November 2020
Dear friends,
I write this as the final election results portray a deeply polarized electorate, and ponder the question: what can bring this country back together? One clear path is finding ways to work together for the health of our families, our communities and our planet. We can move forward by sharing our stories of hope and resilience, and by exploring solutions together. My amazing 90-year-old mother passed away last month. She taught us to fight for what we believe in, from environmental and voter rights to the critical right for everyone to be treated with respect no matter our differences. She lived the values she believed: work toward a common good that helps everyone and we will have a better world. I dedicate this newsletter to her memory and all she contributed to making our world a more wonderful place.
We have a lot of news, events, and much more to share in this November newsletter. Enjoy!
For more information, contact Maggie Burnette Stogner at stogner@american.edu.
Visit our website, www.environmentalfilm.org.
Your support makes a very real difference. Donate here.
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News at American University
American University Film and Media Arts #4 in Nation
The AU Film, Video, and Photographic Arts program was recently named #4 in the nation by College Factual. This places AU’s degree in the top 5% of schools in the country. College Factual gathers information from objective data sources such as the Department of Education and has awarded this program with a ranking within the top five for the past two years. The film program offered at American University is unique within the DC area and CEF’s specialized concentration in wildlife and environmental filmmaking is one of only a handful offered in the world.
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Upcoming Events
“The Serengeti Rules” Screening Nov. 10th, 6pm ET
 Join us Tuesday for a Films Across Borders live virtual panel discussion about the award-winning film The Serengeti Rules. Maggie Burnette Stogner, executive director, AU Center for Environmental Filmmaking, will moderate the discussion with Kiho Kim, AU College of Arts and Sciences professor; Sean Carroll, head of studio, HHMI/Tangled Bank Studios; and Fred Tutman, clean water advocate and Patuxent Riverkeeper. The Serengeti Rules tells the story of a small band of young scientists who, beginning in the 1960s, headed out into the wilderness to learn about how nature works. Immersed in some of the most remote and spectacular places on Earth - from the majestic Serengeti to the Amazon jungle; from the Arctic Ocean to the Pacific tide pools - they discovered a single set of rules that govern all life. The film won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Nature Documentary.
The event is co-hosted by AU’s School of Communication, Center for Environmental Filmmaking, and Entertainment and Media Alumni Alliance. Register here for the event and view the film in advance for free at PBS/NATURE.
“Nómadas” Filmmaker Q&A Available
Another recent Films Across Borders screening event, sponsored by AU’s School of Communication, CEF, and the Mexican Cultural Institute, featured the US premiere of a feature length film following migrations of animals across Mexico. Maggie Stogner interviewed AU film alumnus and film director Emiliano Ruprah, and it can be seen here. This is the first bluechip natural history film made by an all Mexican team. The film will be released theatrically throughout Mexico next year. A shorter version was distributed by Smithsonian Channel, Epic Migrations: Mexico earlier this year. A case study about the film is included in the new CEF Impact Media Report.
An Evening with Winona LaDuke, Nov. 10, 8pm ET
The American University Student Government Women’s Initiative is hosting a virtual chat with Native American activist, environmentalist, and former Green Party VP candidate Winona LaDuke on Nov. 10 at 8pm ET. LaDuke is a rural development economist and author working on issues of Indigenous economics, climate change, environmental justice, and food and energy policy. Sign up for the event here.
EcoComedy Awards Celebration, Nov. 17, 5:30pm ET
 The DC Environmental Film Festival is an annual event that, due to Covid-19, moved to a virtual platform for 2020. CEF, in partnership with The Nature Conservancy and Clean Air Partners, hosts the EcoComedy Awards, a night of environmentally-themed short comedy films with submissions from around the world. The awards ceremony will be held on November 17 at 5:30pm ET. The theme for this year’s competition was “Clean Air and Clean Water” and previous winners can be seen here. Register for the free event here.
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Opportunities
Adventure Scientists Photo/Video Competition
Adventure Scientists is a nonprofit organization based in Montana that equips partners with data collected from the outdoors that are crucial to addressing environmental and human health challenges. The organization leverages the skills of the outdoor adventure community to gather difficult-to-obtain data at any scale, in any environment. They are conducting a photo and video competition with a chance to win outdoor-related prizes. Submissions can be from scientific excursions to exploits in the outdoors and are due by December 1, 2020.
Overseas Press Club Application
The Overseas Press Club foreign correspondent fellowship applications for 2020 are due December 1. Graduate and undergraduate students studying at American colleges and universities who aspire to become foreign correspondents are invited to apply for this opportunity. The Foundation typically awards 17 fellowships and pays travel and living expenses for the fellowship winners to spend time in the foreign bureaus of leading news organizations. Learn more and apply here.
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2020 Jackson Wild Summit Highlights
The 2020 Jackson Wild Summit was held virtually this year and brings together filmmakers, scientists, and conservationists. The summit has become a premier international wildlife and environmental event. CEF extends congratulations to all winners at Jackson Wild for their accomplishments and high quality, inspiring films. A full list of awards can be found here.
