Check Out Past CEFF Films
Explore our collection of the 2023 festival films now available for streaming and click on titles for descriptions. Titles in green indicate films featured in the CEFF 4 Kids screening, and titles with a $ indicate films available to rent.
A Crisis Carol (2023)
PLAY NOW (5 minutes)
Featured in 2023 CEFF 4 Kids Screening
In this “A Christmas Carol” spinoff, Mother Earth teaches Scrooge the importance of caring for our environment by revealing to him Earth’s past, present, and future.
Directed by: Yoel Mesfin
A Good Neighbor (2023) - $
RENT NOW (49 minutes)
Follow a Latina single mother’s fight against racism, climate change, and organizational corruption as she campaigns for city council in one of the nation’s most polluted zip codes.
Directed by: Maggie Hart, Brittany Zampella
Addressing Inevitability: Composting for a Healthier Earth (2023)
PLAY NOW (4 minutes)
Featured in 2023 CEFF 4 Kids Screening
This film grapples with the devastating environmental impact of food consumption and how throwing food waste into trash cans instead of compost bins brings us leaps closer to destroying our planet.
Directed by: Maia Joyce Hillock-Katz
Animal Requiem (2023)
PLAY NOW (5 minutes)
A small group of makers set their minds to creating an artwork that could not be ignored, and the result is an extraordinary 4-metre tall Burning Koala animatronic puppet. This short film captures the koala’s maiden outing, a funeral march for the 3 billion animals lost in the Black Summer bushfires.
Directed by: David Urbinder
Bare Metal (2023)
PLAY NOW (10 minutes)
How much faster could we decarbonize the modern world, if the largest companies on the planet and the companies who literally change the face of the earth worked together?
Directed by: Brandon Robert Gries, Ryan Freng, John Shoemaker
Biochar - Soil's Best Friend (2023)
PLAY NOW (5 minutes)
Featured in 2023 CEFF 4 Kids Screening
Learn how biochar can help restore our soils and change the environment.
Directed by: Adrian Hanna, Alex Hanna, Athena Hanna
Bluebird Sky (2023)
PLAY NOW (23 minutes)
A young couple are in their second year operating a regenerative livestock farm in Boulder, CO. The film explores the challenges of starting a small farm, the value of supporting a local food system and long term thinking through regenerative agriculture.
Directed by: Chad Weber
CIC Environmental Animation (2023)
PLAY NOW (3 minutes)
Featured in 2023 CEFF 4 Kids Screening
A fun, comical animation on the less obvious causes of climate change.
Directed by: Sydney Cusack
Collision (2023) - $
RENT NOW (80 minutes)
An increase in shipping traffic is threatening our oceans, its inhabitants and the planet. The film highlights the issue of fatal ship strikes on whales and suggests solutions to encourage and convince governments and global shipping companies to make vital changes.
Directed by: Philip Hamilton
Counting Cranes (2023)
PLAY NOW (13 minutes)
Imagine trying to count hundreds of thousands of birds in a matter of seconds – from a plane. In March, upwards of a million sandhill cranes pass through Nebraska. Go behind the scenes with the Crane Trust to learn how this process is done, what they have found in the past 20 years, and why it’s important.
Directed by: Mariah Lundgren
Deep in the Heart (2023) - $
RENT NOW (100 minutes)
A visually stunning celebration of Texas’ diverse landscapes and remarkable wildlife found nowhere else. Narrated by Matthew McConaughey, the film aims to conserve our remaining wild places, to show the connectivity of water and wildlife, and to recognize Texas’ conservation importance on a continental scale.
Directed by: Ben Masters
Elemental: Reimagining our Relationship with Wildfire (2023) - $
RENT NOW (80 minutes)
A growing number of scientists, safety experts and firefighters see a way forward for us to live and thrive with fire. The costs of wildfires is growing, our warlike stance is no longer working and decision-making may have dire consequences.
Directed by: Trip Jennings
First River: How Arkansas Saved a National Treasure (2023)
PLAY NOW (54 minutes)
Doomed to be damned, the Buffalo River was saved by a grassroots movement led by a small town doctor. These homegrown conservationists not only prevented its damming, but helped it gain permanent protection as America’s first National River.
Directed by: Michelle West
Gen Z Mental Health: Climate Stories (2023)
PLAY NOW (9 minutes)
Perspectives from Gen Z’ers across the globe, focusing on the spectrum of climate emotions and the ways in which emotional resilience can be found through direct collective action.
