SunGanges

Filmed entirely from the air, Upstream follows the course of the River Dee in Scotland, all the way to its source in the Cairngorm mountains, the highest of any river in Britain. With a prose poem written especially for the film by Robert Macfarlane and an original score by the Oscar-nominated composer Hauschka.

A cinematic and musical odyssey that explores the remarkable relationship between humans and rivers. Throughout history, rivers have shaped our landscapes and our journeys; flowed through our cultures and dreams. RIVER takes its audience on a journey through space and time; spanning six continents, and drawing on extraordinary contemporary cinematography, including satellite filming, the film shows rivers on scales and from perspectives never seen before. Its union of image, music and sparse, the poetic script will create a film that is both dream-like and powerful, honouring the wildness of rivers but also recognizes their vulnerability.

“…this documentary capturing important aspects of Thoreau’s life and writings is highly recommended.” Video Librarian, May 2018 Made over the course of 13 years, Henry David Thoreau: Surveyor of the Soul tells the story of Thoreau in his time and the story of the impact Thoreau’s writings and lifestyle have in our time. Surveyor of the Soul has interviews and commentary by: Laura Dassow Walls (author, Henry David Thoreau: A Life), Bill McKibben, Howard Zinn, Richard Primack, Megan Marshall, Rep. John Lewis, Robert Bly, Wai Chee Dimock, Spencer Crew, Darren Ranco (Penobscot), Rochelle Johnson, and more. “If you are not yet a Thoreau enthusiast, this beautiful, engrossing documentary just might turn you into one. If you already are, it will remind you of the many reasons why.” Lucille Stott, Appalachia, Winter/Spring 2019

When an alien visitor discovers it can communicate with Earth’s oceans, it becomes the only intermediary between humanity and a vast marine intelligence whose patience with the human race is running out. Part survey, part discovery, the film explores a stretch of the wilderness that has largely slipped through the cracks of human attention, and in some places, bears the marks of human failure. The alien encounters a force both beautiful and terrifying, a voice as old as the planet itself, carrying memories, warnings and a power beyond human control. The film is a parable about nature on Earth by establishing an unidentified alien as interacting with the planet. By way of subtle messages the sea warns the alien that the existence of the planet is at stake. The alien discovers a controlling city but does not interfere with it and hopes that the sea will find a way to survive.

Who are the most inspiring individuals working tirelessly to restore rivers in Europe? We call them the “DamBusters”. Pao Fernández Garrido from the Dam Removal Europe coalition is on a mission: to see their work at their local rivers and share these exciting stories to inspire more river restorations. The film #DamBusters follows Pao’s journey through native Spain, France -the European cradle of river barrier removals-, Lithuania, Estonia and Finland. The most iconic river freeing cases so far, ready to impress you.

Brisbane-based scientists build Australia’s first facility to transform human waste into renewable energy and a sustainable product called Biochar.

An homage to the weird and wonderful world of B-movies, this short fauxdocumentary by film artist Chris Gerrard splices together classic clips with some new footage to tell the ludicrously fake story of the mysterious people (and things) lurking beneath us in the eerie River Tay. Feast your eyes on this unique archaeology of aquatic-themed film.

From her source at Lake Itasca, the Mississippi winds through Minnesota's prairies, valleys and cities—her constant presence easily taken for granted. To the Dakota she's a sacred relative and source of life; to settlers, the key to prosperity. What do the stories of Native stewards, industrialists, immigrant families and wildlife guardians reveal about the river's future?

A three year self-described labour of love, 2040 takes the form of a visual letter from the filmmaker to his four-year-old daughter Velvet, showing her what the year 2040 could look like “if we simply embraced the best solutions that exist today.”

A documentary short that uses fish to explore identity and belonging in a metropolis.

Offshore wind farms are a major player in the move away from fossil fuels, especially in the North Sea, and they are increasing in number. But their impact on the environment is not yet clear: We take a look at ongoing research in Europe that is measuring the impact of wind turbines and their harm, or benefit, to biodiversity in our seas.

Feel the rush of the breathtakingly beautiful National Parks of California with one deep breath of the summer air.

When the Tanana River bridge was installed in Salcha, Alaska, the community worried about the levee's effects on fish wildlife. Salcha Elementary School, along with the help of Tanana Valley Watershed Association, conducted a 10-year scientific project with students to study the effects the levee had on Piledriver Slough. Tori Brannan - the filmmaker's mother - is a retired principal at Salcha Elementary and was the project's centerpiece. She shares her experiences with the project, the community, and how her daughter's involvement strengthened their relationship.

Since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, Afghanistan has drawn growing international attention for its enormous reserves of rare earths and strategic minerals essential to the global energy transition. The country is believed to hold more than €1 trillion in resources, including copper, lithium, cobalt, iron, uranium, chromite, mercury, and rare earth elements, as well as valuable gemstones and gold. Often described as the “Saudi Arabia of minerals,” Afghanistan has become the focus of a geopolitical race for supplies. While Europe and the United States remain hesitant to engage with a regime accused of serious human rights abuses, countries such as China, Russia, Turkey, Qatar, Pakistan, and India are already positioning themselves in Kabul to secure access to these critical resources.

A portrait of free diver Kathryn Nevatt, former World Champion and current New Zealand record holder in all three disciplines.

A film about inland waterway shipping in the Federal Republic of Germany.

Sixty years ago, the Canary Islands were the first in Europe to adopt desalination of ocean water to produce drinking water. Often considered a miracle solution, is this technique compatible with sustainable development?

Filmed over five years across the salt flats of Chile’s Atacama Desert and the fertile valleys of Serbia’s Jadar, ALL WE HAVE IS US chronicles the interconnected resistance against multinational mining giant Rio Tinto. Co-directors Aline Juárez and Juan Donoso follow Aymara journalist and land defender Leyla Noriega, actor Bojana Novaković, socio-environmental researcher and photgrapher Ramón Balcázar, and rural beekeeper Vladan Jakovljević. Refusing the tropes of passive victimhood, the film captures an intimate, choral portrait of agency and dignity—where community radio, ancestral memory, street protests, and cross-continental solidarity expose the hidden ecological and democratic costs powering Europe’s green energy transition and militarization.

An overlooked engineer is sent to Alaska to scope out an eccentric scientist's claim that capturing lightning can be a new source of renewable energy.

In Lopera (Jaén), the ecological transition has turned into a nightmare: centuries-old olive groves are being uprooted to make way for massive photovoltaic plants, in an unfair battle between powerful corporations and the local community. Through firsthand testimonies, striking visuals, and an analysis of the current energy model, Forced Renewables reveals how progress, when poorly planned and disconnected from rural life, can lead to an unprecedented ecological, social, and economic disaster.