Birders: The Central Park Effect

Birders: The Central Park Effect

Jeffrey Kimball/2013/60 min/Wildlife

Sunday, March 3, 11 a.m. [South]
St Benedict the African Parish, Chicago

FILM DESCRIPTION: “Birders: The Central Park Effect” reveals the extraordinary array of wild birds who grace Manhattan’s celebrated patch of green, and the equally colorful New Yorkers who schedule their lives around the rhythms of migration. The lively cast of characters features author Jonathan Franzen, as well as an idiosyncratic trombone technician, a septuagenarian bird-tour leader, and others. This charming, lyrical documentary transports the viewer to the dazzling, hidden world of America’s most famous park.

Call of the Forest

Call of the Forest

Jeffrey McKay/2016/52 min/Conservation

Sunday, March 3, 1:30 p.m. [South]
St. James Church, Chicago

Sunday, March 10, 10:30 a.m. [W Suburbs]
Thatcher Woods Pavilion, River Forest
Forest walk 9:30 a.m.

Sunday, March 10, 2 p.m. [Lake County]
St. Joseph Church, Libertyville

CHICAGO-AREA PREMIERE. FILM DESCRIPTION: The science and enchantment of the global forest provides us with answers to modern dilemmas. “Call of the Forest: The Forgotten Wisdom of Trees” follows scientist and acclaimed author Diana Beresford-Kroeger as she investigates our profound biological and spiritual connection to forests. Beresford-Kroeger explores the most beautiful forests in the Northern Hemisphere from the sacred sugi and cedar forests of Japan to the great boreal forest of Canada. She shares the amazing stories behind the history and legacy of these ancient forests while also explaining the science of trees and the irreplaceable roles they play in protecting and feeding the planet.

Dirt Rich

Dirt Rich

Marcelina Cravat & Eric Katsuleres/ 2018/86 min/Conservation

Sunday, March 3, 2 p.m. [South]
Windsor Park Lutheran Church, Chicago

Wednesday, March 6, 6:30 p.m. [Lake]
College of Lake County, Grayslake

Saturday, March 9, 2 p.m. [W Suburbs]
Triton College, River Grove

CHICAGO-AREA PREMIERE. FILM DESCRIPTION: “Dirt Rich” shifts the focus from greenhouse gas emissions to carbon drawdown, a viable solution for reversing the effects of runaway global warming in a timely manner. In “Dirt Rich,”  Marcelina Cravat  (“Angel Azul”) and Eric Katsuleres shine a light on geo-therapy strategies. Through regenerative agricultural practices, reforestation of abandoned land,  protection/restoration of carbon rich wetlands and keystone species, “Dirt Rich” illustrates how implementing these strategies will return our atmosphere to safe levels of carbon while growing soil, our most precious resource.  

Into the Okavango

Into the Okavango

Neil Gelinas/2018/93 min/Environmental & Social Justice

Sunday, March 3, 2 p.m. [Lake County]
Gorton Community Center, Lake Forest
Admission $10, Students $5

Thursday, March 7, 7 p.m. [Dupage County]
College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn

FILM DESCRIPTION: The Okavango River Basin provides a vital source of water to about one million people, the world’s largest population of African elephants, and significant populations of lions, cheetahs and hundreds of species of birds. However, this once unspoiled oasis is now under siege due to increasing pressure from human activity. From National Geographic Documentary Films, “Into the Okavango” chronicles a team of modern-day explorers on their first epic four-month, 1,500-mile expedition across three countries to save the river system that feeds one of our planet’s last wetland wildernesses.

Inventing Tomorrow

Inventing Tomorrow

Laura Nix/2018/87 min/Climate Change

Sunday, March 3, 2 p.m.[North]
Wilmette Theatre, Wilmette
Admission $8

Monday, March 4, 6 p.m. [SW Suburbs]
Advocate Children’s Hospital, Oak Lawn

Thursday, March 7, 6 p.m.[West]
Namaste Charter School, Chicago

Saturday, March 9, 4 p.m. [W Suburbs]
Thatcher Woods Pavilion, River Forest

FILM DESCRIPTION: Meet passionate teenage innovators from around the globe who are creating cutting-edge solutions to confront the world’s environmental threats—found right in their own backyards—while navigating the doubts and insecurities that mark adolescence. Youth ages 9–13+ are encouraged to take a journey with these inspiring teens as they prepare their projects for the largest convening of high school scientists in the world, the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF).

Paris to Pittsburgh

Paris to Pittsburgh

Sidney Beaumont & Michael Bonfiglio/2018/77 min/Climate

Sunday, March 3, 12:30 p.m. [W Suburbs]
Action Fair 12:30 p.m.
Film begins at 1:30 p.m.

St. Giles Catholic Church, Oak Park

Sunday, March 3, 1 p.m. [Dupage County]
Elmhurst College, Elmhurst

Tuesday, March 5, 6:30 p.m. [North]
Truman College, Chicago

Friday, March 8, 6 p.m. [South]
Catholic Theological Union, Chicago

Friday, March 8, 6:30 p.m. [Lake County]
College of Lake County, Grayslake

FILM DESCRIPTION: The Paris Agreement was monumental in uniting all nations in the fight against climate change. With the United States’ withdrawal from the agreement, citizens around the country are taking matters into their own hands. “Paris to Pittsburgh” explores the very real social and economic impacts of climate change-fueled disasters and features voices from local leaders and everyday Americans from Pittsburgh to Puerto Rico.

Tawai: A Voice from the Forest

Tawai: A Voice from the Forest

Bruce Parry & Mark Ellam/2017/97 min/People & Cultures

Sunday, March 3, 4 p.m. [W. Suburbs]
Unity Temple, Oak Park
OEFF After Hours Event
Admission $20,
includes reception at 6 p.m.

CHICAGO-AREA PREMIERE. FILM DESCRIPTION: Tawai is the word the nomadic hunter-gatherers of Borneo use to describe their inner feeling of connection to nature. In this philosophical and sociological look at life, explorer Bruce Parry travels the world to learn from people living lives very differently from our own. From the jungles of Malaysia to the tributaries of the Amazon, “Tawai” is a quest for reconnection, providing a powerful voice from the heart of the forest itself.

The Carnivore's Dilemma

The Carnivore's Dilemma

Benoît Bringer/2018/71 min/Sustainable Food & Agriculture

Saturday, March 2, 12 p.m. [West]
Loretto Hospital, Chicago

Sunday, March 3, 6 p.m. [South]
St. Paul & the Redeemer, Chicago

Sunday, March 10, 12:30 p.m. [Central]
Old St. Patrick's Church, Chicago

U.S. PREMIERE. FILM DESCRIPTION: Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Benoît Bringer questions what we give our children to eat. To feed a growing population, the world has embarked on a race to frenetic productivity that generates cruelty against animals, but also major health and environmental issues. Bringer reveals the terrible excesses of industrial breeding and meets women and men who invent another way of farming, respectful of nature and animals. “The Carnivore’s Dilemma” puts together positive and concrete initiatives that are already working and that could be our way of consumption tomorrow.