That's a wrap! CFF in 2025
A look back at the past year and a glimpse forward to 2026.
As 2025 comes to a close, we want to extend our heartfelt thanks for being a part of the Climate Film Festival community! We’re deeply grateful to share this space with you.
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.
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.