Directed by: Tehya Jennett
Heart of Maui (2023)
PLAY NOW (8 minutes)
This National Park Service film follows two biologists who are working to save rare and endemic forest birds in Haleakalā National Park. With this hard to access rainforest as a backdrop, Erika and Chris show what would be lost if humans fail to act and stop this extinction event.
Directed by: David Ehrenberg
High Plains Wild (2023)
PLAY NOW (14 minutes)
Follow the history of bighorn sheep in the High Plains of Nebraska, their near extinction and successful reintroduction efforts.
Directed by: Mariah Lundgren
Iridescent (2023) - $
RENT NOW (17 minutes)
When it comes to the discovery and documentation of birds, Tim Laman is one of the best in the world. Follow Tim and Nat Geo photographer Keith Ladzinski as they safari in one of the world’s best birding hotspots, Brazil’s Pantanal region.
Directed by: Keith Ladzinski
Is This Our Land? (2023)
Featured in 2023 CEFF 4 Kids Screening
Public lands are auctioned off for damaging private use and fossil fuel extraction. As Americans, should we feel a civic duty to understand the system and protect our great natural lands?
Directed by: Krishna Madhav, Rishub Madhav
La Grima (2023)
PLAY NOW (8 minutes)
During a long drought resulting in state-mandated tear collection, a young woman is saved by an unlikely friend.
Directed by: Jay Evan Renteria, Austin Madrid
Livestock or Desert (2023)
PLAY NOW (84 minutes)
Livestock are not the enemy. They are the key.
Directed by: Francisco José Vaquero Robustillo
Mālama i ke Kai (2023)
Featured in 2023 CEFF 4 Kids Screening
Three Huliau environmental filmmaking students share their personal relationships with the ocean, threats facing marine environments, and why they think it is important for us all to mālama i ke kai (take care of the ocean).
Directed by: Genisis Stice, Mekia Kekona Eaton, Bonshia Kajimwe
Milked (2023)
PLAY NOW (90 minutes)
Follow a young activist who goes deep into dairy land where he takes on the giants of New Zealand’s most powerful industry, and reveals how the sacred cash-cow industry has been milked dry.
Directed by: Amy Taylor
More Than a Route (2023)
PLAY NOW (20 minutes)
Follow top climber and ecologist Lena Müller on her adventure approach to mountain sports, breaking habits and exploring new paths.
Directed by: Peter Dippel
No Other Choice (2023)
PLAY NOW (2 minutes)
Polar bears are losing their homes. Climate change is melting Arctic sea ice that polar bears depend on for survival. This film takes a new approach in depicting wild animals in hopes to evoke empathy out of familiarity and being human.
Directed by: Callie Habegger
Our Native Lawn (2023)
Featured in 2023 CEFF 4 Kids Screening
A high school student explores the downsides of traditional grass lawns and charts a pathway toward positive models for the future.
Directed by: Quinn Carter
Plastic Pandemic (2023)
Featured in 2023 CEFF 4 Kids Screening
COVID-19 has contributed to plastic pollution in Hawaii and globally. Teens discuss ways to avoid single-use plastic items and a global “plastic pandemic”.
Directed by: Justin Pe Benito, Calvin Araki, Esta Smith
Plastic Problem PSA (2023)
Plasticnic (2023)
PLAY NOW (2 minutes)
A short animated poetry video about plastic consumption in the summer: we seek to enjoy nature while destroying it.
Directed by: Fiona T Lam, Tisha Deb Pillai
Rise, Fall, Hope (2023)
Featured in 2023 CEFF 4 Kids Screening
14-year-olds explore ancient human ingenuity, our current environmental dystopia, and the role of creativity moving forward. Their film’s 8 movements are embedded in pieces of rubbish which read like a post-apocalyptic comic book, each pane a piece of trash.
Directed by: Alexandra Delgra, Tiana Distefano, Nina Fiala, Kevin Lu, Alice Phelan, Merlin Puhr, Angelo Schiroky
Saging the World (2023)
PLAY NOW (21 minutes)
Sage smudging has become a viral trend. Discover the ecological and cultural truths behind the smoke, centered on the voices of Native advocates who have long cherished this sacred plant.
Directed by: Rose Ramirez, Deborah Small, David Bryant
See Me In Nature (2023)
PLAY NOW (20 minutes)
Meet a few of Alabama’s Black environmental leaders, activists, and historians who are currently shaping their community and providing long overdue awareness of the roots of the work.
