The Future of Climate Storytelling - Live at Carbon Copy 🌍
Watch as 5 bold storytellers pitch original climate narratives live for a $1,000 prize
Ready for fresh, powerful takes on climate storytelling in a one-of-a-kind pitch event? Join us on Saturday 9/20 for Carbon Copy, a live pitch competition at CFF where 5 finalists will share their original ideas for films that entertain, inspire, and spark change.
In this Newsletter:
🌍 Carbon Copy: A Climate Narrative Pitch Competition
📝 Make/Change Mezzanine Programs at Essex Market
🍿 Explore the Program and Get Tickets Today
🙋♀️ Volunteer with CFF
🙏 Thank You to Our Festival Sponsors & Supporters
🌍 Carbon Copy: A Climate Narrative Pitch Competition
📆 Saturday, September 20, 3:30-5:30 PM
📍 Make/Change Mezzanine at Essex Market, 88 Essex Street
What is it?
Carbon Copy is a bold new pitch competition calling for original narrative ideas that embed climate themes into rich, character-driven storytelling. Created in partnership between Documentaries Don’t Work and the Climate Film Festival, this initiative reimagines how we talk about the climate crisis—through stories that entertain, resonate, and ignite. By weaving climate communications into entertaining narratives that prioritize emotional connection and commercial appeal, we can reach audiences that conventional approaches miss.
Join us at Carbon Copy at CFF, where 5 finalists will pitch live for a $1,000 cash prize and more!
Meet the Finalists:
Lavanika Bahuguna - Quacked
L.C. Killingsworth - Lowcountry
Solomon McBride - Star HR*
Jessica Riches - Melt
Harriet Riley - G.R.A.N.S.
Meet the Featured Jury:
Rick Davis - Co-founder & Managing Partner, LOHAS
Juliette Richey - Chief Operating Officer, Picture Motion
Kim Steele - Founder, Documentaries Don't Work
Craig Williams - Founder, Red Wall Productions
Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr. - President & CEO, Hip Hop Caucus
Meet our Collaborator:
Documentaries Don't Work is a revolutionary media studio transforming the landscape of climate action through narrative storytelling. Their mission is to create engaging content that drives measurable change by prioritizing entertainment value without sacrificing impact. The average person can’t name a climate documentary, but everyone can name their favorite film.
📝 CFF Programs at Essex Market’s Make/Change Mezzanine
Carbon Copy is one of a number of sessions on climate filmmaking we’re hosting in the Make/Change Mezzanine at Essex Market all weekend long! Don’t miss out on writer’s rooms, distribution deep-dives, sustainable production spotlights, comedy table reads, and more! Explore the program and grab your free tickets today.
🍿 Explore Our Program and Get Tickets Today
With 50 film screenings and 3 days of events, panels, and workshops, there’s something for everyone at CFF ’25! Tickets are going fast - get yours today before your favorite events are sold out.
PS: Check our our Festival Guide for recommendations on what to watch based on your interests!
🙋 Volunteer at CFF 2025!
Calling all film lovers, environmentalists, and local New Yorkers! We’re on the lookout for energetic, passionate, creative, and hands-on volunteers to help out at CFF.
Whether it’s working the box office, greeting filmmakers, or whipping up climate solutions social media content, our CFF volunteer team is the glue that holds the festival together.
Interested in volunteering with us? Click here to learn more and apply.
🙏 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. 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.