With Earth Day 2023 fast approaching, we felt that it was only appropriate to use the month of April to highlight films that focus on the environment, ecological preservation, and the science and work being undertaken to improve the state of our natural environs. Our EARTH DAY collection includes six documentaries that level their gaze on everything from the North Dakota Oil Boom, to the development of CRISPR technology, and the research of teenage scientists trying to address climate change.
EARTH DAY
GO FURTHER (2003)
In his second collaboration with (in)famous environmentalist Woody Harrelson, Ron Mann’s GO FURTHER is equal parts eye opening, hilarious, and impactful. With the goal of helping others learn about sustainable alternatives to their otherwise environmentally destructive behaviours, Woody Harrelson and a rag-tag crew of friends and fellow eco-conscious celebrities travel the length of the Pacific Coast Highway in a bio-diesel bus spreading the good word of environmentalism. Featuring world-renowned environmentalist Ken kesey, musical super stars Natalie Merchant and Dave Mathews, and many others, GO FURTHER will make you laugh as hard as it makes you rethink your impact on the world around you.
DEEP TIME (2015)
Focusing his lens on the North Dakota oil boom of the early 2000s, Noah Hutton’s humanistic documentary DEEP TIME seamlessly interconnects multinational oil companies, indigenous peoples, Norwegian settlers, and oceanic life. In following the narratives of oil workers, land owners, state officials, and North Dakota’s indigenous groups, DEEP TIME contextualizes the United States’ biggest oil boom of the 21st century in paleo-cycles and climate change.
EMPTYING THE SKIES (2013)
Every year, millions of migratory birds are illegally poached and killed in Southern Europe, pushing many of these flying wonders to the brink of extinction. Based on an essay by Jonthan Franzen that was subsequently re-published across the world, EMPTYING THE SKIES is the first and only directorial effort by brothers Douglas and Roger Kass. This shocking film follows a group of conservationists who risk their lives attempting to stymie the poachers and illegal trappers that are decimating the world’s population of migratory song birds.
HUMAN NATURE (2019)
First discovered in 1987, CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) is a technology that allows the genomes of plants and animals to be altered or edited, and is considered one of the greatest scientific breakthroughs of the 20th century. HUMAN NATURE dives into the far-reaching impacts of the technology, both known and speculated, and begs the question:
“How will CRISPR change the relationship of human beings and nature?”
INVENTING TOMORROW (2019)
The International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) is considered the Olympics of high-school science fairs, hosting thousands of students from around the world who present original scientific research. INVENTING TOMORROW uses the ISEF as the backdrop against which a new generation of scientists work to find solutions to their generation’s greatest crisis; climate change. The film follows many of the contestants of the 2017 ISEF as they undertake their research, travel across the world to Los Angeles to present their work, build life-long friendships, and try to find a solution to one of the world’s most significant challenges. Inspiring and eye-opening, INVENTING TOMORROW will make the most cynical viewers hopeful for the future of the world and the environment.
GEOGRAPHIES OF SOLITUDE (2022)
Documententing the unique geography and wildlife of Sable Island, Nova Scotia, and tracing the life and work of environmentalist Zoe Lucas, GEOGRAPHIES OF SOLITUDE serves as both a stunning depiction of one of Canada’s most diverse ecosystems, and an intimate portrait of an individual that has dedicated their life to preserving the island and it’s natural wonders. Shot on 16mm, GEOGRAPHIES OF SOLITUDE is as gorgeous as it is affecting. The debut feature length film from director Jacquelyn Mills, GEOGRAPHIES OF SOLITUDE has garnered accolades and won awards from some of the most prestigious film festivals across the globe, including Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival and the Berlin International Film Festival
FWL’S #EARTHDAY2023 COLLECTION
Find out where to watch all of the titles in our #EarthDay2023 Collection
ABOUT FILMS WE LIKE
Founded by award-winning documentary filmmaker Ron Mann (Grass, Comic Book Confidential, Carmine Street Guitars) Films We Like is a boutique distributor of documentary, independent, and international films in Canada. Recent releases include Saint Omer, Godland, Academy Award nominee EO and the Academy Award winning film Drive My Car by Ryusuke Hamaguchi.