The inaugural EarthxFilm, presented by Earth Day Texas and taking place April 20-23 at multiple venues in Fair Park, has announced its full schedule, headlined by the opening night film, Chasing Coral.
Chasing Coral, directed by Jeff Orlowski, takes a look at the status of one of the world’s most important ecosystems, one which is endangered thanks to "coral bleaching" that is being caused by carbon emissions that are warming the seas. It will play at the Music Hall at Fair Park on both opening night, April 20, and April 22.
Other feature films will include Laura Dunn and Jef Sewell’s Look and See: A Portrait of Wendell Berry, a cinematic portrait of the farmer and writer, which was previously announced; Scott Hamilton Kennedy’s Food Evolution, a film narrated by Neil deGrasse Tyson that looks at the controversy surrounding GMOs and food; Roger Williams and David Mcllvride’s Riverblue, a documentary narrated by Jason Priestly about international river conservationist Mark Angelo, who examines the destruction of our rivers and its effect on humanity; and Roger Sorkin’s Tidewater, which looks at how the U.S. military is fighting to save its highest concentration of bases from sea level rise.
The festival will also include free outdoor screenings of older environmentally-themed films like Ferngully; David Lowery’s live action Pete's Dragon; and Frogs, a '70s kitschy horror film in which a birthday celebration gets interrupted by killer amphibians, birds, insects, and reptiles. There will also be multiple virtual reality experiences, including one tied to Chasing Coral. A full schedule of events can be found at earthxfilm.org.
The festival will have 18 feature films, 33 shorts, five virtual reality projects, and six works in progress in total. The films explore multiple environmental topics such as the state of the world's oceans and rivers, food and water sources, clean energy, GMOs, sustainable farming, plastic pollution, rising sea levels, and more.
Founded by Michael Cain, who also started the Dallas International Film Festival, the festival will take place concurrent with Earth Day Texas, which will also be at Fair Park April 21-23. In addition to the Music Hall at Fair Park, venues for the festival will include the Hall of State, the Women's Museum, the African American Museum, the Creative Arts Building, and the Fair Park Bandshell. There will also be one off-site screening at the Nasher Sculpture Center.
Festival passes and individual tickets are now on sale. Passes range from $15 for day passes to $750 for all-access full-festival passes. Prices for most individual screenings are $7.50 apiece.
