What to Watch: The Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital

        From March 14th – 26th various embassies, libraries, museums, theaters, and universities will be  hosting screenings of environmentally-themed films for the 25th Anniversary of the Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital (DCEFF).  The Environmental Film Festival is “the longest-running environmental film festival in the United States,” according to their website.

        The festival boasts over 150 movies which can be overwhelming when trying to decide on which film (or films) you should fit into your schedule this week.  Here are our picks for the best films of the fest.

        On Sunday, March19th  make your way down to the National Museum of American History at 3:30  p.m. to catch Plastic China, a film about poverty-stricken families in Asia living among plastic. The film provides a commentary on the social inequality that is represented by the trash of the wealthy overtaking the lives of   the poor.

       Monday  night  at 9:30 the  E Street Cinema is showing Behemoth . Chinese documentarian Zhao Liang creates an apocalyptic vision of the mining industry taking over the rural Asian landscape.

       For you ecologically conscious fashionistas RiverBlue: Can Fashion Save the Planet? is being screened at 7pm Tuesday evening at New York University, Washington DC. The documentary explores the fashion’s industry egregious impact on the environment and the way blue jeans are ruining rivers around the globe.

       Koneline: Our Land Beautiful is showing at the National Museum of Women in the Arts Wednesday  at 6:30 p.m. Koneline tells the stories of northwestern British Columbia, combining “politics, drama, and humor” telling the story of the nothern Canadian landscape and the environmental changes it undergoes.

         Moving onto eco-conscious films with a focus on the food industry, George Washington University’s Marvin Center will screen Silent Land: The Fight for Fair Food. Silent Land tackles the farming industry in Cambodia and the local Cambodian farmers fighting for food security on the micro level from food giants.  The problems of the Cambodian food industry echo the struggles of food industries around the world, making this film a must-see and relevant to the lives of anyone who chooses to watch it.

          Also examining the food industry is At the Fork, which will be shown at American University’s Forum Theater  Friday at 7. At the Fork is meant to be an unbiased examination of the industry that raises farm animals for food. Breaking from past trends of the food industry documentaries of the past, At the Fork finds America’s  farmers as the individuals at the center of the animal agriculture industry as they struggle with the moral implications of their work. Rounding out the week is  a Virtual Reality screening at the Carnegie Institution for Science of Under the Canopy and Valen’s Reef. The Virtual Reality experience will take place all day Saturday, March 25th, as well as all day March 26th. The   DCEFF website beckons you to “journey with Conservation International to the Amazon, earth’s most biodiverse ecosystem, and into the crystal-clear waters of the Bird’s Head Seascape in Indonesia, the single greatest reservoir of marine life on the planet.”

          All seven screenings are free, although most require registration ahead of time through the festival’s website (dcwff.org). Along with the resources to register for  screenings, the website also acts as your source for information on all films being screened throughout the festival, ways to get involved, and even films to watch online  if you aren’t interested on braving the last legs of our overdue DC winter or your gung-ho environmentalism leaves you campus bound for the sake of keeping your carbon footprint as minimal as your consumer habits.