PhotoDiversity™ Film Festival: Season 2018

In the Southern Andes,a thousand year old tree, the Araucaria Araucana survives for 200 million years. It's story is little known and forever linked to an Amerindian people of Chile: the Pehuenches. This isolated community has survived for centuries thanks to the Araucaria. But the perfect harmony between man and nature will soon be disturbed by invasion of the Spanish settlers, territorial conflicts, logging and the fires.

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World first! Amazing life cycle of the coral is visualized in detail. This movie is the world-first visual record revealing the life cycle of coral, including synchronized spawning of eggs, development from egg to larva, and "metamorphosis" of swimming larva to the sedentary polyp by changing the body organization after seeking settling places. It will help you to know more about life history and ecology of corals, and then to realize that coral reefs, so-called cradles in the ocean, are irreplaceable in global environments.

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Everyone can make miracles and change the world. Even children! Often, it is really easy to become depressed when it comes to environmental disasters, and we believe that only miracles can save the situation. KOUNOTORI is the story of Toyooka, a rural Japanese town, which was hit and flooded by an immense typhoon, causing great damage and despair. It was Yuka Okada, a brave and creative 11 years old girl, who came up with a simple idea, inspired an amazing sustainable process, which turned Toyooka into a prosperous paradise. In the process, they even succeeded to do the unbelievable, and to bring back to nature a rare species of stork called Kounotori, after dozens of years of extinction. KOUNOTORI proves in a moving and inspiring way that we should never lose hope.

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In Peru, the headwaters of the Amazon River cut through the Andes Mountains and help sustain resident communities as well as the most diverse ecosystem on Earth. As the energy demands of Peru increase, the currently free flowing Marañón River faces over 20 proposed dam projects, two of which have already been approved. Our international team of scientists and river experts spent 28 days rafting the Marañón while documenting the natural and cultural resources that would be eminently impacted by proposed dam projects.

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Shash Jaa' (Bears Ears) is a giant stretch of land in southeastern Utah, about 1.35 million acres of rocky and rugged wilderness. This region is sacred land to local Native American tribes, and in 2015 five nations came together to form the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, an effort to protect their homeland from development and destruction. Follow the story of the coalition as they lobby the Obama Administration to designate Bears Ears a national monument

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The Documentary of Ko-Hei-Sai Kawamura. Watch Trailer

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Population growth has been left out of the climate debate because it is seen as controversial, yet it is one of the most important factors. The global population has passed the 7 billion mark and India is overtaking China as the most populous nation in the world, but one state in southern India has found the solution. The unique history of Kerala and 'the Kerala Model' is outlined, using it as an example of achieving population control in developing countries without coercion.

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Shadow art by Koheisai Kawamura, which is based on the old story of the Giant Serpent at Mt. Daihizan in Odaka, Minamisoma City, Fukushima Prefectur. Visit Website

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A documentary based on the rescue, recovery, and release of a loggerhead sea turtle found on Crescent Beach, Anastasia Island.

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Science With Sophie: science comedy for girls and everyone. Think Bill Nye meets Good Eats meets Cosmos on a budget, with a strong female host. Sophie and her cast of characters (played by Sophie) invite you to find science all around you, and remind you that you are a smart, curious, funny, brave scientist every day.

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Atabey, the Taino's Indian female god deity transforms its identity while a Taino Indian falls in love with her. In his search, the beautiful mangroves forest and it's creatures sets the stage for their romance while at the same time takes us into a beautiful visual journey thru this fragile ecosystem.

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The 'Coke Studio' Origin Story - In a post 9/11 Pakistan faced with challenges of war and conflict, a quest for self-identity leads the inspirational journey of a music show to help reclaim the rich and vast musical heritage of this region. In doing so it has become one of the biggest music initiatives from this side of the world, bringing together unique cultural experiences and genres, including but not limited to folk, sufi, rock, pop and rap music. We explore this important period in music by discovering the show from its humble beginnings, living through its spirit to reach the heart of the experience, as artists unify eastern and western sounds to make music that will resonate across the globe; impacting all involved and planting the seeds for an ongoing inward reflection towards who we are as individuals and as a people.

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The greatest explorer of Latin America narrates his journey through lands of New Spain in 1803. During his journey he discovers an extraordinary biodiversity and an ancient culture that impacted him deeply. His scientific research is still valid today as much as his denounce of exploitation and social inequality that he observed along Mexico. His work changed the vision of America for the Europeans.

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Gwala Rising in the Bwanabwana Islands depicts the revitalization of traditional conservation practices in the islands of Papua New Guinea. The community of Anagusa Island is combating the effects of climate change and protecting the coral reefs they rely on using gwala: the traditional practice of setting aside a reef or forest area to allow the ecosystem to recover. Gwala is helping the community of Anagusa Island prosper - empowering men and women with improved access to food and livelihoods.

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The sea from the antiquity has been a symbol of freedom for man and at the same time a broad field that no one ever sowed but everyone seeks to harvest. An independent group of biology student decide to take action and bring the matter to the public.

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In Disappointment Valley, filmmaker James Anaquad Kleinert discovers a unique, undisturbed band of wild horses, living in remote area of Southwestern Colorado, called Disappointment Valley. Kleinert documents his personal relationship with both the majestic herd of wild ones and the breathtaking and haunting valley. This relationship is brutally interrupted by government roundups that devastate the wild horses. The event is a turning point in Kleinert's life and sets him on a quest to understand the reasons for the brutal government roundups by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)) that are pushing the herd to edge of extinction, while inexplicably the BLM is the agency that is in charge of protecting the wild horses.

