Earth Day Texas (EDTx) today announced initial plans and dates for the inaugural edition of EARTHxFilm, an environmentally focused film festival which will be presented in conjunction with Earth Day Texas at Fair Park in Dallas, Texas on April 19-23.
EARTHxFilm was developed as an outgrowth of the unprecedented success of Earth Day Texas. With strong educational programming, EARTHxFilm will showcase films and emerging media that explore science, conservation, climate change and the environment, while honoring the heroes working to protect this planet.
Earth Day Texas and EARTHxFilm have put together an impressive board and advisory council, culled equally from the worlds of film, environmental activism, and business including: John Bowermaster, Trammell S. Crow, Leilani Münter, Stephen Nemeth, and Louie Psihoyos.
Earth Day Texas has firmly established itself as a place where environmentally-conscious organizations, businesses, institutions, and brands have been able to come together to celebrate and share conservation practices and sustainable solutions that will make a difference today, tomorrow, and every day thereafter. Earth Day Texas CEO Ryan Brown and EARTHxFilm Founder/President Michael Cain see EARTHxFilm as a dynamic new component and logical addition to that ever-growing event.
“Much of our task at hand when it comes to educating the public about the reality of our planet’s environment, the possibilities going forward, and inspiring them to take action either in a personal way, or a larger more ambitious manner, is communication,” said Brown. “Films can illustrate things that lend an immediate and visceral aspect to the plight of the environment, our tenuous place in the world, as well as the triumph of success, that words or articles cannot.”
Cain said “EARTHxFilm will be more than a film festival. It will utilize the power of film to build on a foundation of partnerships with influencers, thought leaders, top brands, and environmental organizations around the world. When the lights go down, the films will transport our audiences, but when the lights go back up, we will seek to engage and empower each audience member to participate in what we see as the vital challenge of our lifetime – to ensure there will be lifetimes to come.”
The first two titles revealed as official selections of the inaugural edition of the EARTHxFilm are two films which screened at the Sundance Film Festival in January to critical acclaim – Laura Dunn and Jef Sewell’s LOOK AND SEE: A PORTRAIT OF WENDELL BERRY, and RANCHER, FARMER, FISHERMAN, which was directed by Susan Froemke and John Hoffman. Dunn and Sewell’s LOOK AND SEE: A PORTRAIT OF WENDELL BERRY is a cinematic portrait of the changing landscapes and shifting values of rural America in the era of industrial agriculture, as seen through the mind’s eye of author, activist, and farmer, Wendell Berry. RANCHER, FARMER, FISHERMAN, directed by Froemke and Hoffman, tells the stories of four unexpected conservation heroes from America’s heartland representatives of the stewardship movement: a Montana rancher, two Kansas farmers, and a Gulf fisherman. At a moment when it seems that collaboration is not just nonexistent but impossible, these working families cross political boundaries to arrive at real solutions for protecting the land and sea that define our country – and are crucial to all of our survival.
Cain added, “We are thrilled to announce these two films first as they are indicative of much of the direction the programming of the film festival will take in our debut. Both are great examples of our films – which will actively build a bridge to environmentalism.”
In addition to a projected slate of 35 films and 50 screenings utilizing Fair Park as a festival and event hub, Earth Day Texas and EARTHxFilm will also feature the EARTHx Global Gala presenting Global Impact Awards in association with Global Green. Other highlights will include EARTHxVR (virtual reality) Spotlight, outdoor screenings, panels on the intersection of filmmaking and environmental concerns, music, art, youth filmmaking workshops, and a student competition.
The festival’s full schedule will be revealed in mid-March. For more information, please go to earthxfilm.org.
