Film Selections for 2026
Here are the film selections for the 2026 Outer Banks Environmental Film Festival!
Documentary Feature Film
Forever Home
Dir. Allison Argo
Runtime: 56:00
Forever HOME follows a young couple’s dream to provide the best possible life for rescued farm animals by rethinking the concept of “home.” At their refuge, they base their designs on the needs of the individual animals, replacing conventional barns with customized homes. Paul, an architect, calls it "animal centered design." With empathy and boundless imagination, they’re bringing architectural design to the world of animal care and providing a blueprint for a compassionate, sustainable future. This unique film is a celebration of life and creativity!
Documentary Feature Film
Kingdom Fungi
Dir. Joshua Thompson
Runtime: 01:37:00
Officially endorsed by the Fungi Foundation, Kingdom Fungi is a feature documentary that delves into the extraordinary world of fungi, following four dedicated amateur and professional field mycologists whose work is driven by a shared mission to document, educate and protect this remarkable kingdom.
Set across diverse and changing habitats in Southern England, the film reveals the science of identification, the ecological processes unfolding beneath our feet, global environmental policy, and the personal stories that drive each character’s devotion.
Documentary Feature Film
Keystone: The Prodigies of an Icon
Dir. Charles Rankin, Shauna Rankin
Runtime: 01:13:24
Keystone is an intimate documentary examining the American bison as a true keystone species—one whose presence has shaped the ecology, culture, and survival of North America’s grasslands. Through science, history, and lived stewardship, the film explores how bison behavior influences soil, water, biodiversity, and landscape resilience. Rather than beginning with modern management or mythology, Keystone asks a foundational question: why this animal remains indispensable to healthy ecosystems—then and now.
Documentary Feature Film
The Right Whale
Dir. Nick Dean,
Cheryl Holmen Dean
Runtime: 53:59
The Right Whale is an intimate and visually stunning documentary that follows the lives of right whales across the globe, from the icy waters of New Zealand and Argentina to the busy coastlines of North America. Through groundbreaking science and emotional storytelling, we meet individual whales like Bill, who swims from New Zealand to Antarctica and back, and Ruffian, rescued from deadly fishing gear.
Filmed over 7 years, The Right Whale features dramatic original footage of rare whale behavior. For the first time scientists witness a mother simultaneously nursing two calves in Australian waters. Intimate moments between mothers and their young, including a suckling rare white calf, are seen along Argentina’s coast.
Documentary Feature Film
Becoming Wild
Dir. Jane B. Pittman
Runtime: 47:15
In a neighborhood transformed by gentrification and loss of green space, a backyard becomes a sanctuary and a teacher – alive with creatures who ask for nothing more than a place to live. Through seasons of change, Becoming Wild explores how beauty survives—when we choose to nurture it—and how ordinary people can help rebuild the natural world right where they live.
Documentary Short Film
Young Fires The Future of Firelighting
Dir. Laura Albritton
Runtime: 26:46
Trailer Unavailable
The documentary film Young Fires: The Future of Firelighting takes viewers on a riveting journey into the world of controlled burns -- from Florida and rural Georgia to forests in North Carolina. Through the eyes of young people who are training in “firelighting”, viewers discover the benefits of applying prescribed fire to landscapes and habitats in the American Southeast.
Documentary Short Film
Kelly Street Garden - Healing & Social Justice
Dir. Matt Kohn
Runtime: 14:05
Trailer Unavailable
This video is intended to give a rounded view of our programming and food justice work within the South Bronx community of Longwood, NY. We wanted to share with you the joy, the sense of shared spirit, creativity and healing that is possible through the efforts of a small group around urban agriculture.
Documentary Short Film
From the Sound to the Sea
Dir. Olivia Jackson
Runtime: 17:00
From Sound to the Sea explores the struggle to preserve one of America’s most fragile coastal ecosystems. Home to a rare herd of ~150 wild horses, Corolla is at a tipping point: environmental diversity versus unchecked development. The documentary reveals a community wrestling with its identity and the responsibilities of stewardship.
Documentary Short Film
May the Water not Freeze
Dir. Zahira Hafeeza Chaudhry
Runtime: 16:26
Trailer Unavailable
A farming cooperative in Western Maine prepares for their first winter while stewarding community with other Black farmers & cultivating Muslim foodways.
Documentary Short Film
The Elkhorn Slough & Carbon Sequestration
Dir. Joel Hersch
Runtime: 09:15
Dr. Adina Payton, a professor in the Departments of Earth and Planetary Sciences at UC Cruz, leads a cohort of PhD students on their research at the Elkhorn Slough. Their investigation dives into the slough's unique capacity to sequester massive amounts of CO2 and the importance of protecting these ancient, natural ecosystems.
Documentary Short Film
Sanctuary of the Leatherback
Dir. Alongkot Chukaew
Runtime: 09:25
The Sanctuary of the Leatherback is the continuing stories, following the first documentary, The Story of the Leatherback. This documentary will raise an important issue, relating to the recent death of mother Tai Meaung, a mother leatherback turtle along with her 136 unhatched babies in her belly. The incident is heartbreaking. Losing her has been a major blow for the conservation efforts for this turtle specie, one of the critically endangered animals in Thailand.
Documentary Short Film
Sentinels of Engaruka
Dir. Hans Cosmas Ngoteya
Runtime: 25:25
Across the sweeping rift-valley plains of northern Tanzania, two guardians keep the balance: endangered Masai giraffes and the Maasai pastoralists who share their land. Sentinels of Engaruka offers a rare, ground-level view of this fragile alliance at a time when invasive shrubs, shrinking pasture, and climate change threaten to tip the scales.
The story follows Baraka Lesineti, an elder determined to safeguard his cattle; his teenage son Meheti, who treks long distances to find grass; and Maria Eliaz, a young Maasai woman blending traditional knowledge with modern tools to restore rangelands. Their intertwined choices reveal what it means to “stand tall” for people, culture, and nature — together.
Documentary Short Film
Returning Rapids
Dir. Jordan Graves
Runtime: 35:00
Trailer Unavailable
Embark on a revealing journey along the Colorado River, witnessing its dramatic transformation as the receding waters of Lake Powell unveil hidden rapids and forgotten landscapes. Explore intertwining ecological discoveries, indigenous perspectives, and a river in a state of rebirth.
Documentary Short Film
Beach Inna Bondage: The Fight for Jamaica's Coastline
Dir. Emiel Martens,
Elsie Vermeer
Runtime: 29:59
Beach Inna Bondage is a short documentary by Kingston-based Dutch filmmaking duo Emiel Martens and Elsie Vermeer in collaboration with the Jamaica Beach Birthright Environmental Movement (JaBBEM) and Grammy-winning Jamaican reggae arist Keznamdi exploring the growing struggle for beach access in Jamaica. Since the 1950s, public access to the island’s beaches has steadily declined, leaving less than one percent of the coastline publicly accessible for Jamaicans. Over the decades, most of Jamaica’s beaches have been captured by private and tourist interests, and particularly since the 2000s large-scale hotel developments have limited beach access for Jamaicans.
Documentary Short Film
The True Cost of Power
Dir. D.L. Anderson
Runtime: 18:15
Trailer Unavailable
When the small town of Carrboro dares to sue Duke Energy for decades of climate deception, a damning pattern emerges of corporate power run amok. Despite knowing about climate risks since the 1960s, North Carolina's monopoly energy utility has systematically misled the public while positioning itself as a clean energy leader. Through exclusive access to scientists, investigative journalists, and frontline communities, this documentary exposes the true cost of corporate power when billions in climate damages are paid by everyone except those who caused them.
Emerging Filmmaker
SALABAMA
Dir. Nicholas Hess
Runtime: 19:27
Meet Alabama’s salamanders like you’ve never seen them before and fall for their undeniable charm. We dive into the salamanders’ hidden world of wonder, crawling right under your feet and all around you, with the scientists and salamander superfans who can’t get enough of these quirky critters.
Emerging Filmmaker
UNDERMINED
Dir. Lily Huffman
Runtime: 15:33
In Belle Mina, it’s “Another Day, Another Lawsuit” as a small Alabama town fights back against a quarry blasting right next door to them, threatening their air, water and overall quality of life.
Emerging Filmmaker
HYPERSCALED
Dir. Maya Estrera
Runtime: 19:28
Increased energy and water demands from the rapid development of large data centers driven by technological advancements like “AI”, are increasing threats to communities across the Southeast. HYPERSCALED unearths the real world cost of AI as residents fight to get answers about the costly impacts of this water and energy sucking industry. Much like a vampire, the proposed “Project Marvel” is projected to consume unprecedented amounts of water and energy from the backyards of concerned communities.
