all photos: Ben Droz
This year the Environmental Film Festival, which officially kicks off tomorrow, celebrates a major milestone: 20 years of advancing environmental understanding through the power of film. As the first film festival devoted to the full range of environmental topics, the Environmental Film Festival was a novel idea when Flo Stone founded it in 1993. While 1,200 people attended the inaugural Festival, today the Festival has expanded to become the nation’s largest showcase of environmental film, attracting an audience of over 30,000.
The 20th anniversary Festival, is the largest and most ambitious yet, will showcase 180 films, including 93 Washington, D.C., United States and World premieres, from 42 countries. A centerpiece of our 20th anniversary year is a retrospective of the work of Academy Award-nominated director Lucy Walker, who will screen her latest film, The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom, and receive the Festival’s Polly Krakora Award for artistry in film.
Ben stopped by the opening party this past weekend and caught a bunch of environmentally aware folks excited about the next 12 days of film ahead of them:
