Air, Land + Sea Signature Program

Founded in 2016 with the goal of generating awareness around man-made environmental issues, our year-round Air, Land + Sea program presents films that take filmgoers on a journey of environmental appreciation and awareness, fostering a deeper appreciation for our planet and allowing filmmakers and experts to share information and discuss solutions to the global problems we face. This screening series runs all year long, creating citizen scientists who address the issues we face on the East End every day.

Thank you to Nicole Delma for proposing the Air, Land + Sea program and championing the idea.  To get involved or make a donation, please contact Amy Levin. 

Select Festival Highlights

COMMON GROUND (HIFF 2023)
In an investigation into agricultural solutions to climate change, Josh Tickell and Rebecca Tickell offer a comprehensive profile of an uplifting food sustainability movement. COMMON GROUND follows white, Black, and Indigenous farmers using alternative regenerative agriculture that demonstrates potential to balance the climate, save our health, and stabilize America’s economy—before it’s too late. Narrated by an all-star cast, including Jason Momoa, Laura Dern, and Ian Somerhalder, this crucial film fuses journalistic exposé with deeply personal stories to both unveil a dark web of money, power, and politics behind our broken food system and offer radical, hopeful solutions for our planet’s future.

BECOMING COUSTEAU (HIFF 2021)
Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker Liz Garbus takes an inside look at oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau and his life, his iconic films and inventions, and the experiences that made him the 20th century’s most unique and renowned environmental voice—and the man who inspired generations to protect the Earth.

I AM GRETA (HIFF 2020)
Showcasing candid, never-before-seen footage, Nathan Grossman’s documentary tracks climate change activist Greta Thunberg‘s meteoric rise to prominence from a shy student to a two-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee, and the indelible impact she has had on a new generation of climate change activists.

I AM GRETA

FLINT (HIFF 2019)
Looking at the enduring issues of partisan politics and environmental resources on which it continues to shed light, FLINT is an illuminating look at a modern American tragedy, revealing how the city’s life-threatening water crisis has gradually evolved into a crisis of accountability and trust in authorities, a battle between science and pseudoscience, and an institutionalized failure in local infrastructure.

FIRE IN PARADISE

FIRE IN PARADISE (HIFF 2019)
On the morning of November 8, 2018, over the course of a few short hours, the Camp Fire near Paradise, CA grew into the country’s deadliest wildfire in over a century, killing 85 people. Through firsthand footage of the disaster and personal interviews with survivors and emergency responders, this film vividly retells the terrifying survival stories from that day.

THE SERENGETI RULES

THE SERENGETI RULES (HIFF 2018)
Beginning in the 1960s, a small band of young scientists headed out into the wilderness, driven by an insatiable curiosity about how nature works. Now in the twilight of their eminent careers, these five unsung heroes of modern ecology share the stories of their adventures, reveal how their pioneering work flipped our view of nature on its head, and give us a chance to reimagine the world as it could and should be.

FROM THE ASHES (HIFF 2017)
Reflecting on the United States’ long and often fraught relationship to the coal and mining industry, and pondering its uncertain future, FROM THE ASHES balances the conflicting perspectives of those most closely affected, through a series of compelling stories that speak to what is at stake for our economy, health, and climate.

CONSCIENCE POINT

CONSCIENCE POINT (HIFF 2019)
Shinnecock activist Becky Hill-Genia, the film’s heroine, is fighting to preserve Shinnecock sacred land and push forward legislation to protect ancestral grave sites. The film unearths a deep clash of values between the Shinnecock Indian Nation and their Hamptons neighbors.
• WINNER: HIFF27 Victor Rabinowitz and Joanne Grant Award for Social Justice

BEFORE THE FLOOD (HIFF 2016)
Academy Award® winner Leonardo DiCaprio’s passionate crusade to combat the increasingly harmful effects of climate change is at the heart of this thought-provoking film, which delivers a powerful call to action to prevent the demise and destruction of our beautiful Earth.