2020 ENVIRONMENTAL YOUTH FORUM
APRIL 29 – MAY 1 | SMITH RAFAEL FILM CENTER • SAN RAFAEL
PROGRAM & SCHEDULE
EYF in San Rafael will feature two additional interactive elements, allowing teachers to customize their students’ EYF experience for optimal impact and engagement:
Active Cinema Room
A series of interactive exhibits and hands-on demonstrations by local and regional environmental organizations with resources for students to engage directly with the issues they’ve learned about on screen. All grades
Immersive Media Studio *NEW THIS YEAR!
A selection of environmentally themed VR experiences and interactive web documentary projects for students to explore. Grades 6–12 only
To register your students for a San Rafael EYF screening, simply select from the list of programs below. During the registration process, you can also request a visit to the Active Cinema Room and/or the Immersive Media Studio either before or after your screening, and we will help you customize your registration to maximize your students’ EYF experience.
All programs take place at the Smith Rafael Film Center at 1118 Fourth Street in downtown San Rafael.
Click image to view trailer
A REINDEER’S JOURNEY
Wednesday, April 29 | 9:45 – 11:30 am
Grades 3-6
Follow a young reindeer’s first year, filled with moments of wonder, struggle, and delight, as he navigates the icy landscapes of Lapland. Sharing the terrain are a wily stoat, a curious red-eared squirrel, and sharp-eyed wolves, in this snowy story narrated by Donald Sutherland.
Director Guillaume Maidatchevsky | France 2019, 78 min | In English
GUEST SPEAKER: TBA
OUR STOLEN FUTURES
Wednesday, April 29 | 10:45 – 12:20 pm
Grades 6-12
For today’s youth and young adults, climate change is an all too clear and present threat to their lives and their futures. Yet they are no longer satisfied to let the adults run the show and are determined to make their voices heard. Desperate to channel their anger and despair into hope and change, many have joined the youth-led Sunrise Movement to initiate and engage in active protests and political actions. Our Stolen Futures follows three Bay Area young women as they lead the charge in confronting our political leaders and refusing to take no for an answer.
Director Connie Field | US 2020, 40 min
GUEST SPEAKERS: Director Connie Field, Film Subjects TBA
SHOWN WITH:
Generation Green New Deal (work-in-progress preview screening)
With behind-the-scenes access to what many view as the greatest political movement in a generation, this documentary digs deep into the Green New Deal, a proposed package of sweeping social and economic reforms aimed at tackling climate change and economic inequality in one fell swoop.
Director Sam Eilertsen | US 2020, 25 min
The Emergency Brake
Narrated and inspired by the powerful words of Greta Thunberg, this animated short film is a collaboration by students who are passionate about the state of their world and future.
Director Macy How | Canada 2019, 4 min
QUEEN WITHOUT LAND
Wednesday, April 29 | 11:30am – 1:00pm
Grades 6-12
The majestic landscape of Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, is home to Frost, a polar bear mother, and her romping, rambunctious cubs, captured in affectionate and intimate detail by wildlife photographer and filmmaker Asgeir Helgestad. Over the course of four years, Helgestad tracks and documents the lives of the bears, as well as native foxes, reindeer, seals, walrus, birds, and blue whales—a breathtaking and beautiful ecosystem imminently impacted by rising temperatures and glaciers melting at record speed.
Director Asgeir Helgestad | Norway 2018, 70 min | In English
GUEST SPEAKER: TBA
Click image to view trailer
JANE GOODALL: THE HOPE
Wednesday, April 29 | 12:15 – 2:00pm
Grades 5-12
Jane Goodall: The Hope celebrates the vast legacy of Dr. Jane Goodall’s four decades of advocacy work for chimpanzees and illustrates the next chapter for generations to come. Picking up where the 2017 documentary Jane left off, this inspiring new film follows her throughout her travels, capturing her relentless commitment and determination to spread a message of hope. The film offers an intimate perspective of Dr. Goodall’s pivotal transformation from scientist to inspirational activist and shows the many obstacles she has faced throughout her career.
Directors Elizabeth Leiter & Kim Woodard | US 2020, 88 min
GUEST SPEAKER: TBA
ANIMAL DUETS
Thursday, April 30 | 9:45 – 11:10am
Grades 1-5
This colorful collection of animated shorts features a variety of unique and unexpected animal pairings and partnerships, with meaningful messages about teamwork, cooperation, and the plight of marine life in our oceans. Films include:
The Fox and the Bird (Directors Sam & Fred Guillaume, France 2019, 12 min)
The Fox and the Pigeon (Director Michelle Chua, Canada 2019, 6 min)
The Little Bird and the Bees (Director Lena von Döhren, Sweden 2020, 5 min)
Maestro (Director iLLOG!C, France 2019, 2 min)
Metamorphosis of a Bottle Cap (Director Kathryn Jankowski, UK 2019, 6 min)
The Snail and the Whale (Directors Max Lang & Daniel Snaddon, UK 2019, 27 min)
A Whale’s Tale (Directors Robin Celebi & Giovanna Utichi, UK 2019, 3 min)
GUEST SPEAKER: Allison Payne, aka Whale Girl
2040
Thursday, April 29 | 11:45am – 12:30pm
Grades 6-12
Award-winning Australian director Damon Gameau embarks on a journey to explore what the future could look like by the year 2040 if we simply embraced the best solutions already available to us to improve our planet and combat climate change. Structured as a visual letter to his four-year-old daughter, Gameau blends traditional documentary with dramatized sequences and high-end visual effects to artfully demonstrate how these solutions could regenerate the world for future generations.
