Fire, Water, Earth, Air

This documentary takes the viewer on a deeply personal journey into the everyday lives of families struggling to fight Goliath. From a family business owner in the Midwest to a preacher in California, from workers in Florida to a poet in Mexico, dozens of film crews on three continents bring the intensely personal stories of an assault on families and American values.

On the tiny island of Martha's Vineyard, where presidents and celebrities vacation, trophy homes threaten to destroy the islands unique character. Twelve years in the making, One Big Home follows one carpenters journey to understand the trend toward giant houses. When he feels complicit in wrecking the place he calls home, he takes off his tool belt and picks up a camera.

An immersive journey into the world of wild horses, Wild Beauty illuminates both the profound beauty, and desperate plight faced by the wild horses in the Western United States. Filmmaker Ashley Avis and crew go on a multi-year expedition to uncover the truth in hopes to protect them, before wild horses disappear forever.

The San Francisco Foundation 2013 Community Leadership Awards presents Nancy Hom with the Helen Crocker Russell Award, made to an under-recognized, mature artist who has made a significant and ongoing contribution in the Bay Area. Nancy Hom, has used the arts as a means to reclaim and affirm the histories, struggles, and contributions of multicultural and underserved communities. Through her silkscreen posters, illustrations, 3-D installations, and curatorial work, Nancy has addressed a range of social issues and causes. In addition to being an artist, curator, and writer who continues to push the boundaries of her art after forty years, she has also nurtured the artistic and organizational growth of over a dozen Bay Area arts organizations. Her projects have had a profound influence, from healing historical trauma to mentoring the next generation of artists to build community through art. www.sff.org/cla

Brenda Way, founder and artistic director of ODC, is a recipient of the San Francisco Foundation Community Awards "for creating a community hub through dance. She built the largest, most comprehensive contemporary dance center in the nation, and through it she inspires dancers and audiences, cultivates artists, and engages the community. Brenda is a choreographer, writer, and community activist who strengthens our region's cultural connections." - San Francisco Foundation

Rita Semel, interfaith pioneer and Jewish activist, is a recipient of the San Francisco Foundation Community Leadership Awards "for her life-long successes in creating healthy, just, and inclusive communities in the Bay Area and worldwide. She builds bridges of understanding between diverse religious and ethnic communities, and brings together the interfaith community to help alleviate poverty and end discrimination. Her catalytic leadership is felt far and wide, from the San Francisco Interfaith Council to the Global Council for the United Religions Initiative. Her legacy will be a more peaceful and compassionate world." - San Francisco Foundation

Light Upon Light: A Documentary on Hijab is an intimate and deeply personal exploration of the diverse, raw, and untold stories of hijabi women. Through open and vulnerable conversations with 7 women, the film dismantles stereotypes, highlights the challenges imposed by society, and celebrates the profound beauty of the hijab beyond a mere clothing choice. It captures the individuality of each woman’s story—how they came to wear the hijab, the struggles they’ve faced, and the strength they’ve found in it. More than just fabric, the hijab is a journey, often misunderstood, and influenced by the way the world perceives it. By amplifying voices that are often unheard, the documentary creates a space for empathy, challenges misconceptions, and invites a deeper understanding of what it truly means to wear the hijab; inspiring everyone to see hijab in a new light.

Antarctica is the most extreme continent on our planet—higher, colder, and even drier than any other on Earth, and although it is thousands of miles away, what happens here affects every single one of us.

Follow the shocking, yet humorous, journey of an aspiring environmentalist, as he daringly seeks to find the real solution to the most pressing environmental issues and true path to sustainability.

With unprecedented access to the nuclear industry in France, Russia, and the United States, Nuclear Now explores the possibility for the global community to overcome the challenges of climate change and energy poverty to reach a brighter future through the power of nuclear energy. Beneath our feet, Uranium atoms in the Earth’s crust hold incredibly concentrated energy. Science unlocked this energy in the mid-20th century, first for bombs and then to power submarines. The United States led the effort to generate electricity from this new source. Yet in the mid-20th century as societies began the transition to nuclear power and away from fossil fuels, a long-term PR campaign to scare the public began, funded in part by coal and oil interests.

