NEW YORK – Sept. 6, 2024 – The inaugural Climate Film Festival, in partnership with the Guardian US, has announced the schedule of programming, screenings, and thought leader/creator panels and workshops. Co-founders Alec Turnbull and J. English Cook made the announcement. The festival takes place Friday, September 20 – Sunday, September 22. The opening night premiere will be held at The Explorers Club, followed by a weekend of 59 film finalist screenings and additional panel discussions at Firehouse: DCTV’s Cinema for Documentary Film. The festival coincides with the opening weekend of Climate Week NYC. General admission tickets are $18. Visit climatefilmfest.com for ticketing, programming, and film information.
Film Screenings:
Friday, September 20 at The Explorers Club, 46 E. 70th St.
6 p.m. – 7 p.m. Opening Night Reception with remarks by NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment Commissioner Pat Swinney Kaufman
7 p.m. – 9 p.m. Feature film screening of Searching for Amani, Dir. Nicole Gormley and Debra Aroko
Followed by a panel discussion and Q&A moderated by Dharna Noor, the Guardian US. Limited ticket availability.
Saturday, September 21 at Firehouse: DCTV’s Cinema for Documentary Film, 87 Lafayette St.
10 a.m. – 10 p.m. Theater A – Five feature films
10 a.m. – 9 p.m. Theater B – Five shorts programs
10:30 a.m. – 7 p.m. Filmmaker Lounge – Four panels and workshops
10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Coffee, snacks, and chats in the Solutions Hub lounge
Sunday, September 22 at Firehouse: DCTV’s Cinema for Documentary Film, 87 Lafayette St.
10 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. Theater A – Four feature films
10 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. Theater B – Four shorts programs
11 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. Filmmaker Lounge – One panel and one screening
10 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Coffee, snacks, and chats in the Solutions Hub lounge
2 p.m. Sneak Peek screening of the upcoming animated feature The Wild Robot in collaboration with Universal Pictures, DreamWorks Animation, and NRDC at SVA Theatre, 333 West 23 St.
4:45 p.m. Closing Night feature film screening of Hollow Tree at Firehouse: DCTV’s Cinema for Documentary Film, 87 Lafayette St.
The Climate Film Festival is the first event of its kind, showcasing film and media that break the boundaries of what climate cinema can be. Out of over 300 submissions, the 59 selected finalists represent productions from 24 countries. The festival features new and recent titles from respected international filmmakers and early-career young professionals.
The Festival’s opening night film is Nicole Gormley and Debra Aroko’s Searching for Amani, which was recently awarded The Albert Maysles Award (Best New Documentary Director) following its world premiere at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival. The closing night film is Kira Akerman’s Hollow Tree (Jury Award Winner, Audience Award Winner, 2022 New Orleans Film Festival).
“The Climate Film Festival is a place for filmmakers and audiences to engage with films that defy conventional expectations and inspire new ways of thinking about the world,” said Turnbull. “By organizing a festival during the opening weekend of Climate Week NYC and the UN General Assembly, we’re creating a unique platform for art and storytelling to ignite new conversations among policymakers, changemakers, artists, and New Yorkers from all walks of life.”
The films will compete in these juried categories: Narrative Short, Documentary Short, Documentary Feature, Episodic, Early-Career Filmmaker, Experimental, Audience Choice, and Student Choice from the festival’s student steering committee (18-24 years old). Additionally, films will be eligible for a unique Sustainable Production award from Earth Angel by TheGreenShot, rewarding sustainable practices on set and throughout the production process.
The Guardian US joins the festival as the exclusive presenting media partner. Additional sponsors include Bard Graduate Programs in Sustainability, The Carmack Collective Fund, a fund of Tides Foundation, Ceezer, Climate Power, Climate Tech Cities, Earth Angel, Envest, Pique Action, Rewiring America, Seaborne, Snøcap, Sound Future, Universal Pictures, local media partner All Arts (WNET Group), and more to be announced.
The festival is supported by numerous in-kind partners, including Betancourt Group, Ecodeo, Eco-pliant, Edge Auto, Empact.fyi, Entertainment + Culture Pavilion, The Everset, Open Water, Re:Dish, Rethink Food, Romanette Legal PLLC, Studio Rodrigo, Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Tony’s Chocolonely, Version Tomorrow, Wölffer Estate Vineyard.
Programming partners for panels, workshops, and the Solutions Hub include DCEFF, Good Energy, NRDC Rewrite the Future, Rare, Seed&Spark, Waterfront Alliance, and WE ACT for Environmental Justice.
“The Climate Film Festival harnesses the transformative power of motion pictures, showcasing new voices, repertory finds, and energizing, human stories. And the Guardian US stands at the forefront of climate crisis reporting. Together, we are two mission-aligned media organizations dedicated to driving positive change,” said Joyce Parente, VP marketing, the Guardian US.
Climate Week NYC, hosted by Climate Group, a global non-profit, is the largest annual climate event of its kind and brings together leaders from business and government alongside community and grassroots organizations.
“Culture plays a pivotal role in driving the climate conversation forward, and we are thrilled to have the Climate Film Festival as a part of Climate Week NYC this year. Film has become such a growing part of the week it allows an even more diverse range of audiences to deepen their understanding of climate change and how they can act to make a difference. As we convene leaders and communities from various sectors during Climate Week NYC, integrating cultural initiatives like the Climate Film Festival helps broaden the impact and reach of our efforts, making climate action a more inclusive and engaging endeavor,” said Adam Lake, head of engagement, Climate Group North America.
Donations and sponsorships to the Climate Film Festival are tax-deductible through Ecologistics, its fiscal sponsor, a 501(c)(3) organization. Follow the Climate Film Festival on Instagram and Substack for the latest updates and use the hashtag #ClimateFilmFestNYC to join the conversation.
About the Climate Film Festival
The Climate Film Festival is fiscally sponsored by Ecologistics, a 501(c)(3) organization. Founded in 2023 by a multidisciplinary team of passionate climate professionals, artists, and curators, it aims to rewrite the narrative on climate change by harnessing the power of motion pictures. Its mission is to bring together a diverse community of filmmakers, artists, students, experts, and general audiences through screenings, education, and workshops that platform traditional and experimental storytelling, empowering action toward a more sustainable future. Visit climatefilmfest.com and follow the Climate Film Festival on Instagram, Substack, and LinkedIn.
About the Guardian US
Guardian Media Group (GMG), a certified B Corporation, is the publisher of theguardian.com, one of the largest English-speaking news websites in the world. Since launching its US and Australian digital editions in 2011 and 2013, respectively, traffic from outside the UK now represents around two-thirds of the Guardian’s total digital audience. None of the editions have a paywall. The Guardian US has more than 100 members of editorial staff across bureaus in New York, Washington DC, and Los Angeles. The Guardian now has more than 260,000 recurring supporters in the US plus roughly 170,000 annual one-time supporters, and draws an audience of more than 40 million US readers every month, making it one of the top 10 news sites in the US. The Guardian US is renowned for its Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation into widespread secret surveillance by the National Security Agency and for other award-winning work, including The Paradise Papers. Today, the Guardian US is known for its urgent coverage of the climate crisis, politics, race and immigration, guns, gender, the arts, sports, and more.