chicago Film Archives, & the Lesbian Home Movie Project, The Woman Behind the Camera

April is Earth Month, and we’re bringing Climate Film Festival programming to audiences across the U.S. and around the world! Read on to explore where you can join us for upcoming screenings, panels, and events.

And don’t forget, we’re still accepting extended deadline submissions for the main September Festival!

In this Newsletter: Earth Month Preview

• 🎬 March 30 - April 1: Super South Summit (Atlanta)

• 🎟️ April 16: LA Climate Week Pop-Up Screening (Los Angeles)

• 🎥 April 18: The Unfixing Screening & Panel (NYC)

• 🌞 April 20: Solar Solutions Screening & Panel w/ WE ACT for Environmental Justice (NYC)

• 🍿 April 22: Earth Day Film Screening & Panel: Oceania @ NYU (NYC)

• 🌍 April 24 - April 26: Mini Climate Film Festival at Jeu de Paume (Paris)

🎬 Super South: Summit for Sustainable Innovation and Impact (Atlanta)

Tuesday, March 31 at 2pm and Wednesday, April 1 at 1:15pm

We’re kicking off Earth Month in Atlanta, GA at the Super South Summit, the South’s premier summit for sustainability. CFF will be screening a selection of short films in our program, “Super Shorts: Films from the 2025 Climate Film Festival.”

Learn More about Super South

🎟️ LA Climate Week Pop-Up (Los Angeles)

Thursday, April 16

Next up, CFF is heading to the West Coast for its first-ever Los Angeles pop-up, organized as part of LA Climate Week! We’ll be screening a free special block of short films from CFF ’25 that exemplify the breadth of climate storytelling, followed by a filmmaker panel discussing the importance of art and culture in creating change. This event, hosted at Solotech Studios, is curated and produced in collaboration with our partners at Stranded Astronaut Productions. Learn more about the films included in the screening block and get your tickets today!

Get Tickets for CFF @ LA Climate Week

🎥 Film Screening: The Unfixing (NYC)

Saturday, April 18 at 12:15pm

We’ll be back in New York for several Earth Week film screenings, starting with a special showing of The Unfixing (2024, dir. Nicole Betancourt) at New Plaza Cinema! Presented by CFF, Climate Imaginarium, and Women Make Movies, the film will be followed by a live Q&A with the director and Furhana Husani, Waterfront Alliance’s Director of Programs and Climate Initiatives. This event is already sold out (wow!) but you can learn more about the film here.

The Unfixing: Watch the Trailer

🌞 CFF x WE ACT Earth Week Film Screening: Solar Solutions (NYC)

Monday, April 20 at 6pm

We’re teaming up with WE ACT for Environmental Justice for our third annual free Earth Week screening at the Maysles Documentary Center! Enjoy refreshments and mingle with other climate storytellers, then enjoy a shorts block screening of The Light Won’t Dim (2025, dir. Jackson Hyland-Lipski) and other films focused on scaling the solar and clean energy solutions that are critical to tackling climate change and energy resilience issues. The screenings will be followed by a panel and Q&A with director Hyland-Lipski and other experts advancing clean energy solutions in New York and nationally.

Get Tickets for Solar Solutions

🍿 Earth Day Film Screening: Oceania (NYC)

Wednesday, April 22 at 7pm

Celebrate Earth Day with a screening of the feature documentary Oceania: Journey to the Center (2024, dir. Natalie Zimmerman) at NYU’s Cantor Film Center. The screening will be followed by a Q&A conversation with the film’s director and three NYU faculty members, highlighting the emotional, social, and spiritual dimensions of our current ecological moment. Watch the trailer, then grab your tickets—tickets are free with RSVP!

This event is presented by CFF in partnership with the NYU Center for Urban Science + Progress, the NYU College of Arts and Sciences Core Curriculum, Global Rise: Stories for the Future, and NYU Office of Sustainability.

Get Tickets for Oceania @ NYU

🌍 CFF x Jeu de Paume (Paris)

Friday, April 24 - Sunday, April 26

Nous allons à Paris! CFF is going global with a three-day festival pop-up at the iconic Jeu de Paume center for contemporary arts and media in Paris, France. This mini-Climate Film Festival will feature 17 films, including festival selects from 2024 and 2025 and several special screenings. Will you be in Paris? Let us know!

We can’t wait to gather with you and celebrate the power of climate storytelling. Which city will we see you in this Earth Month?

In this Newsletter:

• 🎥 Film Submission Open Call Deadline: Friday, March 27

• 🌱 Opportunities & Events

🎥 Open Call Regular Deadline: March 27

This week is your last chance to submit a film to CFF ’26 by our regular deadline! While we’re accepting submissions through May 15, submit by this Friday, March 27 to avoid additional fees. Our team is already hard at work reviewing films, and we’re excited to watch yours! Submit today on FilmFreeway.

• 🍿 March 27: Regular Deadline

• 🎥 May 15: Extended Deadline (an additional $15 will apply to all submission fees)

Submit Your Film Today!

For more info on the festival, our submission categories, and more, check out FilmFreeway and our Open Call FAQ.

🌱 Opportunities & Events

• 3/27-3/28: Environmental Film Festival at Yale

• 4/2: Creative Capital for Artists, 2027 Creative Capital Open Call for the Creative Capital Award + State of the Art Prize

• 4/6: Changing Climate Changing Lives Film Festival, Film Grants

• 4/7: New York Foundation for the Arts Anonymous Was A Woman Environmental Art Grants

• 4/13: Berkeley Film Foundation, 2026 Documentary Grant Program

• 4/14: Woodman Family Foundation, Housing Stability Grant for Artists

• 4/15: Science New Wave Fund III

• 4/18: Co-Creation Studio and Agog: The Immersive Media Institute, 2026 WORLDING INCUBATOR on Climate Futures

• 4/25: Hahapocalypse: A Comedy Show to Support Climate Activists Under Attack

• 4/29: Chicken & Egg Films, 2027 (Egg)celerator Lab

• 5/20: Center for Craft, Craft Archive Fellowship

• Ongoing: Northeast Historic Film, the Chicago Film Archives, & the Lesbian Home Movie Project, The Woman Behind the Camera

We have two great partner events to highlight in this newsletter, and a whole set of upcoming opportunities and events for climate filmmakers below.

