Contributed By DCEFF

DC’s Environmental Film Festival returns March 16-26 with an exciting line-up of events.

The Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital (DCEFF) gears up for its much anticipated return of in-person events after a three year pause on live screenings due to the pandemic. Entering its 31st year, the festival will resume its public screenings from March 16-26 across multiple venues in D.C., including the Naval Heritage Center, Landmark E Street Cinema, the National Geographic Society, various Smithsonian Museums, Embassies and other cultural organizations. Festival-goers are already inquiring about this year’s film lineup and special events.

The Festival opens with an exciting D.C. premiere of Deep Rising (Matthieu Rytz, narrated by Executive Producer Jason Momoa), fresh from its world premiere at Sundance which tells a riveting story about a destructive secretive organization empowered to extract massive amounts of metals from the deep seafloor. Other film highlights include Oscar nominated All That Breathes (Shaunak Sen) centered around protection of the black kite bird of prey, Geographies of Solitude (Jacquelyn Mills) acknowledged by NY Times for its contemplative presentation of the rich ecosystem of Sable Island, and many other multicultural selections that feature stories from around the globe which will be screened at local embassies throughout D.C.

DCEFF has long been known for its lively programming and dedicated partnerships which entertain and educate about a wide range of environmental topics. This year’s highlights include a return of The Forum, a thought-provoking talk-series that explores critical themes, issues and trends such as Storytelling During Times of War: A View from Ukraine. This particular panel will feature two guest filmmakers from Ukraine to discuss the power and importance of visual storytelling in times of crisis as well as the prospects of a “green” post-war reconstruction for Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

DCEFF also introduces for the first time a live pitch contest which offers emerging BIPOC filmmakers the opportunity to win a $12,500 grant towards the production of a short or their first feature film. Finalists will have a unique opportunity to be mentored by Judith Helfand (co-founder Chicken & Egg Pictures, award-winning filmmaker).

As public interest in environmental stories continues to grow, DCEFF will continue virtual programming in a hybrid festival model to allow for enjoyment outside of the local area. Audiences who cannot attend in-person screenings can look forward to a diverse selection of themes with films that challenge environmental threats and support proactive and sustainable action.

For more information and the full-season program, visit dceff.org.

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Contributed by Tonya Wiley, Havenworth Coastal Conservation

During the 20th century, the population of smalltooth sawfish in the United States experienced a significant decrease in numbers and range due to overfishing, habitat loss, and limited reproduction. In response, NOAA Fisheries listed the U.S. population of smalltooth sawfish as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act on April 1, 2003.  

At the time of the listing in 2003 scientists knew little about the biology, ecology, and population dynamics of smalltooth sawfish. Over the last 20 years, scientists from multiple agencies, universities, and organizations have collaborated to research the smalltooth sawfish population in the United States. We now know more about their size and age at maturity, the number of young they give birth to, the food they eat, their large- and small-scale movement patterns and habitat use, and their response to a variety of stressors. This research greatly improved our understanding of the species and helped us prioritize the actions needed to reach recovery as quickly as possible.  

To celebrate the progress made over the last 20 years and to share the plight of this endangered species with the public, we invite all to a meet and greet with sawfish experts on March 31, 2023 6-8 pm at the Ivey House in Everglades City, Florida. We’ll air a short sawfish documentary created by John Anderson with Terramar Productions, answer questions about sawfish research and management, and give away some free sawfish swag. 

While we have achieved a lot over the last 20 years, there is still work ahead in recovering the population of smalltooth sawfish in the United States. NOAA Fisheries has a Recovery Plan that lists actions necessary to rebuild the population and some actions specifically require help from the public, so come join us and see how you can become involved!       

If you catch or see a sawfish, please share the information with scientists by visiting www.SawfishRecovery.org, calling 1-844-4SAWFISH, emailing sawfish@myfwc.com, or using the FWC Reporter App.

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SEVENSEAS Beach Cleanups

In August 2022 CleanUp, we picked up over 80 kilogram of plastic, pieces of glasses, tractor tyre, and fishing nets from the beach in Krabi, Long Beach or Pan Beach. Of course, we would not be able to do it without your support. You can make a tax-deductible donation here to keep our publications and Thailand Cleanup Project afloat.

You can either make a direct financial contribution to SEVENSEAS Media through The Ocean Foundation website or connect us with potential donors by sending an email to  Giacomo Abrusci, our Editor-in-Chief.

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Since 2004, SEVENSEAS Media has fostered an informal and non-partisan platform to promote understanding of key issues and challenges while building partnerships across an increasingly diverse group of marine conservation professionals and students.

Our mission is to promote communication and build partnerships across the global marine community and to identify and address gaps in the community’s work. SEVENSEAS Media achieves this through multimedia promotion and partnerships. The community consists of a diverse and growing group of participants, including non-governmental organizations, government agencies, foundations, bilateral and multilateral agencies, fellowship programs, independent consultants, and academia/students.

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