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Backyard Wilderness (Ages 6 to 13+)

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Backyard Wilderness (Ages 6 to 13+)

Susan Todd & Andrew Young/2018/45 min/Wildlife

Tuesday, March 5, 6:30 p.m. [South}
The Ancona School, Chicago

Saturday, March 9, 11 a.m. [W Suburbs]
Thatcher Woods Pavilion, River Forest

FILM DESCRIPTION: In “Backyard Wilderness,” we follow Katie, a young girl, and her modern family living next to the woods who are blind to the real-life spectacle around them, absorbed by an array of electronic devices in their busy lives. Katie gradually discovers the intricate secrets that nature has hidden so close to her front door and we experience the joy she finds in her interactions with this new world. The film showcases a stunning array of unique wildlife images and behavior captured by cameras mounted inside dens and nests to reveal inhabitants in rare and breathtaking intimacy.  

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Call of the Forest

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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.

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Dirt Rich

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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.  

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Dreaming of a Vetter World

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Dreaming of a Vetter World

Bonnie Hawthorne/2018/77 min/Sustainable Food & Agriculture

Saturday, March 2, 7 p.m. [W Suburbs]
Good Earth Greenhouse, River Forest

Monday, March 4, 6 p.m. [Central]
Great Central Brewing Company, Chicago
OEFF After Hours Event
Admission $20, includes reception

Wednesday, March 6, 6:30 [South]
Beverly Arts Center, Chicago
Admission $6

CHICAGO-AREA PREMIERE. FILM DESCRIPTION: Donald Vetter grew up in Nebraska, farming 800 acres with horses. When he came back from WWII and learned about the new agricultural uses for wartime chemicals, Don enthusiastically embraced the Chemical Age. In 1953, he quit spraying, after realizing the chemicals didn’t deliver on promises and they were damaging his soil and killing farm wildlife. Since then, the Vetter farm’s most important “crop” was its soil. “Dreaming of a Vetter World” comes at a time when interest in regenerating soil has exploded worldwide. Others are realizing what the Vetters have known for decades: Soil is key to our very survival.

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Earth and Sky Friends (Ages 3 to 8+)

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Earth and Sky Friends (Ages 3 to 8+)

Saturday, March 9, 9:15 a.m. [W Suburbs]
Thatcher Woods Pavilion, River Forest

Watch four short films with your children ages three to eight. Topics range from wildlife to seasons to magical cranes. Featured films include "The Wishing Cranes" (2017, 3 min), “Starlight” (2018, 5 min), "Autumn" (2016, 3 min), “Great Big Story” (2017, 1 min), and "The Short Story of a Fox and a Mouse" (2016, 6 min).

Families and children will enjoy lively facilitated post-film discussion with a children’s educator, as well as a book reading of “African Unicorn” (another name for the endangered Okapi), interactive activities, and healthy snacks. Families will leave wanting to continue discussion on the topics of these short but rich films.

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Inventing Tomorrow

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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).

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Living in the Future's Past

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Living in the Future's Past

Susan Kucera/2018/86 min/Climate

Saturday, March 2, 10 a.m. [W Suburbs]
Classic Cinemas Lake Theatre, Oak Park
Admission $8

Saturday, March 2, 1 p.m. [Lake County]
Prairie Crossing School, Grayslake

Monday, March 4, 6 p.m. [South]
Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago

CHICAGO-AREA PREMIERE. FILM DESCRIPTION: In this beautifully photographed tour de force of original thinking, Academy Award® winner Jeff Bridges shares the screen with scientists, profound thinkers, and a dazzling array of Earth’s living creatures to reveal eye-opening concepts about ourselves and our past, providing fresh insights into our subconscious motivations and their unintended consequences.

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Living the Change

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Living the Change

Jordan Osmond & Antoinette Wilson/2018/85 min/Conservation

Thursday, Feb. 21, 7 p.m. [South]
Calumet College, Whiting, IN

Thursday, Feb. 28, 7 p.m. [W Suburbs]
Dominican University, River Forest
Admission $7

Wednesday, March 6, 6 p.m. [West]
Garfield Park Conservatory, Chicago

FILM DESCRIPTION: “Living the Change” explores solutions to the global crises we face today—solutions any of us can implement—through the inspiring stories of people pioneering change in their own lives and in their communities in order to live in a sustainable and regenerative way. From forest gardens to composting toilets, community supported agriculture to timebanking, “Living the Change” offers solutions being used now that we can employ to combat climate change today