In this Newsletter:

• 🎥 Film Submission Open Call Deadline: March 27

• 🌍 Apply to the WORLDING 2026 Incubator

• 🎬 ReelAbilities Film Festival: New York: April 23-30

• 👏 Celebrating CFF’s Volunteer Team

• 🌱 Opportunities & Events

  ---

🎥 Open Call Deadline: March 27

Have you been thinking about submitting a film to CFF ’26? Now’s your chance—our regular deadline is coming up! While we’re accepting film submissions through May 15, our regular deadline is Friday, March 27. Submit today on FilmFreeway.

• 🍿 March 27: Regular Deadline

• 🎥 May 15: Extended Deadline (an additional $15 will apply to all submission fees)

Submit Your Film Today!

For more info on the festival, our submission categories, and more, check out our FilmFreeway and our Open Call FAQ. We can’t wait to see your film!

🌍 WORLDING 2026 is here! Open Call for Applications!

Our friends at Co-Creation Studio (MIT ODL) in collaboration with Agog: The Immersive Media Institute are excited to announce the return of WORLDING, an initiative to advance thought and practice at the intersection of storytelling, climate change planning, XR, visualization and land use place-based decision-making. The initiative, now in its fifth iteration, is accepting applications from teams to participate in the one-week virtual research and development workshop in the spring.

Apply Now! WORLDING is inviting teams with projects envisioning climate futures to apply for the 2026 WORLDING incubator, which will take place online from May 13-27, 2026. Interdisciplinary teams applying would ideally include 3 members, with at least one storyteller and one place-maker. Applications are open until March 18, 2026 (11:59pm ET).

Apply to WORLDING 2026

🎬 ReelAbilities Film Festival

Save the Date for the 18th Annual ReelAbilities Film Festival: New York, which returns from April 23-30!

ReelAbilities is the world’s leading film festival dedicated to advancing disability representation, accessibility, and inclusion through the power of storytelling. Renowned for its wide-ranging, award-winning international films, the festival showcases work by and about people with disabilities, positioning disability culture at the center of the contemporary arts landscape.

📍ReelAbilities Film Festival: New York

🗓️ April 23-30, 2026

🎬 Groundbreaking films that challenge stereotypes, expand perspectives, and highlight authentic lived experiences.

💬 Riveting conversations with filmmakers, artists, protagonists, & subject-matter experts that foster dialogue around disability justice, equity, creativity, and social impact.

🏙️ Events across NYC + online

ReelAbilities Film Festival: New York is more than a festival—it is a movement for inclusion, creativity, and community.

Learn More about RFF '26

👏 Celebrating CFF’s Volunteer Team

Last week, our team came together to celebrate the extraordinary volunteers who powered the first years of the Climate Film Festival. Our team is primarily volunteer-driven, and it’s thanks to this crew that CFF has grown from an idea into a vibrant community for climate cinema.

We met up at Anew, a gathering space and discovery center for the social impact community located in the West Village. CFF is proud to be participating in the spring 2026 cohort entrepreneurs-in-residence at Anew!

🌱 Opportunities & Events

• 3/22: We Are Moving the Needle, Spring MicroGrants

• 3/23: TRIGGER — FOMU, Museum of Photography Antwerp Open Call: OCEAN OTHERWISE

• 3/23: Carnegie Science SOCIAL: Mission Matchmaker

• 3/27-3/28: Environmental Film Festival at Yale

• 4/2: Creative Capital for Artists, 2027 Creative Capital Open Call for the Creative Capital Award + State of the Art Prize

• 4/6: Changing Climate Changing Lives Film Festival, Film Grants

• 4/7: New York Foundation for the Arts Anonymous Was A Woman Environmental Art Grants

• 4/13: Berkeley Film Foundation, 2026 Documentary Grant Program

• 4/14: Woodman Family Foundation, Housing Stability Grant for Artists

• 4/15: Science New Wave Fund III

• 4/18: Co-Creation Studio and Agog: The Immersive Media Institute, 2026 WORLDING INCUBATOR on Climate Futures

• 4/25: Hahapocalypse: A Comedy Show to Support Climate Activists Under Attack

• 4/29: Chicken & Egg Films, 2027 (Egg)celerator Lab

• 5/20: Center for Craft, Craft Archive Fellowship

• Ongoing: Northeast Historic Film, the Chicago Film Archives, & the Lesbian Home Movie Project, The Woman Behind the Camera

• Become a festival ambassador with the Next Gen Climate Film Collective.

• If you’re a filmmaker, there’s still time to submit your film by our early-bird deadline!

Don’t miss these opportunities (and their fast-approaching deadlines)—read more below.

In this Newsletter:

• 🎓 Next Gen Climate Film Collective Applications are Open

• 🐦 Early Bird Film Submission Deadline is TODAY!

• 🌱 Opportunities & Events

🎓 Join CFF’s Next Gen Climate Film Collective

Are you between 18 and 26 and passionate about climate change, storytelling, film, and the arts? Join a dynamic ambassador cohort with our Next Gen Climate Film Collective! Apply here by 5pm on Friday, February 27.

