Note: Yale School of the Environment (YSE) was formerly known as the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies (F&ES). News articles and events posted prior to July 1, 2020 refer to the School's name at that time.
No speaker who appears at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies this year will tell a story quite like “The Ghosts in Our Machine,” a documentary film that chronicles the lives of individual creatures that have been pulled into global animal industries.
The same goes for “Il etait une foret (Once Upon a Forest),” a film by the director of “March of the Penguins” that combines stunning videography and animation to explore the richness of the tropical rainforest, and “Field Biologist,” a new film that profiles a rudderless 22-year-old who drops everything to save hummingbirds.
And that, really, is the reason these and other films were selected for inclusion in the sixth Environmental Film Festival at Yale, says Rebeka Ryvola M.E.M. ‘14, co-director of the event. The films, she says, illustrate the personal consequences of today’s most pressing environmental and social issues.
“We sometimes forget how to be emotional about these issues,” said Ryvola “This festival really is a way to remind people why they do the work they do here at F&ES, why they are investing their lives into environmental issues.”
The festival will be held at various venues on campus from March 31 to April 6.
<p class="p1"> Naturalist and writer <strong>Doug Peacock</strong> will be featured in a panel following the screening of “DamNation.” <a href="http://environment.yale.edu/news/article/naturalist-doug-peacock-continues-fight-for-wilderness/"><strong>Read an interview with Peacock</strong></a></p>
Other films being featured during the festival include “DamNation,” which explores the shifting public perception about dams in the U.S.; “Powerless,” which documents the desperate fight for electricity access in Kanpur, India; “Marmato,” a chronicle of one Columbian town’s confrontation with a Canadian mining company; and “Watermark,” a documentary that pulls together stories of humankind’s relationship with water.
In addition to screening blocks of featured shorts (April 5 and 6), this year’s festival will also include the first “short film block party,” on April 4, during which two shorts will be projected onto the side of a building at the intersection of Grove Street and Hillhouse Avenue.
The festival will also include a storytelling workshop with photographer and writer Frances Sawyer B.A. ‘12 M.E.Sc. ‘15, and the chance to share a nature walk with filmmaker Jared Flesher, director of “Field Biologist,” and Tyler Christensen, the film’s protaganist.
All the feature films will be coupled with a short film and followed by panel discussions.
“Film is obviously a great medium for engaging people,” said Lexi Tuddenham M.E.M. ‘14 a co-director of the festival. “It brings people in who might not otherwise be exposed to these issues or inclined to seek them out themselves. And with the panels we try to build off of what the films started and represent a few different sides of the issues and stimulate discussion.”
All events are free and open to the public.
Schedule of Events
Monday, March 31
Opening Night Reception, 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm
The Study at Yale, 1157 Chapel Street
“Il Etait Une Foret (There Once Was a Forest)” (with “Hedgehog”), 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Burke Auditorium, 195 Prospect Street
Tuesday, April 1
“Marmato” (with “White Earth”), 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Whitney Auditorium, 53 Wall Street
Wednesday, April 2
“The Expedition to the End of the World” (with “La Benedizione Degli Animali”), 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Whitney Auditorium, 53 Wall Street
Thursday, April 3
“The Ghosts in Our Machine” (with “Little Miss Piggy”), 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
LC 101, 63 High Street
Friday, April 4
Storytelling Workshop, 10 am – 12 pm
Sage 41C, 205 Prospect Street
“Watermark” (with “L’Homme de Glace”), 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Whitney Auditorium, 53 Wall Street
Short Film Block Party, featuring “Beasts in the Real World” and “Riding Bicycles,” 10 pm – 11:55 pm
Outdoors, Grove Street and Hillhouse Avenue
Saturday, April 5
“Powerless” (with “Overpass Light Brigade”), 12:30 pm – 2:30 pm
Whitney Auditorium, 53 Wall Street
Saturday Shorts, featuring “The Dam Keeper” and “Haleema,” 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm
Whitney Auditorium, 53 Wall Street
“DamNation” (with “Une Balade de La Mer”), 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Zhang Auditorium, 165 Whitney Avenue
EFFY After Dark, 9 pm to 11:55 pm
GPSCY Ballroom, 204 York Street
Sunday, April 6
“Field Biologist” Nature Walk, 9 am – 11 am
Meet at Kroon Hall, 195 Prospect Street
“Field Biologist” World Premiere (with “Vigia”), 11 am to 1 pm
Whitney Auditorium, 53 Wall Street
“Gringo Trails” (with “Paradise Found”), 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm
Whitney Auditorium, 53 Wall Street
Sunday Shorts, featuring “Birds” and “Can’t Stop the Water,” 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm
Whitney Auditorium, 53 Wall Street
“Uranium Drive-In” (with “Silent Voices”), 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Whitney Auditorium, 53 Wall Street