Director Damon Gameau | Australia 2010, 92 min
GUEST SPEAKER: TBA
AMERICAN INDIAN FILM INSTITUTE PRESENTS: OUR STORIES
Thursday, April 30 | 11:30am – 1:20pm
Grades 6-12
Our community partners at the American Indian Film Institute have curated this powerful short film collection from their festival vault featuring animation, documentary, and music videos that highlight the stories and experiences of indigenous communities in North America and the environmental threats and challenges they are currently facing—and fighting.
Films include:
Children of the Dig (Director Joshua A. Branstetter, US 2019, 20 min)
Defend the Sacred (Director Kyle Bell, US 2017, 18 min)
I Tsuwa Sa Stsmàlt (Belongs to the Youth) (Director Joey Arseneau, Canada 2018, 15 min)
Mni Wiconi: Water Is Life (Directors Miguel Antonio Genz & Jeremias Galante, US 2018, 3 min)
My Irnik (Directors Matthew Hood & Francois Lebeau, Canada 2018, 16 min)
Sčədadxw (Salmon) (Director Adrian Baker, US 2017, 5 min)
Throat Singing in Kangirsuk (Directors Eva Kaukai & Manon Chamberland, Canada 2019, 4 min)
We (by Thunderbirds Raised Her) (Director The Stylehorse Collective, US 2018, 4 min)
Click image to view trailer
MICROPLASTIC MADNESS
Thursday, April 30 | 12:15 – 2:00pm
Grades 2-6
Microplastic Madness tells the story of 56 fifth graders from P.S. 15 in Red Hook, Brooklyn—a community on the frontlines of the climate crisis, hit hard by Hurricane Sandy—whose actions on plastic pollution transform them into extraordinary leaders who achieve scalable victories. These feisty eleven-year-olds dive deep into the root causes of plastic pollution and take on the roles of both citizen scientists and community advocates. They collect local data, lead community outreach, testify and rally at City Hall, then turn the focus back to their school, taking decisive action on their own single-use plastic consumption.
Directors Atsuko Quirk & Debby Lee Cohen | US 2020, 78 min
GUEST SPEAKER: Director Debby Lee Cohen
Click image to view trailer
ANIMAL DUETS
Thursday, April 30 | 9:45 – 11:10am
Grades 1-5
This colorful collection of animated shorts features a variety of unique and unexpected animal pairings and partnerships, with meaningful messages about teamwork, cooperation, and the plight of marine life in our oceans. Films include:
The Fox and the Bird (Directors Sam & Fred Guillaume, France 2019, 12 min)
The Fox and the Pigeon (Director Michelle Chua, Canada 2019, 6 min)
The Little Bird and the Bees (Director Lena von Döhren, Sweden 2020, 5 min)
Maestro (Director iLLOG!C, France 2019, 2 min)
Metamorphosis of a Bottle Cap (Director Kathryn Jankowski, UK 2019, 6 min)
The Snail and the Whale (Directors Max Lang & Daniel Snaddon, UK 2019, 27 min)
A Whale’s Tale (Directors Robin Celebi & Giovanna Utichi, UK 2019, 3 min)
GUEST SPEAKER: Allison Payne, aka Whale Girl
GATHER
Friday, May 1 | 10:45am – 12:20 pm
Grades 9-12
Throughout U.S. history there have been sustained and deliberate efforts to destroy the food systems of indigenous peoples, from the massacre of the buffalo to bans on salmon fishing to the creation of food deserts. Gather explores the growing food sovereignty movement among Native Americans that is a direct response to this appropriation and decimation of their food and health. Stories from tribes across the U.S. document the harm colonization has inflicted on indigenous people, from obesity to drug use to alcoholism. But they also demonstrate the resilience of these communities, showcasing how Native Americans are reclaiming control of their ancestral food systems and restoring their cultural wellbeing.
Director Sanjay Rawal | US 2020, 70 min
GUEST SPEAKERS: Director Sanjay Rawal, Film Subjects The Ancestral Guards
PUBLIC TRUST
Friday, May 1 | 11:30am – 1:30 pm
Grades 9-12
Despite support from voters across the political spectrum, our public lands face unprecedented threats from extractive industries and the politicians in their pockets. Part love letter, part political exposé, Public Trust investigates how we arrived at this precarious moment through three heated conflicts—a national monument in the Utah desert, a mine in the Boundary Waters, and oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge—and makes a case for their continued protection.
Director David Garrett Byars | US 2020, 96 min
GUEST SPEAKERS: TBA
FORWARD: TOMORROW BELONGS TO US
Friday, May 1 | 12:15pm – 2:00 pm
Grades 4-8
Meet seven young activists from around the world with the unwavering courage to transform our future. While vying for an international prize for his innovative recycling program, José guides us from his native Peru to introduce several pioneering kids from France, Bangladesh, Africa, the US, and beyond, demonstrating that you don’t need all the answers to fix a problem—just a brave first step.
Director Gilles de Maistre | France 2019, 84 min | In French, Spanish, and English with English subtitles
GUEST SPEAKER: Film Subject Khloe Thompson