From November 22 to December 8 this year, the All Living Things - Environmental Film Festival will screen 72 films, which will hopefully trigger a conversation around the themes of nature, environment and climate change. Started in 2020 with the focus on using cinema as a medium to engage in a conversation around climate awareness and action, the festival, which is now in its 5th year has roped in a jury which includes, among others, Bollywood actress and activist Dia Mirza and film director Richie Mehta.
The festival will include on-ground as well as online screenings and a new film category 'Environmental Journalism', which has been launched this year as a way to encourage environment centric films which have investigative reportage at their heart. This year also marks the launch of ALT EFF Voices, a spoken word platform dedicated to eco-consciousness.
This year’s edition of ALT EFF also has films across International Feature Films, International Short Films, Indian feature films, Indian short films, Student Films and Animated Films.
Last year about 62 films were presented from 30 countries which attracted an attendance of 12,500 enthusiasts, and an online reach of close to 70,000.
Some international feature films from the festival we think you should watch:
Esther and the law
This is the story of how for decades Shell polluted the lands of Nigeria, with no regard for the lives of countless of those who died because of it. Esther Kiobel fought for justice for her husband, who was one of the nine men executed in 1995 after revolting against Shell's pollution of Ogoniland, Nigeria. After a battle that lasted more than 25 years, Esther took Shell to court in the Netherlands.
My Mercury
This is about a lone ranger—how a single individual determined to save endangered seabirds from extinction, spent most of his adult life in an inhospitable island only for his commitment towards nature and its species.
Plastic people
A documentary about the many ills of microplastics that are literally eating into us and how despite feeling sorry, there is nothing we can really do about it given the tough lobbies that surround us. Ben Addelman and Ziya Tong's movie documents what plastic is doing to our bodies. It has been documented that the plastic particles we inhale, or imbibe, can foment diabetes, heart disease, and cancer, and can also impact our fertility levels.
Diving into the darkness
This, as the title suggests, literally takes the viewer on a dive into the darkness with Canadian explorer and one of the world’s greatest living cave-divers, Heinerth. With her, we survey the world’s longest caves in Mexico, discover giant iceberg caves in Antarctica, and more in a 96-minute documentary that includes interviews and flashbacks to Heinerth’s younger years, when she took up extreme challenges. The film takes us through stalactites and stalagmites and other topographical oddities, all of which we see through Heinerth's eyes in spectacularly clear visibility.
The Giants
This is about environmentalist Bob Brown and his moving love for trees and how the fates of both, humans and trees, are intertwined, in a very 'Bob Brown' sort of way. The film is a masterclass in activism, and in learning how to take one's passion for the forest to another level altogether. Told in Bob’s own words, his story is interwoven with the extraordinary life cycle of Australia’s giant trees, told via immaculately skillful, cinematography and a gripping narrative. As per reports, The Giants was one of Australia's most successful documentaries of 2023 which inspired national rallies, put deforestation on the political agenda, and mobilized countless individuals and community groups to stand up for forests.