Emerging Filmmaker
The Seeds of Peace
Dir. David-Paul B. Hedberg
Runtime: 01:06:08
Trailer Unavailable
A survivor of the Hiroshima atom bomb confronts her trauma and gathers seeds of trees that survived the blast; planting symbols of hope, healing, and remembrance in towns across Oregon eighty years later.
As a ten year old girl, Hideko Tamura Snider was an eyewitness to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Suffering the loss of her mother and family, she dedicated her life to sharing a message of peace, resilience, and collective healing.
In 2017, Hideko joined a global effort to cultivate peace by collecting the seeds of trees that also survived the atomic bomb. But Hideko could do this alone. A network of professionals stepped in at critical points to grow these seeds and distribute over 55 trees to communities across Oregon. Plantings across the state are led by groups of differing backgrounds and experiences ranging from veterans groups to Japanese American families remembering incarceration. While each peace tree in Oregon began as a seed from Hideko’s message of peace, we discover that each has taken root in a community with its own unique and symbolic meaning of peace and reconciliation.
Hidden Stories
Mountain Biking Through Sacred Land
Dir. Rob Holmes
Runtime: 05:56
Nestled in the heart of Central Chile’s Araucanía Region, just under 135 kilometers east of Temuco and close to the Argentine border, Icalma is a place where the land remains wild, raw, and seemingly untouched by time. Surrounded by lush forests, pristine glacial lakes, and awe-inspiring volcanoes, this sacred land has been cared for by its Indigenous peoples, the Mapuche, for generations.
This story shares the journey of the local community in developing sustainable tourism through mountain biking trails along the sacred Batea Mahuida volcano and the magical Araucaria trees, renowned for this part of the world. It is a powerful example of Indigenous community tourism, preserving cultural heritage, conserving its natural beauty and land, and generating economic opportunities in a remote part of Chile.
Indigenous Stories
Broken Beak
Dir. Christian Carroll
Runtime: 01:37:15
After the murder of her uncle, activist Māori photographer Emma returns from NYC to New Zealand to claim her inheritance. Once home she begins to have visions of a mythical monster called Broken Beak and as more family members die, Emma feels compelled to right an ancestral wrong.
Narrative Feature Film
The Tree Economy
Dir. James Schroeder
Runtime: 01:42:09
The City of Atlanta, Georgia is known as "The City in the Forest." It has the highest tree canopy density of any major city in the United States. But with increased growth and development, Atlanta is losing trees at an alarming rate.
Can "The City in the Forest" maintain its tree canopy?
Narrative Short Film
The Seashell
Dir. Akira Golz
Runtime: 07:04
An adaptation of Jason K. Allen’s “The Seashell” about a young girl who finds a seashell from which issues forth the voice of Mother Nature’s young son.
Narrative Short Film
The Farmer's Daughter
Dir. Melissa Bloom
Runtime: 12:50
An eco-conscious stop-motion animated film about a daughter who strives to save her father’s failing conventional farm using regenerative farming practices.
Narrative Short Film
Iridescent
Dir. A.B. Osborne
Runtime: 09:04
Logline: Tess, a space explorer, discovers a new world full of wonders that remind her of the planet she left behind.
Synopsis: Tess, a space explorer, discovers a wondrous new world called Iridescent. As she explores the rich ecosystems of this new planet, she discovers a vibrant new land full of fantastical creatures. Tess reflects on the planet she left behind - a beautiful homeland that was polluted and abandoned.
Handcrafted by Augusta University's Animation program over 4 years by two cohorts of students and directed by Professor A.B. Osborne, Iridescent is a celebration of the wild world around us.
Religion/Spirituality/
Environment
Kin
Dir. Ana Baer, Rocio Luna
Runtime: 05:19
Trailer Unavailable
Relating in times of crisis. A site-specific screendance that explores the relationship between humanity and nature, raising awareness of ecological challenges and seeking—if only partially—to remediate damaged environments. Drawing on environmental art practices, the work opens space for dialogue about our precarious entanglement with the natural world, inviting us to reimagine and reconfigure that relationship. Inspired by Donna Haraway's posthuman theories.