Since the dawn of time, storytelling in community has shaped our mindset, our outlook and ultimately, our behavior. With record heat, oscillating droughts & floods, fires, melting glaciers (and ... you know the rest) our current narrative needs some course correcting.

All Living Things Environmental Film Festival (ALT EFF) is back for a 5th edition, pan-India cultural event. Join us at Sri Aurobindo Centre for Arts for a unique evening of cinema, art & community. Watch award-winning global films on regeneration, activism, resilience and hope and engage in conversations with India’s most inspiring change-makers. Let’s restore the narrative of stewardship, together. All are welcome!

PROGRAM:

23rd November, Saturday

11:00 - 11:40 PM : Jamna - The River Story (Ishani K Dutta, Kshitij Pandey | India | 38 mins 34 secs | Hindi, English | 2024) INDIA PREMIERE 

11:40 - 12:20 PM : Q&A with Jamna - The River Story

12:15 - 12:25 PM : Junk- e (Ayush Ray, Ritam Sarkar | India | 07 mins 32 secs | Hindi, Bengali | 2023)

12:25 - 12:40 PM : Some Thoughts on the Common Toad (G. Anthony Svatek | USA | 10 mins 37 secs | English | 2023) INDIA PREMIERE 

12:40 - 12:50 PM : Wild Hope: One Golden Chance (Brazil | 9 mins 57 secs | English, Portuguese | 2024) INDIA PREMIERE

1:00 - 2:00 PM : Lunch

2:00 - 3:40 PM : ORCA: Black & White Gold (Sarah Nörenberg | Austria | 1 hr 32 mins | English, Russian, Chinese | 2023) INDIA PREMIERE

3:40 - 4:30 PM : Community Campaigning: Success Stories and A Pathway to Change by Jhatkaa (Eisha Hussain; Associate Campaigns Director)

4:30 - 6:00 PM : My Grandfather`s Demons (Nuno Breato | Portugal, Spain, France | 1 hr 22 mins | Portuguese | 2022)

24th November, Sunday

11:00 - 11:15 PM : The Ngamees (Fisherfolks) of the Last Wetlands (Meena Longjam | India | 15 mins 02 secs | Manipuri | 2023) INDIA PREMIERE 

11:15 - 11:25 PM : Traditional engineers reduce water stress: Kattas of Kerala (Jyotsna Ricchariya | India | 10 mins 05 secs | English, Malayalam and Tullu | 2024)

11:25 - 12:00 PM : Stubble - The Farmer`s Bane (Shaz Syed | India | 35 mins | English, Punjabi, Hindi | 2024) INDIA PREMIERE 

12:00 - 1:00 PM : Climate Storytelling workshop by Youth ki Awaaz: Spotting Climate Change Around You - Simran Pavecha, Community Lead, Youth ki Awaaz

This is an interactive storytelling workshop that encourages participants to explore the impacts of climate change in personal, relatable ways. Using data, storytelling techniques, and creative prompts, this workshop helps individuals connect with the climate crisis by seeing how it shows up in everyday life. Attendees will learn to craft powerful climate stories that bridge the gap between abstract information and personal experience, ultimately inspiring awareness and action.

1:00 - 2:00 PM : Lunch

2:00 - 2:45 PM : A Flaming Forest (Salman Javeed, Satya Ambasta, Vivek Sangwan | India | 48 mins 27 secs | Kannada, English | 2024) INDIA PREMIERE

2:45 - 3:30 PM : Discussion/Sharing circle

3:30 - 3:50 PM : The Forest Of The Honey Bees (Erwan Le Gal | France | 20 mins | French | 2024) 

3:50 - 5:15 PM : Plastic People (Ben Addelman, Ziya Tong | Canada | 1 hr 21 mins | English | 2024) INDIA PREMIERE 

5:15 - 6:00 PM : ALT EFF Voices : With prompts and/or select curation provided by us, this is an open-mic for audiences to express themselves

NON-FILM PROGRAM DETAILS :

ALT EFF Voices:

ALT EFF Voices is a dynamic spoken-word platform that will be a key feature of our annual festival, providing a space for individuals to share their personal stories, thoughts, and observations on the pressing environmental challenges we face today. With ALT EFF Voices' inaugural edition during ALT EFF 2024, we hope people of all ages and backgrounds will feel free to channel their grief, anger, hope, and passion into powerful yet creative messages about our environment.

Spotting Climate Change Around You - Simran Pavecha, Community Lead, Youth ki Awaaz is an interactive storytelling workshop that encourages participants to explore the impacts of climate change in personal, relatable ways. Using data, storytelling techniques, and creative prompts, this workshop helps individuals connect with the climate crisis by seeing how it shows up in everyday life. Attendees will learn to craft powerful climate stories that bridge the gap between abstract information and personal experience, ultimately inspiring awareness and action

Speaker’s Bio: At Youth Ki Awaaz, Simran leads community-building through storytelling and technology, developing platforms to upskill young writers. Her passion for education and skill building led her to launch The Writing School for young people. She began her career as a law student and Campus Editor at YKA.

Community Campaigning: Success Stories and A Pathway to Change 

The session will be a deep-dive into the importance of engaging with communities for grassroots advocacy initiatives and impactful public mobilization through digital media. Jhatkaa.org will reflect on learnings from its successful campaigns that have harnessed the power of community support to create impact on a range of issues including environmental issues, social justice, and better urban planning. Additionally, successful local campaign case studies will also be shared.

Speaker’s Bio: Eisha Hussain is a passionate storyteller with more than five years of experience in advancing social justice through compelling narrative design and strategic advocacy. Her work encompasses digital mobilization, advocacy initiatives, multimedia reporting, social media strategy, and public relations, with a strong dedication to elevating marginalized voices and driving impactful change. She has also reported on a diverse set of issues ranging from climate change to law and public policy through a lens of gender and social justice.