One Earth Film Festival audiences this year will get to step into the Amazon rainforest through a special virtual reality short film experience fresh from the Sundance Film Festival.
“Under the Canopy” is a new virtual reality short film by Conservation International and Jaunt VR that will have its Midwest premiere at One Earth’s Green Carpet Gala on March 3, with subsequent screenings during the 9-day festival.
The film takes viewers on a journey into the largest of tropical rainforests on our planet and can only be viewed by wearing a virtual reality headset. It’s narrated by indigenous guide, Kamanja Panashekung, and actor Lee Pace.
Conservation International is a nonprofit environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Va. Its goal is to protect nature as a source of food, fresh water, livelihoods and a stable climate. Conservation International and its partners have spent nearly 30 years working in the Amazon. Together they are pursuing the ambitious goal to achieve zero net deforestation in Amazonia by 2020 to protect essential resources, mitigate climate change and increase prosperity for all people.
“Under the Canopy” was made possible with support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. A generous grant from the MacArthur Foundation in arrangement with the Institute of International Education is making possible multiple screenings of the film at this year’s One Earth Film Festival.