We’re looking for NYC’s next generation of climate ambassadors and storytellers. With the support of the CFF team, the Collective will engage with different aspects of organizing an impact-driven film festival, including:

• Voting for a Youth Choice Award at the September 2026 Festival

• Writing guest posts for the CFF newsletter

• Curating a Climate Film Club screening

• Meeting like-minded, dedicated peers in pursuit of climate action

• Providing critical assistance and perspectives on the climate crisis from the point of view of NYC-based youth

Next Gen Climate Film Collective members will be selected from across the five boroughs and beyond. The group will meet on a regular basis in Spring 2026, with an option to extend during the Summer and Fall seasons. Participants will have the opportunity to both attend in-person screenings and workshops throughout the year and to provide hands-on volunteer help at the annual Festival in September. Click here to learn more and apply by February 27.

Apply to the Next Gen Collective!

📣 Last Chance! Early Bird Film Submissions Due February 19

Last call for early bird film submissions! If you (or a filmmaker friend!) have a film to submit the festival, you have until the end of the day today to enjoy our early-bird discounts.

Submit your Film on FilmFreeway

Film submissions are open until May 15, but our early bird deadline offers reduced rates for filmmakers:

• 📺 Shorts & Episodics: $30 $15 until Feb. 19

• ⭐️ Features: $40 $25 until Feb. 19

• 👨‍🎓 Young Filmmakers: $15 $10 until Feb. 19

Questions about our Open Call process? Check out our FAQ.

🌱 Opportunities & Events

• Ongoing: Hiring, Communications Manager, Spherical

• 2/20: USC Annenberg Innovation Lab Civic Media Fellowship

• 2/25: Submissions due for Submerse NY: Public Art to Promote Flood Resilience in Jamaica Bay

• 3/1: Suggestions due for NYC’s first-ever Environmental Justice Place

• 3/8: Call for Proposals: “The Protectors” A Documentary Series by Scientific American

• 3/8: Jamma Conservation & Communities Human-Centred Conservation Storytelling Grant

• 3/23: TRIGGER — FOMU, Museum of Photography Antwerp Open Call: OCEAN OTHERWISE

• 4/7: New York Foundation for the Arts Anonymous Was A Woman Environmental Art Grants
  

To celebrate, we’re hosting a happy hour at OCabanon for filmmakers, friends, and climate pros next Tuesday, February 17 along with Climate Tech Cities. Interested in getting involved or submitting a film? Swing by, meet the team, and make new friends! RSVP here.

💃 Open Call Party w/ NY Climate Tech

We’re celebrating the kickoff of our open call for film submissions with a launch party! Join us and Climate Tech Cities next Tuesday, February 17 from 6-8pm at OCabanon in Chelsea to connect with our team, filmmakers, climate professionals, and new friends about climate cinema and storytelling. Cash bar.

🗓️ Tuesday, February 17

⏱️ 6:00-8:00pm

📍 OCabanon, 245 W 29th St (between 7th and 8th Avenues), New York, NY 10001

RSVP Here!

🙋‍♀️ Volunteer to Screen Film Submissions

Calling all filmmakers, environmentalists, and NY film enthusiasts! Want to watch amazing climate films and help shape the festival lineup? We’re still accepting volunteers to screen the films submitted to the festival! Apply here by February 18.

What You’ll Do:

• 🍿 Watch movies before anyone else. Every movie submitted to the fest is watched and evaluated by multiple screeners.

• 📝 Evaluate films using a rubric provided by CFF. Films are evaluated with a shared rubric and guide. After the initial screening period, top-rated films go to our senior programming team, who make the final selections for the 2026 festival.

• 🦸 Be an essential part of the Climate Film Fest! Your efforts are crucial in helping shape our final program!

Apply to be a CFF Screener

🐦 Early Bird Submissions Due February 19

Thinking about submitting your film to CFF ’26? Our open call is happening now! We’re looking for bold and boundary-pushing works, from narrative and documentary features to experimental shorts and music videos. If it’s climate related, we want to see it.

Submissions are open until May 15, but the early bird deadline is right around the corner: Thursday, February 19.

Submit your film on FilmFreeway!

Submit by our early bird deadline to enjoy reduced rates for filmmakers:

• 📺 Shorts & Episodics: $30 $15 until Feb. 19

• ⭐️ Features: $40 $25 until Feb. 19

• 👨‍🎓 Young Filmmakers: $15 $10 until Feb. 19

Questions about our Open Call process? Check out our FAQ!

Why do we charge? CFF is a nonprofit organization, and submission fees directly support the festival. We strive to keep the fees affordable, and we do offer a limited number of submission fee waivers to anyone for whom the entry fee presents a barrier to submission.

Share

Subscribe now

And don’t forget: if you have a film (or a filmmaker friend), you can submit on FilmFreeway by Feb. 19th for an early-bird submission discount.

In this newsletter:

• 🙋‍♀️ Volunteer as a CFF Screener

• 🐦 Early Bird Film Submission Deadline

• 🌱 Opportunities & Events

🙋‍♀️ Volunteer to Screen Film Submissions

Calling all filmmakers, environmentalists, and NY film enthusiasts! Want to watch amazing climate films and help shape the festival lineup? Apply to be a volunteer screener!

What You’ll Do:

• 🍿 Watch movies before anyone else. Every movie submitted to the fest is watched and evaluated by multiple screeners.

• 📝 Evaluate films using a rubric provided by CFF. Films are evaluated with a shared rubric and guide. After the initial screening period, top-rated films go to our senior programming team, who make the final selections for the 2026 festival.

• 🦸 Be an essential part of the Climate Film Fest! Your efforts are crucial in helping shape our final program!

Key Dates:

• 📝 February 18: Screener Application Deadline

• ✍️ February 20: Screener Evaluations Begin

• ⚖️ April 17: Screener Halfway Deadline

• 🛑 June 1: Screener Final Evaluations Conclude

• 🍿 September 18-21: Climate Film Festival in NYC

Screeners will dedicate ~25 hours of total screening and evaluation time. Film assignments will be rolled out over the duration of the February to June screening period, as films continue to be submitted. Learn more about the Screening Team here and apply below by Wednesday, February 18!

Apply to be a CFF Screener!