Yannick Bellon's documentary paints a portrait of a city torn between the problem of unsanitary housing, pollution corroding walls and statues, and the recurring and increasing floods—all consequences of human activity. Faced with job shortages and rampant speculation, the overarching question arises of how industries can coexist with the city of Venice. Allowing them to develop risks destroying it; driving them out risks turning it into a museum, causing its inhabitants, and thus its soul, to leave.

It's death on an unimaginable scale, when a majority of Earth's species quickly die out. It's called "mass extinction," and it's happened at least five times before. Cataclysms, such as supervolcanoes or asteroids, are thought to cause these events, but some experts believe a manmade mass extinction could be next. Is our planet in trouble? And if so, is there anything we can do to stop the next catastrophic annihilation? Experts are traveling the world, performing groundbreaking scientific detective work to answer these very questions.

In today's climate debate, there is only one factor that cannot be calculated in climate models - humans. How can we nevertheless understand our role in the climate system and manage the crisis? Climate change is a complex global problem. Increasingly extreme weather events, rising sea levels, and more difficult living conditions - including for us humans - are already the order of the day. Global society has never faced such a complex challenge. For young people in particular, the frightening climate scenarios will be a reality in the future. For the global south, it is already today. To overcome this crisis, different perspectives are needed. "THE UNPREDICTABLE FACTOR" goes back to the origins of the German environmental movement, accompanies today's activists in the Rhineland in their fight against the coal industry and gives a voice to scientists from climate research, ethnology and psychology.

Documents the true story of the final weeks of rehearsal for the Young at Heart Chorus in Northampton, MA, and many of whom must overcome health adversities to participate. Their music goes against the stereotype of their age group. Although they have toured Europe and sang for royalty, this account focuses on preparing new songs for a concert in their hometown.

Thule, Greenland, also called Qaanaaqis, one of the northernmost towns in the world. As the climate warms and the ice caps begin to melt, the gentle balance of life for the people of this community is in jeopardy. On the other side of the globe, the melting ice caps are raising sea levels around the Polynesian island nation of Tuvalu, threatening to wipe the island right off the map. Though a world apart, these two communities are intricately connected as environmental balance begins to tip and traditional ways of life are threatened. 'ThuleTuvalu' is a stunning documentary addressing the high price of a hundred years of development and how two very different communities are now bound together in facing an uncertain future.

The river Yamuna, known to the locals as 'Jamna', the lifeline of Delhi, is going through a major crisis due to pollution, mismanagement and sheer ignorance. A documentary crew tries to make sense of the situation by talking to different stakeholders and Shyam - a boatman who relies on the river for his livelihood.

Speedcubing is a sport where the goal is to solve a twisty puzzle as fast as possible. Alongside this emerging sport, a community full of diverse and driven individuals is steadily growing. It is impacting the next generation of youth and teaching them valuable life skills.

Der Wind - Motor des Klimawandels

This film takes us on an emotional journey from sacred ground above Byron Bay to Antarctica, Indonesia to Pakistan, and is sure to light a fire under the strongest climate change denier. THE POWER OF ACTIVISM focuses on six highly spirited female activists as they are put under the microscope to ascertain the financial impact of their environmental solutions… and the results are astonishing. From shark conservation to indigenous practices, intensive farming to plastic pollution; all their ‘causes' fall under the umbrella of "climate change", but they should also fall under the umbrella of "saving tax payers hundreds of millions of dollars!”

Last May record temperatures provoked a GLOF or glacial lake outburst flood in northern Pakistan, sweeping away bridges and villages in the valley below the Shisper glacier. Higher up the mountains, a semi-nomadic people called the Wakhi were leading their yaks to summer pastures 15,500 feet above in the mountains. Their traditional lifestyle has also been heavily impacted by climate change. From the K2 and the Himalayas, we profile the scientists,mountain climbers, and the villagers on this global warming frontline.