š¤ Beyond the Screen: Free Sessions for Filmmakers & Creatives
Workshops, table reads, premieres, and panelsāplus last-chance tickets for film screenings.
Take a step beyond the screen with our weekend lineup of programs and sessions designed for filmmakers, writers, storytellers, and film lovers. Join us for hands-on workshops, lively panels, and special events that spark collaboration and bring new ideas to life.
š¬ Canāt-miss events this weekend
šļø Get your tickets before they sell out!
š Thank you to our sponsors & supporters
š¬ Canāt-miss sessions this weekend
šMake/Change Mezzanine at Essex Market, 88 Essex Street, New York, NY 10002
On Saturday and Sunday, weāre hosting 10 free events! Donāt miss these interactive sessions for filmmakers and creatives on topics like incorporating sustainability across the filmmaking process and crafting climate narratives. Other eventsātable reads, pitch competitionsāgive you a glimpse into groundbreaking projects already in the works.
So many sessions, so little time! If youāre not sure which to attend, check out our staff picks:
š± Sustainable Production in NYC (Sat, Sept. 20 from 12:30 - 1:30 PM)
Film and TV productions are rethinking how they power their sets, move their crews, and build their basecamps. This rapid-fire session spotlights New Yorkābased innovators bringing sustainable production solutions to lifeāfrom electric vehicle fleets and mobile DC fast charging, to solar-powered trailers, hybrid battery systems, and clean mobile power for basecamps and studios. Youāll leave with a practical sense of the technologies available today, how to integrate them into production workflows, and where the industry is heading as studios, streamers, and independent producers all push toward greener practices.
š From Page to Stage: Table Read of a Comedy Pilot from NRDCās Climate Storytelling Fellowship (Sat, Sept. 20 from 2:00 - 3:15 PM)
Join NRDCās Rewrite the Future and a lineup of incredible NYC comedians for a deep dive into climate and comedy. Weāre spotlighting Bill on Earth (by Casey Rand & Sasha Stewart), a half hour comedic pilot that was selected for the 2024 NRDC Climate Storytelling Fellowship with a live table read by local actors and comedians plus a Q&A with co-writer, Casey Rand.
šŖ From Story to Action: Building Movements (Sun, Sept. 21 from 2:00 - 3:15 PM)
At its heart, activism is not just about petitions or policies ā it begins with the stories that move us to care and the communities that help us act. This session explores how storytelling can fuel collective action, why communities are crucial to lasting impact, and how a new kind of digital platform can transform awareness into meaningful change.
Check out our full program schedule and reserve your spot!
šļø Grab your tickets before theyāre gone
Some films are already sold out! Reserve tickets today before screenings fill up.
Need help choosing what to watch? Weāve rounded up some more staff favorites:
š§ļø Soft Rains, Hard Truths: Narrative Shorts (Sat, Sept. 20 at 12:00 PM), a 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 downāof culture, resistance, and survivalāwhen nature starts talking back. Followed by a Q&A with Nello DiGiandomenico, Elham Ehsas, Sheryl Bautista, and Rebecca Huang; moderated by Bruno Olmedo Quiroga.
š Tectonics: Experimental Shorts (Sat, Sept. 20 at 3:30 PM) offers meditations on the intangible undercurrents present in the Anthropocene, through temporal imagery and fragmented narratives. This experimental program gives space to subjectivity, interpolated with non-human perspectives, fictional possibilities, and rhythmic dissections that broaden the conversations of climate to other socio-political issues of our time. Followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers Maxfield Biggs, Tehya Jennett, and Pedro Paulo Araujo; moderated by Cosmo Bjorkenheim.
šŗ The Wolf, the Fox, and the Leopard (Sat, Sept. 20 at 7:45 PM) tells the story of a feral young woman raised by wolves who is captured and thrust into modern society, only to be rescued by a radical couple who isolate her on an abandoned oil rig. As she uncovers the lies of her new āparents,ā she is forced to stand on her own two feet and ultimately decide whether to integrate into society or return to the wild.
š 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, SNĆCAP, 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, Bearās Fruit, Cafe dāAvignon, 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.