Watch Inspiring Films,
Learn More, and Take Action!
Thank you for being a part of our 2020 Film Fest! We hoped you enjoyed the films! Our curated selection of films share powerful, inspiring narratives of people taking action at the grassroots to create a just, livable world for generations to come. These films are not just stories that exist on screen; they are a call for all of us to learn more, plug in, and take action.
This Resources & Action Page provides you with resources, links, and ways to act in support of the efforts shown in each film. Thank you for supporting grassroots activism and community resilience!
“Youth Forward”
– Themed Film Segment
Sponsored by Harrington Investments
Lowland Kids
Lowland Kids tackles the subject of the climate crisis through the eyes of two American teenagers on a sinking island in Louisiana. These young people will be some of the country’s first climate refugees.
“While Lowland Kidsis a film about climate change, it’s also a film about the power of family. The fate of the Brunets is soon becoming a reality for many, and I hope this film can contribute to the climate change conversation by shedding a light on American people forced to flee the place they’ve always known as home.”
—Sandra Winther, Director
To learn more about the film, head to the film’s website.
District 15
District 15 introduces us to a group of youth activists working with longtime Rose Foundation partner Communities for a Better Environment. It is not just a documentary. It is a call to action. A call for you to get involved politically; to support frontline environmental justice communities; to end oil drilling; and to support Wilmington’s frontline youth who live with oil wells in their backyard in their fight for a just transition.
To take action, text NO DRILL LA to 71333 and check out the petition calling for a 2,500 ft human health and safety zone and an end to neighborhood oil drilling. You can also support the youth directly with a donation here.
Learn more about Communities for a Better Environment here.
Generation Green New Deal – Sneak Peek
This sneak peek of the feature length Generation Green New Deal film — coming out in 2021 — shows us the power of youth in finding creative and just ways to adequately address our climate crisis while demanding government accountability, ending economic inequality, and fighting for racial justice.
Learn more about the upcoming film on the film’s website.
And learn more about the Sunrise Movement fighting for a Green New Deal here.
“Reclaiming Our Future”
– Themed Film Segment
Sponsored by Community Bank of the Bay
Beyond Recognition
Beyond Recognition takes us on the journey of the founding of Sogorea Te Land Trust, an Oakland-based and Indigenous women-led organization that facilitates the return of Indigenous land to Indigenous people. The Rose Foundation temporarily fiscally sponsored Sogorea Te until they received their nonprofit status.
If you live in the Bay Area, head over to the Land Trust’s website to calculate and contribute your Shuumi Land Tax! The Shuumi Land Tax is an annual, voluntary contribution you can make if you are a non-Indigenous person who lives on traditional Chochenyo and Karkin Ohlone territory (from San Francisco to the South and East Bay). This contribution supports the Land Trust’s amazing work!
And learn more about the film project here.
Seeds of Hope
Seeds of Hope tells the story of a collaborative initiative in upstate New York that is growing the past to save the future. From planting to harvest, follow the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe at Akwesasne, the Hudson Valley Farm Hub, and Seedshed as they honor Native American heirloom seeds that are at risk of disappearing.
Learn more about the film project here.
And learn more about the collaborative Native American Seed Shed project from Hudson Valley Farm Hub.
“Our Communities, Our Environment”
– Themed Film Segment
Sponsored by Signature Bank
All That Remains
All That Remains depicts the impacts of California’s fires — made worse and more frequent by the climate crisis — on farmworkers in wine country. Their stories shed light on the immigration, labor, and housing issues that have been building in Napa and Sonoma for years, only to be brought to the surface by one of the deadliest fires in California history.
“Since a majority of farmworkers in Wine Country don’t have legal immigration status, right off the bat there was a lot of local and national media coverage on how the undocumented community was impacted by the disaster. But I was struck by the deeper, systemic inequities in Wine Country that the fires brought to the surface. A year later, when I set out to make this film, that was what I aimed to explore. While this is a local story, I think the lessons learned in Napa and Sonoma can be applied to communities nationwide. In the end, I hope it can start a conversation about who is most vulnerable after a natural disaster and what kinds of things people with legal immigration status may take for granted in their day to day lives.”
— Eva Rendle, Director
Learn more on the film’s website.
In 2017, after the same fires depicted in the film burned through Northern California and displaced over 100,000 people, the Rose Foundation and other community-led organizations formed the Just and Resilient Future Fund. Resources from this fund were directed to both organizations that support immediate recovery assistance for the most vulnerable populations (including farmworkers and undocumented immigrants) and to initiatives that build more healthy, just, and resilient communities. Learn more about the Fund here.
The Smog of the Sea
The Smog of the Sea provides a new perspective on the once pristine oceans, and makes an artful call to action for rethinking the scourge of the sea — single-use plastic. This film features the work of our California Watershed Protection Fund grantee, The 5 Gyres Institute. Head to 5 Gyres’ website to learn more about their work!
And head to the film’s website to find out how you as an individual or member of a community group can take action to reduce plastic waste!
sčədadxʷ
sčədadxʷ (salmon) is a short animated film, narrated by Indigenous and environmental leader Billy Frank Jr., that takes viewers up the river through the eyes of salmon. This film comes from our Puget Sound Stewardship & Mitigation Fund grantee Salmon Defense. Learn more about Salmon Defense’s work for water quality, salmon and habitat protection, and Indigenous youth leadership on their website.
The Condor & The Eagle
The Condor & The Eagle offers a glimpse into a developing spiritual renaissance as four protagonists learn from each other’s long legacy of resistance to colonialism and its extractive fossil fuel economy. Their path through the jungle takes them on an unexpectedly challenging and liberating journey, which will forever change their attachment to the Earth and one another.
Learn more about the journey on the film’s website.
Live Event
ADAPTATION: Kentucky (“Our Communities, Our Environment” Themed Film Segment)
ADAPTATION: Kentucky features Angie Yu, a Chinese-American woman who is finding environmental and economic solutions to the overpopulation of invasive carp in the Mississippi River. Learn more about the ADAPTATION series on the film’s website.
Unfortunately, overpopulation of farmed and invasive fish is not a problem unique to the Mississippi River. In fact, the Rose Foundation launched our Orca Fund this summer after a salmon farming net-pen collapsed and released nonnative and invasive salmon into the Puget Sound region. Learn more about the Fund and how it supports groups improving water quality and aquatic habitat for native species on our website.
Soul Fire Farm (“Youth Forward” Themed Film Segment)
Soul Fire Farm follows a Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) centered community farm in upstate New York that is committed to ending racism and injustice in the food system through sustainable agriculture. Learn more about the farm on their website.
This Land (“Reclaiming Our Future” Themed Film Segment)
This Land tells a story about public land access, inclusion, and empowerment over the course of Faith E. Brigg’s journey trail running through 150 miles of national monuments. To learn more about the film and to take action, head to the film’s website here.
And watch New Voices Are Rising’s extended Q&A with Producer and subject Faith E. Briggs here!
Thanks for joining our 2020 Film Fest
and supporting grassroots activism & community resilience!