🐦 Early Bird Submissions Due February 19

The open call for CFF ’26 films is underway! We’re looking for bold and boundary-pushing works, from narrative and documentary features to experimental shorts and music videos. If it’s climate related, we want to see it!

Submissions are open until May 15, but the early bird deadline is right around the corner: Thursday, February 19.

Submit your film on FilmFreeway!

Submit by our early bird deadline to enjoy reduced rates for filmmakers:

• 📺 Shorts & Episodics: $30 $15 until Feb. 19

• ⭐️ Features: $40 $25 until Feb. 19

• 👨‍🎓 Young Filmmakers: $15 $10 until Feb. 19

Questions about our Open Call process? Check out our FAQ!

Why do we charge? CFF is a nonprofit organization, and submission fees directly support the festival. We strive to keep the fees affordable, and we do offer a limited number of submission fee waivers to anyone for whom the entry fee presents a barrier to submission.

Opportunities & Events 🌱

• Ongoing: Hiring, Communications Manager, Spherical

• 2/9: Photoville 2026 New York Portfolio Review

• 2/14: Arc’teryx x Ori Women’s Creative Grant

• 2/20: USC Annenberg Innovation Lab Civic Media Fellowship

• 2/25: Submissions due for Submerse NY: Public Art to Promote Flood Resilience in Jamaica Bay

• 3/1: Suggestions due for NYC’s first-ever Environmental Justice Place

• 3/8: Jamma Conservation & Communities Human-Centred Conservation Storytelling Grant

• 3/23: TRIGGER — FOMU, Museum of Photography Antwerp Open Call: OCEAN OTHERWISE

Heading to Park City? 🏔️ We are so excited to soak in the talent at Sundance!

Between screenings, come hang out with the Climate Film Festival team for a casual happy hour. No panels, no sponsors—just good vibes and climate cinema talk.

• 📍 Where: No Name Saloon (Upper Patio)

• ⏱️ When: Monday, 1/26, 5-7PM

• 🍻 Details: Cash bar. No formal check-in, first come, first serve.

• 📌 How to find us: Look for the organizers wearing CFF pins!

RSVP through the Luma link. See you on the patio! 🥂✨

RSVP

Learn More & Submit!

The Impact Lounge

The Impact Lounge returns to Park City, originating at the Sundance Film Festival and now a traveling hub where filmmakers, changemakers, and creative leaders come together to spark meaningful change through the power of narrative and film.

They’ll be at Prospector Square January 23–28 for a week of conversations, community, and connection—featuring great snacks, gatherings, and sessions focused on storytelling for social impact, including conversations on climate action. Registration is free, but space is limited. One registration gets you access all week long. Registration link here.

🌱 Opportunities + Events

• Ongoing: Hiring, Communications Manager, Spherical

• 1/23: Earth Lounge @ Sundance

• 1/26: CFF’s second annual climate filmmakers’ Sundance happy hour

• 1/30: Submissions due for Climate Spring’s The Hot House 2026 Writers Development Lab

• 1/31: Early Bird Deadline for the Stowe Story Labs Writer Retreats

• 2/1: Submissions due for the Artists Association of Nantucket’s Environmental Funded Artist Residency

• 2/2: Submissions due for the Catapult Research Grant

• 2/4: Chicken & Egg Research & Development Grant

• 2/5: MIT Museum’s OCEAN Open Call

• 2/25: Submissions due for Submerse NY: Public Art to Promote Flood Resilience in Jamaica Bay

• 3/1: Suggestions due for NYC’s first-ever Environmental Justice Place

❓CFF Survey—We Want Your Feedback!

Attend the 2025 festival? Have thoughts on the future of climate cinema, and want to have your say? We’d love your feedback on how to improve the festival experience as we continue to grow in 2026!

This short survey (under 5 minutes!) truly helps—both for gathering funder-friendly data and for understanding how CFF can better serve you and our community. Your input directly supports the future of the festival.

PLUS: everyone who fills out the survey will be entered to win a CFF shirt and CFF socks.

It only takes a few minutes, so what are you waiting for?

Fill Out CFF's Survey Here!

Learn More & Submit!

The Impact Lounge

The Impact Lounge returns to Park City, originating at the Sundance Film Festival and now a traveling hub where filmmakers, changemakers, and creative leaders come together to spark meaningful change through the power of narrative and film.

They’ll be at Prospector Square January 23–28 for a week of conversations, community, and connection—featuring great snacks, gatherings, and sessions focused on storytelling for social impact, including conversations on climate action. Registration is free, but space is limited. One registration gets you access all week long. Registration link here.

🌱 Opportunities + Events

• Ongoing: Hiring, Communications Manager, Spherical

• 1/23: Earth Lounge @ Sundance

• 1/26: CFF’s second annual climate filmmakers’ Sundance happy hour

• 1/30: Submissions due for Climate Spring’s The Hot House 2026 Writers Development Lab

• 1/31: Early Bird Deadline for the Stowe Story Labs Writer Retreats

• 2/1: Submissions due for the Artists Association of Nantucket’s Environmental Funded Artist Residency

• 2/2: Submissions due for the Catapult Research Grant

• 2/4: Chicken & Egg Research & Development Grant

• 2/5: MIT Museum’s OCEAN Open Call

• 2/25: Submissions due for Submerse NY: Public Art to Promote Flood Resilience in Jamaica Bay

• 3/1: Suggestions due for NYC’s first-ever Environmental Justice Place

We’re thrilled to announce that CFF is back for 2026, and our call for film submissions is now open!

We invite you to join CFF from September 18th - 21st for our third multi-day festival, including screenings, panels, Q&As, filmmaker parties, climate and culture sector mixers, workshops, networking opportunities, nonprofit tabling, industry showcases, and more.

Submissions are open until May 15th, but the early bird deadline is February 19th, so don’t hesitate! You can submit on FilmFreeway here.

