short films, articles and inspired conversations.
Celebrating Old Growth.
A Conversation with Robin Wall Kimmerer and Robert Macfarlane
Orion Magazine released Old Growth, an anthology of essays and poems about the lives of trees. To celebrate the release of the book, Robin Wall Kimmerer (Braiding Sweetgrass) held a public discussion with Robert Macfarlane (Underland) and David Haskell (The Song of Trees).
Mary Evelyn Tucker, co-founder and co-director of the Forum on Religion and Ecology at Yale University, moderated the event.
The Beast of Our Time: Climate Change & Grizzly Bears.
This 28-minute documentary is an unflinching inquiry into the relationship between climate change and grizzly bears. The film is narrated by Academy Award winner Jeff Bridges and is scored by pianist Bill Payne of Little Feat.
In recent years, the catastrophic effects of climate change have become more and more clear, and grizzly bears are facing the brunt of those challenges, between food and habitat loss. The film, which features conversations with celebrated authors such as Terry Tempest Williams, Doug Peacock and Rick Bass, is both a dire warning and a compelling call to action.
Understory.
“Understory” is an award-winning documentary that follows three women who set sail on a 350 mile expedition through Alaska’s massive Tongass National Forest. Their goal is to explore how clearcut logging in this remarkable coastal rainforest could negatively affect local communities and our planet’s climate.
To learn more about the Tongass and the creators of this spectacular documentary, visit https://www.laststands.org. Runtime: 40 minutes.
House Oversight Committee hearing.
Evaluating the Role of Forest Management in Reducing Catastrophic Wildfires
This hearing, held on Wednesday, March 16, 2022, examines the U.S. Forest Service’s efforts and plans to mitigate and respond to wildfires.
The Subcommittee heard from experts and environmental advocates, including internationally renowned singer and songwriter Carole King, about the urgent need to adopt better wildfire preparation measures in the face of intensifying fires due to climate change and human development.
Black Ram.
“Black Ram” is short film that takes viewers through the “Davis fire line” and into what the U.S. Forest Service refers to as Unit 72 of the remote Kootenai National Forest in northwest Montana.
This irreplaceable ancient forest, located deep in the heart of the Yaak Valley, was set to be destroyed by the Black Ram logging project. This film was created by Rick Bass + Kier Atherton. Runtime: 9 minutes.
Crown Jewels.
As the film crew travels from the rolling hills of West Virginia to the serene valleys of Wisconsin and temperate rainforest of Oregon, they learn about the value that ancient forest ecosystems have for the communities that depend on them. We discover how the looming threat of logging proposes to devastate these landscapes and communities — and how we can intervene.
This film was created by Alex Haraus and cinematographers Aidan Kranz and Elena Jean. Runtime: 57 minutes.