Directed by: Asia Singleton
Somehow Hopeful: The Story of a Woodsman (2023)
PLAY NOW (81 minutes)
Find out how the work horse, mankind’s most reliable partner for thousands of years, can be a critical tool for restoring our natural world. Meet the inspiring people dedicating their lives to making our planet whole again.
Directed by: Jerry McNutt
Songscape: Green River with BEEBE "Make Me Light" (2023)
PLAY NOW (5 minutes)
This Songscape project uses a musical and visual introduction to our public lands to build critical public support for their continued protection.
Directed by: Harrison Goodale, Betsy Mortensen
Stop Pebble Mine (2023)
Featured in 2023 CEFF 4 Kids Screening
The little-known Pebble Mine project is one of the most significant threats to wildlife and native Alaskan communities.
Directed by: Mason Mirabile
Sunscreen Standoff (2023)
Featured in 2023 CEFF 4 Kids Screening
Students use an animated conversation between two sunscreens to highlight the potential impacts of chemical sunscreen on our marine environment.
Directed by: Lillian Murta, Savannah Rose, Alessandra Beningo
Taxing the Sun (2023)
PLAY NOW (25 minutes)
Why are neighboring states so far ahead of Alabama when it comes to renewable energy? A few simple policy changes could remove existing barriers and open electricity options for the South.
Directed by: Gillian Harrill
The Hungry Heron (2023)
PLAY NOW (2 minutes)
This very short film is for children (and their parents) in hopes it will inspire them to care for the environment and the preservation of all wildlife, now and throughout their lives.
Directed by: Sam Kauffmann
The Illusion of Abundance (2023) - $
RENT NOW (61 minutes)
Bertha, Carolina and Maxima don’t know one another but share a common situation: their life is threatened by some of the largest corporations in the world.
Directed by: Erika Gonzalez Ramirez, Matthieu Lietaert
The Last Tree (2023)
PLAY NOW (16 minutes)
An average Joe who reflects on Easter’s ecological fate wakes up, and everything suddenly stops working. Is it Murphy’s law, or is “The Overshoot Day” haunting him?
Directed by: Fredrik Sträng
The Little Fox of Limuw (2023)
PLAY NOW (13 minutes)
The unique Channel Island Fox was brought to the islands by the Chumash about six thousand years ago. After coming close to extinction, this adorable fox has been brought back by removing invasive species and the restoration of its habitat.
Directed by: Michael Love
The Sacrifice Zone (2023) - $
RENT NOW (31 minutes)
The Ironbound district in Newark, New Jersey, is one of the most toxic neighborhoods in the country. Within four square miles, people co-exist with a garbage incinerator, sewage treatment facility, international airport, seaport, and thousands of trucks per day. Follow Maria Lopez-Nuñez as she fights for environmental justice and works with her community to build a just and sustainable future.
Directed by: Julie Winokur
The Sea Turtle Arribada (2023)
PLAY NOW (12 minutes)
Witness an arribada – a mass nesting of sea turtles on an Oaxacan beach – that ocean conservation group WILDCOAST protects, and see how a small group of dedicated people have a massive impact on an endangered species survival.
Directed by: Jordan Miller
The Sprayer (2023)
PLAY NOW (9 minutes)
In the land occupied by the sprayer’s army, no one is allowed to grow plants. When a soldier finds a seed buried deep down in the dust, his curiosity is just the beginning of something extraordinary.
Directed by: Farnoosh Abedi
Transmission (2023)
PLAY NOW (53 minutes)
Doctors, farmers, biologists, & volunteers come together to fight a deadly disease threatening both wild & domestic sheep.
Directed by: Dan Minsky
Voices of the Grand Canyon (2023)
PLAY NOW (13 minutes)
Winner of 2023 CEFF Best Short Film Award
Before the Grand Canyon was a national park, it was the ancestral homeland of Native peoples. But rarely do tourists hear firsthand from modern Indigenous people whose cultures, worldviews, and livelihoods are inextricably tied to the region.
Directed by: Deidra Peaches
Yellowstone 88 - Song of Fire (2023)
PLAY NOW (6 minutes)
Summer. Dry lightning sparks a fire in the drought-ridden landscape of Yellowstone, igniting a blaze that rages for months until a severe winter snow extinguishes the flames. The cosmos turns from one season to another and life in the park begins anew.
Directed by: Jerry van de Beek, Betsy De Fries