Stay tuned for information about an open call launch party—coming soon to an NYC neighborhood near you!

Submit Your Film

In this Newsletter:

• 💡 Open Call FAQ

• ✨ 2025 CFF Annual Report

• ❓ CFF Festival Survey - We Want Your Feedback!

• 📆 Upcoming Events

• 🌱 Opportunities & Other Events

💡Open Call FAQ

Is my film the right fit?

If you’re asking, yes! CFF promotes climate storytelling across genres and from a broad range of perspectives. We welcome features, shorts, and TV & Internet episodes across formats, including documentaries, scripted/narrative films, animations, children’s programs, experimental works, and music videos. We look for films that approach climate themes and expand on climate-related narratives, whether explicitly or implicitly.

When and where is the Climate Film Festival?

CFF will take place Friday, September 18th through Monday, September 21st in venues across New York City. CFF occurs during the opening weekend of Climate Week NYC, the largest gathering of its kind, attracting policymakers and change makers from around the world.

What are CFF’s submission deadlines?

• February 19: Early bird Deadline (Discounted submission fees)

• March 27: Regular Deadline

• May 15: Extended Deadline

• July 10: Notification Date

What is the evaluation process?

Every film is seen by at least two screeners who evaluate it based on a standardized rubric. We look for films that are well made, compelling, and include engaging takes on climate and related issues. The top-scoring films are then curated by our programming team, who make the official festival selections. All selected films will be shown in-person in NYC as part of the festival and are awards-eligible.

Award winners are selected by a jury of industry leaders from film and climate. Check out the 2025 award winners and jury here.

Who attends CFF?

In 2025, we had over 3,000 attendees. Audiences included a mix of film industry, climate professionals, and general audience. We expect an even larger, more diverse group in 2026.

Submit Your Film

Share

✨ 2025 CFF Annual Report

❓CFF Survey—We Want Your Feedback!

Attend the 2025 festival? Have thoughts on the future of climate cinema, and want to have your say? We’d love your feedback on how to improve the festival experience as we continue to grow in 2026!

Filling out surveys can often be a hassle, but it truly helps—funders ask for this information, and taking five minutes will support CFF in 2025and beyond!

PLUS: everyone who fills out the survey will be entered to win a CFF shirt and CFF socks.

It only takes a few minutes, so what are you waiting for?

Fill Out the Survey Here!

📆 Upcoming Events

HAHApocalypse

New York’s hottest climate comedy variety show is kicking off 2026 with a bang! Join us for “Cuffing Szn,” a special edition collab with our friends at the popular dating comedy show, Do You Still Like Me. It’s cold and scary out there and we want to help all of our single activists find a sexy someone to get cuffed to – metaphorically and also maybe literally because people who protest together stay together?!

Buy your tickets here and sign up to be an audience dater here.

The Impact Lounge

The Impact Lounge returns to Park City, originating at the Sundance Film Festival and now a traveling hub where filmmakers, changemakers, and creative leaders come together to spark meaningful change through the power of narrative and film.

They’ll be at Prospector Square January 23–28 for a week of conversations, community, and connection—featuring great snacks, gatherings, and sessions focused on storytelling for social impact, including conversations on climate action. Registration is free, but space is limited. One registration gets you access all week long. Registration link here.

🌱 Opportunities + Events

• Ongoing: Hiring, Communications Manager, Spherical

• 1/19: Submissions due for TorinoFilmLabs Green Narratives - Story Editing & Feature Films

• 1/23: Earth Lounge @ Sundance

• 1/30: Submissions due for Climate Spring’s The Hot House 2026 Writers Development Lab

• 1/31: Early Bird Deadline for the Stowe Story Labs Writer Retreats

• 2/1: Submissions due for the Artists Association of Nantucket’s Environmental Funded Artist Residency

• 2/2: Submissions due for the Catapult Research Grant

• 2/5: MIT Museum’s OCEAN Open Call

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This has been a major year for CFF, marked by our second annual festival, our inaugural Narrative Change Summit, and our first events beyond the five boroughs.

Our September festival is growing into a new home for climate and environmental filmmakers in NYC. With 50 films and 33 premieres, the festival makes space for movies that might not otherwise be seen on the big screen in New York. And this year our screens were bigger than ever, with new venues at Regal Essex and DGA Theater, as well as old favorites SVA Theatre and DCTV.

Cinema gives us a reason to come together—to share space, to watch, and to talk. This year’s selections did that and more, spanning bold new narratives, chilling documentaries, boundary-pushing experimental work, and even the world premiere of a charming (and award-winning) puppet performance. Explore the full lineup in our 2025 program (and a special shout-out to CFF core team member and program designer Cyntia Abarca!).

While 2025 has been an incredibly challenging year, this community remains resilient, generous, and inspiring. And more than that, it’s growing, with 3,000 attendees at the festival, 50% more than in 2024.

Festivals shine most when they cultivate space for filmmakers to directly engage. This year, the latter showed up in force: more than 50 directors, writers, producers, and protagonists joined audiences for talkbacks at nearly every screening. In support of emerging talent, CFF also hosted 10 panels and workshops over the weekend that explored the full lifecycle of climate cinema from the writers’ room to sustainable production, distribution, and impact, reaching more than 500 attendees, including 300 professionals working in film and creative industries.

We were also honored to celebrate three signature screenings at this year’s festival. Our Opening Night event celebrated the 25th anniversary of Erin Brockovich, presented as a new 4K remaster with the continued support of Universal Pictures. The must-watch (and now streaming) documentary The White House Effect was featured as CFF’s Centerpiece Screening, and our Closing Night block highlighted the crucial work behind the team of Trade Secret—if you weren’t able to snag tickets in time, make sure to catch an upcoming screening! Q&As for each program highlighted festival filmmakers alongside steadfast luminaries, including Michael Shamberg (Producer, Erin Brockovich); William K. Reilly (former Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency); “Her Deepness” Dr. Sylvia Earle (marine biologist, conservationist, and National Geographic Explorer in Residence); and conservation photographers Cristina Mittermeier and Paul Nicklen, co-founders of SeaLegacy. Our heartfelt thanks to all involved!

