Easton, MD – The 2020 Virtual Chesapeake Film Festival celebrates our environment with seven provocative films that focus on the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the habitats that sustain life for humans and animals.
These environmental films, along with 40 other exceptional films, are FREE to an international audience during the four-day Festival, October 1 (9 am EST) – October 4, 2020 (12 pm EST). You can see the films via our website, chesapeakefilmfestival.com. There is no registration or tickets. The festival is free and open to the public.
The environmental films include:
Unbreathable: The Fight for Healthy Air (Documentary Feature, 29:19) spotlights the ongoing struggle for clean air in the United States. Over the past 50 years, there has been major progress in significantly reducing air pollution across the nation thanks to the Clean Air Act. However, asthma continues to be the number one health issue for children and nearly half of all Americans across the country today are still impacted by unhealthy levels of air pollution.
Ghost Fleet (Documentary Feature 1:28:00) follows a small group of activists who risk their lives on remote Indonesian islands to find justice and freedom for the enslaved fishermen who feed the world’s insatiable appetite for seafood. Bankok-based Patima Tungpuchayakul, a Thai abolitionist, has committed her life to helping these “lost” men return home. Facing illness, death threats, corruption, and complacency, Patima’s fearless determination for justice inspires her nation and the world.
The Life and Legend of Jane Goodall – (Documentary Feature, 55:00) — In the summer of 1960, 26-year-old Jane Goodall set out for Africa. Her mission was to find and observe an elusive tribe of chimpanzees. Today, Jane has grown from a stranger to the chimp’s local friend and strongest ally. Her lifelong dedication to the study of chimpanzees has helped to identify them as man’s closest relative. In The Life and Legend of Jane Goodall, Jane shares her personal story of the triumphs and trials that come with leading a life in the wild. Jane also speaks fondly about her relationship with her favorite family of chimps that she calls the “F” troop.
Seeds of Hope (Environmental Short 25:00) looks at a unique partnership with Native American seed-savers who, in cooperation with a New York teaching farm, start a sanctuary to save some of its most at-risk seeds, as well as important culture and memory. From planting to harvest, the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe at Akwesasne, the Hudson Valley Farm Hub and Seedshed honor Native American seeds and their rich cultural heritage that are at risk of disappearing.
Our Own House (Environmental Short 22:00) unearths a plague of plastic. The locals in Punta Gorda, a small remote town in Southern Belize, remember a time without electricity, roads – or plastics. Amidst the influx of single-use plastics, an activist and his neighbors confront the threat to their piece of paradise.
An Island Out of Time (Environmental Short 30:00) is about a remarkable family, the Marshalls, whose lives personify Chesapeake Bay’s waterman, seafood-harvesting culture and history. The film, like Tom Horton’s 1996 book, An Island Out of Time, is both celebration and elegy for a place beset with rising sea levels and erosion, pollution and harvest restrictions, and young people seeking opportunities older generations of islanders never dreamed of.
Whether you are a local film enthusiast on the Eastern Shore of Maryland or a film lover in Chile, you can experience the best in independent filmmaking from around the world in the 2020 Virtual Chesapeake Film Festival. Watch any or all of the 46 films FOR FREE as the Chesapeake Film Festival’s gift to communities coping with CoVid 19.
Donations and sponsorships are appreciated. The Chesapeake Film Festival is a 501 c3 charitable organization.
Check chesapeakefilmfestival.com for more information or call Nancy Tabor, Executive Director at 443-955-9144.
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The Chesapeake Film Festival is generously supported by the Shared Earth Foundation, Maryland Film Office, Maryland State Arts Council, Talbot County Arts Council, Talbot County Department of Tourism, Artistic Insights Fund, Richard and Beverly Tilghman, Karen and Langley Shook, U.S. Small Business Administration, Talbot CARES Small Business Grant and The Ravenal Foundation. Funding has also been provided to the Chesapeake Film Festival from Maryland Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as part of the 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020.