CEF faculty, students, and alum had a strong presence at the Summit, attended by more that 900 delegates worldwide. Here are some highlights:
Impact Media Report
CEF Executive Director Maggie Stogner released her latest research  project, “Impact Media Report: Creative, Collaborative, and Outreach Strategies for Nature, Environmental, and Science Films,” which takes an extensive look at how filmmakers can change hearts, minds, and behaviors through media. The Impact Report was funded by HHMI/Tangled Bank Studios and allows for a conversation for innovative, holistic, and equitable media models to be launched. Special thanks to Marjee Chmiel at HHMI and to CEF graduate assistant researchers and co-authors Nicole Wackerly and Carlos Macher, as well as to report designer Kylos Brannon. The full list of Action Coalitions and work at Jackson Wild can be found here.
Jackson Wild Media Lab Fellows
Two American University alumni were fellows in the competitive Jackson Wild Media Lab, an immersive and cross-disciplinary science filmmaking workshop. Robert Boyd and Katie Bryden both attended the workshop and pitched films to a panel of judges at the end of the summit. You can see Boyd’s pitch here (00:40:20) and Bryden’s pitch here (00:02:40). “The fellowship was essentially a crash course in environmental filmmaking,” Boyd said, “I really think that what I’ve learned will help me hit the ground running as I enter the environmental film industry.”
Alumna Film Wins Award
“Mermaids Against Plastic,” an environmental film from American University alumna Sylvia Johnson, won the Best Changing Planet Film - Short Form category at the awards summit. This short film follows a woman in her quest to protect the ocean she loves from marine plastic pollution. Johnson was on vacation in the Carribean when she noticed the astounding amount of plastic washing up on shore in a protected nature reserve.
 She was invited to a Conservation Media Group catalyst workshop, where she met Alex Levin (topside cinematographer), Tamara (featured diver), and several other female scientists working on marine plastic pollution. “This is where the idea for ‘Mermaids Against Plastic,’ telling the story of marine plastic pollution through the eyes of women scientists and divers who are trying to save the ocean they love, was born,” Johnson said.
The women applied for a National Geographic Explorer grant to make the film and create an outreach campaign in Quintana Roo, Mexico. This was Johnson’s first time attending Jackson Wild and was her first summit award. “It is a huge honor to receive the Changing Planet award, and my hope is that this award helps to raise even more awareness about marine plastic pollution and inspire action,” Johnson said. The film is touring the film festival circuit and is featured in the National Geographic traveling exhibit “Planet or Plastic,” currently at the ArtScience Museum in Singapore through March 28, 2021.
Johnson works collaboratively through the National Geographic Explorer program and has an upcoming Storytelling for Conservation project at Akagera National Park in Rwanda. She will be teaching 360-degree visual storytelling and podcasting skills to youth around the park as a wildlife conservation tool. More information about Johnson and ongoing projects can be found on her website.
Panel Participation
CEF Associate Director Larry Engel is a sustainable filmmaking practitioner who has published a guide written to ensure filmmakers are adopting pro-environmental practices throughout their production process. The guide, “Code of Best Practices in Sustainable Filmmaking,” has been incorporated into new work, including The Doc Society’s new Green Production Checklist.
Engel is a leading instructor for the CEF program Classroom in the Wild as well, and was a panelist for the live program “Action Coalition Forum: Stay Healthy, Be Green.”
The forum highlighted existing industry trends and a variety of international practices for greening production to create shared standards specific to documentary and nature filmmaking with opportunities for incentivized collaboration with institutions and associations affiliated with media production and distribution.
CEF Executive Director Maggie Stogner was a panelist for the live program “Action Coalition Forum: Impact Campaign Development,” a discussion on the challenges and opportunities to achieving media impact. She also interviewed the finalists for the Impact Campaign Award: the three finalists, “The Elephant Queen,” “Sea of Shadows,” and “Peng Yu Sai” were all outstanding environmental films with excellent campaigns.
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CEF Experiential Learning
National Park Service Biosphere Reserve Films
 CEF graduate student Lia Nydes is a fellow with the National Park Service and is creating several short environmental films focused on biosphere reserves around the country. Nydes has completed one of three films and will screen it at the upcoming US Biosphere Reserve Network event on November 10. Biosphere reserves are part of a unique, international model of conservation. Nydes’ film focuses on the Mammoth Cave Biosphere Reserve in Kentucky. Register for the event with this link.
Classroom in the Wild 2021
Due to the pandemic, AU’s spring break has been cancelled in 2021 and the CEF program Classroom in the Wild (CITW): Chesapeake Bay has been postponed to May/June. More information to follow. This program is open to beginners and experienced filmmakers who are passionate about the outdoors and communicating environmental, natural history, and conservation subjects.
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We hope you enjoy our newsletter; please feel free to send us your news and feedback. Check out our latest announcements by following CEF on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Very best,
Maggie
Executive Director
Center for Environmental Filmmaking
stogner@american.edu
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