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The ancestral forests of the nomadic Orang Rimba have vanished. In the short span of three decades oil palm plantations have replaced much of the tropical peatland rain forests in Jambi, Indonesia. The People of the Forest, Orang Rimba in their dialect, have nowhere to go.

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The Silver Branch is a philosophical vision-poem about one man's journey through life which underpins a search to reconnect with nature and culture as primary sources from which we learn a deeper understanding of ourselves and our surroundings.

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Bighorn Sheep are North America's most socialized large wild mammal. Get ready for 17 minutes of lamb school.

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Two persons without home, homeless, dream and in their dream they dance together. The constant loneliness and the attraction / misunderstanding with other persons will define the choreographic relation between them.

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Deep in the heart of Liberia's jungles, hundreds of chimpanzees were taken from the wild. Captured, bred, and infected with hepatitis, our closest animal relatives were to unlock the mysteries of human diseases. But what started in the 1970s as an ambitious medical experiment took deeper and darker turns through the decades. Gripping to the core, Blood Island tells the powerful story of the chimpanzees, their captors and the people still fighting to save them.

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The bluefish a much loved and iconic symbol of Istanbul face the threat of extinction. The bluefish is an Istanbul icon stories about what is lithe silvery fish, the fastest and most ferocious swimmer of the Bosporus, can do. Called a small monster or piranha there are rumours of it attacking cluster of bonito and even dolphins. The fish is truly a Bosporus legend. The Bosporus has already lost some of its famous inhabitants; the giant blue-fin tuna and its predator, the great white shark, no longer swim through. Lobsters that were once plentiful in the Marmara, swordfish and the Mediterranean seals are also long gone. Most recently the Bosporus mackerel disappeared. Is the bluefish next in line? Combining magical underwater footage with interviews with fisherman, activists, and more, the film the fish story with great sensitivity.

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Madagascar's ecosystem is one of the most threatened on the planet. A nation compiled of subsistence farmers, most Malagasy people do not have the luxury to see beyond their daily needs to consider the long-term consequences of deforestation. Throughout the country, native forests have been devastated by human activities, ranging from sales of illegal timber to charcoal production to the desecration of large segments of land through slash and burn agriculture.

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An "Information Collage" contrasting images of culture and politics from the start of the Vietnam War to 2017. Started as 16mm film in 1968 about painting a facade of a boutique in Greenwich Village & the scene that evolved around it. It contrasts the news of the Vietnam War with the 60s fashion scene. I filmed the rock'n roll sequences in 1967- 68 & passed them through an analog video echo in 1975. I finally videoed the original site in 2004 & finished editing the work in January 2005. Additional scenes were added and the sound totally reworked in 2007, 2012 & 2017.

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The lives of three friends become complicated when facing choices of love, friendship, need and reciprocity. Everything is hung on a thin string-- from desire to love, to dream, to face life's disarrays, and then to settle on an unexpected destiny.

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Istanbul where skyscrapers and magnificent historic buildings sit side by side, is both the oldest and one of the most populated cities in the world. Being home to over 15 million permanent residents as well as its visitors, she has a never-ending energy and dynamism. Even though this megacity continues to grow population-wise, mankind is not its only resident. A tiny island right next to Istanbul, embraces wild life despite the surrounding highways and the constant urbanization around it. Terns, the tiny guests of the tiny island, calmly continue their survival and raise generations despite all the hustle-bustle going on around them throughout the day.

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Life on Earth is fed by sunlight - so one could think that the lack of sunlight means no life at all. The truth is just the opposite: a closer look reveals that most dark caves present wildlife in abundance. Recently cave divers and biologists have found previously unknown species under the picturesque capital of Hungary. The Molnár János Cave, the largest underwater thermokarst cave in Europe, has many more secrets to store. Following decided explorers BUDAPEST INFERNO reveals the never before seen underground wonders of Budapest and the deepest secrets of evolution.

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A Series of Challenging Events Leads a Scarecrow Becomes Human.

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Someone in a quiet area asked help from the people who he sees till someone enters the house and suddenly...

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Seyyed Shiri, known as Zaman, is a Pakistani immigrant. After the martyrdom of his father in the Pakistan Kashmir War, moved to Iran with his family. He got married in Iran and formed his own family. He worked many different jobs to provide for his family. However, the regulations that exist for the immigrants doesn't allow him to work in many fields. This documentary is about the last days of his life living in Iran. Zaman is a story about Seyyed Shiri, a Pakistani immigrant in Iran, who without permanent residency, struggles to find a fixed job that can support his family. A documentary about a one-of-a-kind Pakastani immigrant called Zaman, who has led a hard life, but still manages to keep a positive attitude.

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"The Forgotten Neighborhood: Palestinians in Chicago" focuses on a Muslim mother and daughter duo who work to uplift the neighborhood of Chicago Lawn. They recount the community's past and their work for a better future.

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Shot entirely in 16mm black and white film using single frame photography, 165708 employs in-camera techniques and chemical manipulation of processed film to produce an eidetic study of temporal elasticity. Techniques include flicker, time-lapse, light painting, stop motion, tinting, and toning. Combined with cycles of alternating exposed frames, these methods imbue the work with a rhythmic magnetism, apparent both in the tempo and the aesthetic of the images. Exploring the capacity of the medium to express various notions of time, the film begins with a woman looking out from the shoreline. This acts as a point of departure to disparate yet interconnected sequences which prompt the viewer to engage in a structurally unique mode of inquiry and experience. A dynamic original score by the acclaimed composer Graham Stewart accompanies the film.

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