The Narrative Change Summit was a new risk this year, a bid to bridge the work of filmmakers with the corporations, NGOs, and philanthropies at Climate Week. It paid off, with over 800 attendees joining throughout a packed day of inspiring talks that connected creatives and operators for bigger impact. We’ll be posting the video of talks in 2026—stay tuned for more.

On top of the festival, we continued our year-round programming with local community partners in NYC, like WE ACT for Environmental Justice, FOUR PAWS, Rethink Food, and the Ceres Food Film Festival, and expanded to new cities with popup events in London for Climate Action Week, Atlanta as part of the Super South Summit, and DC for DC Climate Week.

None of this could have been possible without the generous support of our sponsors and donors. The Guardian returned as presenting media partner. The Carmack Collective and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) were premiere sponsors this year, providing major funding for the festival, along with an incredible list of corporations, philanthropies, and small businesses who donated their time and in-kind work to make the festival such a magical experience.

Finally, we would not be here without our volunteer team! CFF is a labor of love, and our core team of nearly 30 people work hard throughout the year on everything from websites and social media and marketing through to spreadsheets, screenings, and handing out tickets. We relied on more than 40 screeners to select our films, 100 onsite volunteers, and an impressive lineup of jurors to select the final awards. Our advisory board helped keep us sane and on track throughout the process.

We’re excited to return in 2026! Stay tuned for our upcoming open call announcement, full year-end report, and more ways to get involved.

The Climate Film Festival relies on the generosity of our partners and people like you.

Please help us continue to support filmmakers at the forefront of climate communications—building coalitions, amplifying solutions, and changing the story, one film at a time.

Donate today

Happy New Year!

Alec, English, and the CFF Team

🙏 Thank You to Our 2025 Festival Sponsors & Supporters

Premiere Sponsors: The Carmack Collective, NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council).

Visionary Sponsors: Agog, Nespresso, Universal Pictures.

Champion Sponsors: Compassion in World Farming, Climate Power, Earthrise Studio, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Mercy for Animals, Pique Action, The Puffin Foundation, SNØCAP, Tidal Vision, and Watershed.

The Guardian is the presenting media sponsor. The festival logo and design come from Studio Rodrigo. Legal services are from Romanette Legal. Earth Angel is the sustainability partner. Ecodeo created the festival trailer. The Everset provided furniture. Edge Auto loaned electrical vehicle services. The marquee theater partner is Regal. Compostable supplies are provided by SupplyClub. Mr. Hospitality provided pipe and drape. Awards are hand-crafted by Fernanda Uribe-Horta. Business development services were provided by ImpactECI.

Food and beverage in-kind partners include Bronx Brewery, Bear’s Fruit, Cafe d’Avignon, Just Ice Tea, Open Water, Remedy Organics, Rethink Food, and Stumptown. Screenings and events take place at DGA Theater, Regal Essex Crossing, Essex Market, SVA Theatre, and DCTV.

This project is made possible in part with funds from Creative Engagement, a regrant program supported by the funding agencies the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA), the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone (UMEZ), and the Howard Gilman Foundation, and administered by LMCC.

Whether you saw every film, caught a talk at the Narrative Change Summit, volunteered at the fest, or just joined us in spirit, we’re so grateful for your support.

This year was bigger than ever, with over 3,000 attendees, 50 films, 33 premieres, our first-ever virtual screening, and over 40 individual events. We’ll be sending a full wrap-up soon, but first we’re excited to share this year’s award winners!

In this email:

• 🏆 CFF ’25 Award-Winning Films

• 🏅 Carbon Copy Pitch Competition Winners

• 📸 Photos of YOU at CFF!

Congratulations to the 2025 Climate Film Festival Award Winners!

CFF’s 2025 Awards Night was made possible by NRDC’s Rewrite the Future, which leverages NRDC’s deep environmental expertise to support creators in telling entertaining stories that reflect our climate-altered world and the path toward a better future. Apply for their 2026 fellowship today!

From the Arctic to Standing Rock, Mongolia to Michoacán, this year’s winners reveal the power of global storytelling to confront crisis, honor resilience, and collectively imagine a livable future.

🏆 Audience Choice Award & 🏆 CFF Visionary Award: Trade Secret

A gripping six-year investigation exposing the dark global trade of polar bears—and the blurred lines between protection and exploitation.

🏆 Climate Action Award: How to Change the World: SAGE

An inspiring episodic doc following changemakers from Standing Rock to beyond, building solar futures and Indigenous energy independence.

🏆 Documentary Feature: Black Snow

When a hidden mine ignites beneath a Siberian town, one citizen journalist’s fight for truth sparks a government cover-up.

🏆 Doc Short: Herders at the Edge

In Mongolia, a young jockey and father face the erosion of tradition and climate’s encroaching threat to nomadic life.

🏆 Horizon Award: Enraizados (Our Roots Remain)

In Cherán, Mexico, an Indigenous community rises against cartels and deforestation—reclaiming their land and future.

🏆 Narrative Short & 🏆 Sustainable Production: There Will Come Soft Rains

A darkly comic reflection on memory, tradition, and rising seas, as a daughter attempt to exhume her father’s grave to move him to higher ground.

🏆 Seeds of Hope Award: Suzie Hicks the Climate Chick & Sprout

A joyful, music-filled series helping kids and families learn the science—and heart—of climate action.

🏆 Youth Choice Award: Hot Soda

A rich and darkly comic confrontation with fracking, grief, and rebellion—served with a side of magic mushrooms.

These films remind us what’s at stake, and the better futures that we can imagine and build together.

