APRIL PLAYLIST
Mother / Nature
In honor of Earth Day, our April films highlight people who have devoted their lives to the environment, or otherwise those whose worldview is shaped by their relationship to it. These international stories diverge in style, genre, and subject matter -- from the intimate bond between one family and a baby elephant, to a woman whose depression mirrors the approach of a planet hurtling towards Earth, to the trials and tribulations of a young girl standing at the forefront of the fight for climate awareness -- however they all share in their raw portrayals of the strong tether between humans and the environment.
This playlist tells a story about the impact of humans on the planet. By exploring the many struggles and successes in the fight for environmental justice, this playlist seeks to answer, or simply start to answer, the question of how to have a positive impact ourselves.
Solia Cates is the Editor-In-Chief of WomenDo, a graduate of Yale University’s Film and Media studies program, and a writer and actress based in Los Angeles.
Okja
Directed by Bong Joon-Ho
2017, Narrative Feature
A young girl risks everything to prevent a powerful, multinational company from kidnapping her best friend - a fascinating beast named Okja.
Wildcat
Directed by Melissa Lesh, Trevor Frost
2022, Documentary Feature
Suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, a former soldier develops a bond with a baby ocelot in the jungles of Peru.
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Directed by Benh Zeitlin
2012, Narrative Feature
Faced with both her hot-tempered father's fading health and melting ice-caps that flood her ramshackle bayou community and unleash ancient aurochs, six-year-old Hushpuppy must learn the ways of courage and love.
Ice on Fire
Directed by Leila Conners
2019, Documentary Feature
In the face of a rapidly warming planet, scientists and visionaries work to mitigate climate change and minimize climate-related events.
Amazon Prime Video Apple TV Google Play HBO Max Hulu Youtube
I am Greta
Directed by Nathan Grossman
2020, Documentary Feature
Greta Thunberg, 15, starts school striking for the climate. She skips school and sits outside the parliament to show the politicians that if they don't care about her future, why should she? A film about acting to stop climate change before it's too late.
Leave No Trace
Directed by Debra Granik
2018, Narrative Feature
A father and daughter live a perfect but mysterious existence in Forest Park, a beautiful nature reserve near Portland, Oregon, rarely making contact with the world. But when a small mistake tips them off to authorities, they are sent on an increasingly erratic journey in search of a place to call their own.
Kiss the Ground
Directed by Josh Tickell, Rebecca Harrell Tickell
2020, Documentary Feature
Kiss the Ground, narrated by Woody Harrelson, is a full-length documentary shedding light on a “new, old approach” to farming called regenerative agriculture, a practice with the extraordinary ability to balance our climate and feed the world.
The Elephant Whisperers
Directed by Kartiki Gonsalves
2022, Documentary Short
Bomman and Bellie, a couple in South India, devote their lives to caring for an orphaned baby elephant named Raghu, forging a family like no other that tests the barrier between the human and the animal world.
Melancholia
Directed by Lars von Trier
2011, Narrative Feature
A planet hurtles toward a collision course with Earth. Two sisters, one of them trying to recover from a heavy bout of depression and a failed marriage, cope with their destiny in very different ways.
Lowland Kids
Directed by Sandra Winther
2019, Documentary Short
As climate change erases the Louisiana coast, the last two teenagers on Isle de Jean Charles fight to stay on an island that’s been their family home for generations.