Posted on July 18, 2024 by
The Earth Connection Film Festival, set to take place on July 20, 2024, at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater in Bloomington, Indiana, aims to inspire innovative solutions to the climate crisis through the power of storytelling. This festival blends science and the arts and is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Logo for the Earth Connection Film Festival
Earth Connection Film Festival to Be Hosted by Jessica Eise
JULY 18, 2024 - The Earth Connection Film Festival, set to take place on July 20, 2024, at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater in Bloomington, Indiana, aims to inspire innovative solutions to the climate crisis through the power of storytelling. This festival blends science and the arts and is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Directing the film festival is Dr. Jessica Eise, Assistant Professor of Social and Environmental Challenges in the Department of Communication at UTSA. Dr. Eise’s work seeks to understand how individuals, society, and Earth interrelate and how we can leverage these connections to overcome difficult challenges such as climate change and hunger. Co-directing the festival is Sarah Lasley, an award-winning filmmaker from Louisville, Kentucky, who is currently an Assistant Professor of Film at Cal Poly Humboldt. Sarah is a former UTSA professor and recipient of the UTSA President’s Distinguished Achievement Award. Also providing critical support is Amanda Camarillo, a PhD student and graduate research assistant from the UTSA Anthropology Department.
The festival encourages filmmakers to create radical approaches to climate change communication. Winners in each category will receive a cash prize, with their films serving as catalysts in an NSF-funded research study. Over 200 applicants, including UTSA faculty, competed for the chance to screen their productions, with less than 10% selected. The festival will also be available for online viewing from July 20th - 27th on the festival website.
The Earth Connection Film Festival is part of a broader NSF-funded research study titled "Integrating Spiritual, Moral, and Ethical Considerations into Science Communication for Improved Decision Making and Public Action on Climate Science" (#2318681, PI Jessica Eise). This project is supported by the Science of Science: Discovery, Communication, and Impact (SoS: DCI) program.
The research project focuses on creating lasting changes in public behavior to support effective climate action. Despite decades of climate change communication, public action and policymaker support have been insufficient.
“Research has shown that in the United States, adults tend to frame climate change as a distant phenomenon, an ineffective framework for action,” explains Eise. “Areas such as ethics, morality, and spirituality have shown much greater promise for encouraging climate action and appealing to broad swaths of society.”
Explore Further
Visit the Earth Connection Film Festival
Learn more about Jessica Eise
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