Thank you to all the filmmakers who made this year’s festival unforgettable and to our incredible jury.

Thanks as well to everyone who made the night extra special: filmmaker Alisa Payne of Netflix’s Katrina: Come Hell or High Water gave a stirring keynote; local artist Fernanda Uribe-Horta made the beautiful ceramic awards; Omakaseed served delicious vegan sushi with support from Mercy for Animals and Compassion in World Farming; Bronx Brewery supplied beer; and The Everset brought in furniture and decor at our evening’s venue, DCTV.

Carbon Copy Winners

Wondering what might be on screen next year? We’re happy to announce the winners of Carbon Copy: A Climate Narrative Pitch Competition (presented with Documentaries Don’t Work):

🏆 Jury Award: L.C. Killingsworth, Lowcountry
💚 Audience Choice: Jessica Riches, Melt

Huge thanks to the incredible Kim Steele for her visionary leadership and to our fantastic finalists, jury, and audience for championing bold new climate stories.

Your Photos

Did you get your photo taken at CFF? Find your step-and-repeat photo here. Photos are organized by volunteer photographer, and their handles are in the guide - be sure to tag them or shout them out if you post!

🙏 Thank You to Our 2025 Festival Sponsors & Supporters

Premiere Sponsors: The Carmack Collective, NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council)

Visionary Sponsors: Agog, Nespresso, Universal Pictures,

Champion Sponsors: Compassion in World Farming, Climate Power, Earthrise Studio, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Mercy for Animals, Pique Action, The Puffin Foundation, SNØCAP, Tidal Vision, and Watershed.

The Guardian is the presenting media sponsor. The festival logo and design come from Studio Rodrigo. Legal services are from Romanette Legal. Earth Angel is the sustainability partner. Ecodeo created the festival trailer. The Everset provided furniture. Edge Auto loaned electrical vehicle services. The marquee theater partner is Regal. Compostable supplies are provided by SupplyClub. Mr. Hospitality provided pipe and drape. Awards are hand-crafted by Fernanda Uribe-Horta. Business development services were provided by ImpactECI.

Food and beverage in-kind partners include Bronx Brewery, Bear’s Fruit, Cafe d’Avignon, Just Ice Tea, Open Water, Remedy Organics, Rethink Food, and Stumptown. Screenings and events take place at DGA Theater, Regal Essex Crossing, Essex Market, and SVA Theatre.

This project is made possible in part with funds from Creative Engagement, a regrant program supported by the funding agencies the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA), the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone (UMEZ), and the Howard Gilman Foundation, and administered by LMCC.

Thursday, September 25

• World Premiere of The Price of Milk Ep. 4: The Kids are Not Alright (Cooper Union, 7 East 7th Street) In school cafeterias, milk is inevitable. Even as younger generations trend towards dairy-free lifestyles—and students of color speak up about lactose intolerance—cartons of milk continue to find their way onto lunch trays. At 17, Marielle Williamson launched a lawsuit against the Los Angeles School District and USDA, fighting for her First Amendment rights to challenge the ubiquity of milk in schools. Her battle is kindred to the work of Leslie Martinez, a policy advocate who represents communities living with the effects of climate change and dairy pollution. A panel featuring the director and activists from the film follows the screening.

Saturday, September 27

• HAHApocalypse (Caveat, 21 A Clinton Street): See comedians of all kinds tackle the greatest challenge of our time and call out the bad guys burning down the livable climate so they can buy a 5th house. From standup to sketch, impressionists to fake TED-talkers, each show features a completely different lineup of outstanding comic talents from New York and beyond, all finding the ha-has in the existential threat of climate crisis.

Sunday, September 28

• Zeitgeist: Harnessing The Storms Of Change (Prime Produce, 424 W 54th Street): This interactive workshop will consider the CFF zeitgeist from festival conversation with audiences and filmmakers and the films we’ve shared. Explore strategies for crafting rich climate narratives for the screen. Identify burning questions that can motivate a climate story, research methods and narrative strategies that reflect the complexity of our climate-changed world. We’ll examine the role stories play in fostering empathy, shifting perceptions, and inspiring audiences in meaningful dialogue to drive civic engagement.

Online through Sunday, September 28

• 💧 Upstream, Downriver: Uniting for Water Justice: (dir. Maggie Stogner, 2025) takes viewers into the heart of communities that are uniting for water justice to achieve significant change and find innovative solutions. Powerful stories with frontline community activists are interwoven with historical context about landmark regulations that significantly reduced water pollution in the U.S. but failed to serve disadvantaged communities that are hardest hit by today’s climate crisis. Streaming now on WaterBear as part of the Climate Film Festival.

🙏 Thank You to our 2025 Festival Sponsors & Supporters

Support for the festival comes from The Carmack Collective, NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), Universal Pictures, Nespresso, Agog, Watershed, Climate Power, Earth Rising Foundation, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, SNØCAP, Tidal Vision, Pique Action, Earthrise Studio, and The Puffin Foundation.

The Guardian is the presenting media sponsor. The festival logo and design come from Studio Rodrigo. Legal services are from Romanette Legal. Earth Angel is the sustainability partner. Ecodeo created the festival trailer. The Everset provided furniture. Edge Auto loaned electrical vehicle services. The marquee theater partner is Regal. Awards are hand-crafted by Fernanda Uribe-Horta. Business development services were provided by ImpactECI.

Food and beverage in-kind partners include Bronx Brewery, Stumptown,Cafe d’Avignon, and Open Water. Screenings and events take place at DGA Theater, Regal Essex Crossing, Essex Market, and SVA Theatre.

This project is made possible in part with funds from Creative Engagement, a regrant program supported by the funding agencies the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA), the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone (UMEZ), and the Howard Gilman Foundation, and administered by LMCC.

