Earth Month Recap & Final Call for Submissions!
Don't miss our final call! Also in this newsletter: the Hollywood Climate Summit, upcoming opportunities, and more!
Hi all,
This was an Earth Month of extremes. Yet even in this time of crisis, the last few weeks of sustainability-focused programs, actions, and gatherings have been revitalizing, and we’ve been finding energy in the strength of community as we collective around some of the world’s most challenging problems.
At CFF, we’ve always believed in narrative change. What’s galvanized us most, however, is the power of putting those narratives to the test in-person—and collaboratively—in what we’ve begun calling a campfire theory of change.
April was our busiest and best opportunity yet to both expand these ideas and platform the stories and strategies we believe in most, with four events across three different cities. No matter how bad the news is, engaging with these films and building community will never cease to give us hope.
And Spring, for all of our New Yorkers (and beyond!), is finally here.
In this newsletter:
Final Call for Submissions
Earth Month Recap
Catch Us at the Hollywood Climate Summit
Opportunities + Events
Final Call For Submissions: Due May 16!
We’re in the final stretch!
Documentary? Narrative? Experimental? Feature? Short? If it’s climate related, we want to see it. Selected films will be shown in-person at our festival during the opening weekend of Climate Week NYC. Submissions are due Friday, May 16 and this is the final deadline. Submit on FilmFreeway.
This week, we’re asking you to help us amplify the call. Share with your filmmaker friends and post on socials! We’re deeply impressed by and grateful for our filmmakers’ submissions so far. With your help, we’re eager to expand this community and reach as many folks over the following weeks as we can.
Earth Month Recap
CFF kicked off Earth Month with Rethink Food and the Ceres Food Film Festival for a screening of Keeper (dir. Hannah Rafkin, 2024). We had Bronx honey-infused bites and a buzzing talkback with the filmmaker, the film’s protagonists, and a representative from the Bronx Documentary Center.
We spent Earth Day with WE ACT for Environmental Justice for an engaging screening and talkback on urban heat and the power of nature-based solutions at the iconic Maysles Documentary Center, featuring Weathered: The Heat is On (dir. Trip Jennings, 2024) and Green Spaces Fight Climate Change in Cities (dir. Meghan McDonough, 2022). At the event, we heard from Paul Lozito of the NYC Mayor’s Office of Climate & Environmental Justice about the city’s just-released Urban Forest Plan 2025. To get involved and learn more, sign up for a community kick-off meeting here.
Beyond the Five Boroughs
This month was also our first foray outside of NYC, with popups at the Super South Summit in Atlanta and Marketplace of the Future at DC Climate Week.
At Super South, English, CFF’s Artistic Director, spoke on a panel on sustainable filmmaking moderated by Lauren Gloster from our sustainability partners at Earth Angel. We also connected filmmakers from the 2024 festival with screening opportunities at the first iteration of Atlanta’s new climate conference.
In DC, we partnered with our friends at Marketplace of the Future and The Biomimicry Institute to screen their web series on nature-inspired climate solutions. Keep an eye out for more expanded programming and find us soon in LA as official partners of the Hollywood Climate Summit!
CFF ♥︎ Hollywood Climate Summit
We’re thrilled to announce that we are partnering with this year’s Hollywood Climate Summit in Los Angeles! Through this partnership, we aim to uplift the importance of cross-sector collaboration and action addressing the environment. HWCS is an incredible organization that has been leading the way on climate and entertainment. If you’re in Los Angeles or interested in climate cinema in general, this is a can’t miss event.