In this Newsletter:

• 🗓️ Monday Schedule: Narrative Change Summit

• 🙏 Thank You to Our 2025 Festival Sponsors & Supporters

🌅 Narrative Change Summit

📆 Monday, September 22

📍SVA Theatre, 333 W 23 Street, New York, NY 10011

​Narratives shape more than stories—they shape markets, policy, and public imagination. Our Narrative Change Summit convenes influential storytellers, cultural leaders, and business innovators to explore how creative media can mainstream climate solutions and mobilize real-world action.

Narrative Change Summit: Full Program

9:45 - 10:00 AM || Opening Remarks

10:00 - 10:50 AM || Powering the Narrative: Philanthropy’s Role in Climate Media

11:10 AM - 12:00 PM || Climate Through a New Lens: Expanding the Changemaker’s Toolkit with XR

12:30 - 1:20 PM || Beyond the Billboard: Brands, Action, and Impact

1:25 - 1:40 PM || Film as a Vessel for Science: A Plastic Odyssey Story

2:00 - 3:30 PM || Groundbreaking: Regenerative Agriculture Through the Directors' Lens

3:45 - 4:45 PM || Better by Design: Solutions On Screen

5:00 - 6:45 PM || Films from the Frontlines: Stories that Lead to Climate Action

🙏 Thank You to Our 2025 Festival Sponsors & Supporters

Premiere Sponsors: The Carmack Collective, NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council)

Visionary Sponsors: Agog, Nespresso, Universal Pictures

Champion Sponsors: Compassion in World Farming, Climate Power, Earthrise Studio, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Mercy for Animals, Pique Action, The Puffin Foundation, SNØCAP, Tidal Vision, and Watershed.

The Guardian is the presenting media sponsor. The festival logo and design come from Studio Rodrigo. Legal services are from Romanette Legal. Earth Angel is the sustainability partner. Ecodeo created the festival trailer. The Everset provided furniture. Edge Auto loaned electrical vehicle services. The marquee theater partner is Regal. Compostable supplies are provided by SupplyClub. Awards are hand-crafted by Fernanda Uribe-Horta. Business development services were provided by ImpactECI.

Food and beverage in-kind partners include Bronx Brewery, Bear’s Fruit, Cafe d’Avignon, Just Ice Tea, Open Water, Remedy Organics, Rethink Food, and Stumptown. Screenings and events take place at DGA Theater, Regal Essex Crossing, Essex Market, and SVA Theatre.

This project is made possible in part with funds from Creative Engagement, a regrant program supported by the funding agencies the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA), the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone (UMEZ), and the Howard Gilman Foundation, and administered by LMCC.

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Last Chance to Get Tickets

In this Newsletter:

• 🍿 What’s Playing: Your Guide to Sunday Films

• 🎥 Schedule of Events: Sunday Panels & Workshops

• 🙏 Thank You to Our 2025 Festival Sponsors & Supporters

🍿 Sunday Films

📍 Regal Essex Crossing, 129 Delancey Street, New York, NY 10002

We’re back today with another full day of film screenings. The Sunday schedule is below — click the links to get your tickets now!

Get Tickets for Sunday Films

10:00 AM || Animal Science: Doc Shorts + Q&A (Cinema 11)

10:00 AM || Future Council (Cinema 9)

12:00 PM || Eco-nomics: Doc Shorts + Q&A (Cinema 9)

12:30 PM || Next Gen Chef: Season 1, Episode 6. Baking the Grade (FREE! Cinema 11)

2:15 PM || Landback: Doc Shorts + Q&A (Climate 11)

2:30 PM || Talk About It: Double Feature + Q&A (Cinema 9)

5:00 PM || Closing Night: Trade Secret + Q&A (SOLD OUT! Cinema 11)

5:00 PM || Closing Night: Trade Secret (Additional Screening, no Q&A) (SOLD OUT! Cinema 9)

🎥 Sunday Panels & Events

📍 Make/Change Mezzannine at Essex Market, 88 Essex Street, New York, NY 10002

We have awesome programming on deck today too! In between films screenings, don’t miss these office hours, panels, and roundtables all about sustainability, narrative building, and environmental justice in film.

Reserve our Sunday Workshops

11:15 AM - 12:15 PM || NYC Film Green Office Hours: Sustainability and Circularity on Set

12:30 - 1:30 PM || CFF In Focus: Contemporary Currents in Climate Documentary

2:00 - 3:00 PM || Unpacking Impact: Film & TV Roundtable

3:30 - 4:30 PM || From Story to Action: Building Movements

7:30 - 9:00 PM || Closing Night Reception & Awards Ceremony (invite-only)

🙏 Thank You to Our 2025 Festival Sponsors & Supporters

Premiere Sponsors: The Carmack Collective, NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council)

Visionary Sponsors: Agog, Nespresso, Universal Pictures,

Champion Sponsors: Compassion in World Farming, Climate Power, Earthrise Studio, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Mercy for Animals, Pique Action, The Puffin Foundation, SNØCAP, Tidal Vision, and Watershed.

The Guardian is the presenting media sponsor. The festival logo and design come from Studio Rodrigo. Legal services are from Romanette Legal. Earth Angel is the sustainability partner. Ecodeo created the festival trailer. The Everset provided furniture. Edge Auto loaned electrical vehicle services. The marquee theater partner is Regal. Compostable supplies are provided by SupplyClub. Awards are hand-crafted by Fernanda Uribe-Horta. Business development services were provided by ImpactECI.

Food and beverage in-kind partners include Bronx Brewery, Bear’s Fruit, Cafe d’Avignon, Just Ice Tea, Open Water, Remedy Organics, Rethink Food, and Stumptown. Screenings and events take place at DGA Theater, Regal Essex Crossing, Essex Market, and SVA Theatre.

This project is made possible in part with funds from Creative Engagement, a regrant program supported by the funding agencies the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA), the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone (UMEZ), and the Howard Gilman Foundation, and administered by LMCC.

Subscribe now