IWFF Shorts Block

Sustainable Futures

SUSTAINABLE FUTURES: The signs of climate change are clear, and no one can deny them. This session offers insights into how we can make a difference and help prevent the planet's collapse.

Sponsored by Betty's Divine, Center for Large Landscape Conservation, 350 Montana, Imagine Nation Brewing Company, Exact Image, Western Montana Clinic, Granite Peak Orthodontics, and Clark Fork Coalition.


WATER ASHES - dir. Katalin Egely

How is it possible to find happiness while seeing the world around us falling apart so quickly? A music video about the hopes of the climate change generation.


BURNT COUNTRY - dir. Kirsten Slemint

Could Australia’s past help secure its future? 65,000 years in the making, BURNT COUNTRY is about fighting fire with fire. Exploring the profound knowledge and wisdom of First Nations, this film is an invitation to connect to country and community.

Content Warning: Contains depiction/discussion of wildfire and natural disasters.


ISLAND ZERO- dir. Ryan Broussard, Joshua Sisolak

The mayor of an island off the coast of Virginia hopes to have his town saved from rising tides.


JOKO & PUTRA - dir. Jeissy Trompiz

In an Indonesian village, Joko, a veteran fisherman, is struggling to catch fish. The contamination from local industry and the plastic pollution on the coast have contributed to reduce the fish population. Joko’s son Putra is constantly on his phone. He has decided to study to become a mechanical engineer. This decision puts the family's tradition at risk.

FOR YOU - dir. Luca Paulli


FOR YOU is a heartfelt letter from a father to his two-year-old son, capturing a summer day in the park, a world filled with wonders yet to be discovered and a looming danger.


WILD HOPE: VERTICAL MEADOWS - Executive Producers: Jared Lipworth, Sean B. Carroll, Geoff Luck, Brian Armstrong, Ashley Hoppin, David Allen, Gaby Bastyra, Sarah Arnoff

As urban expansion quickly replaces natural habitats, façade engineer Alistair Law has created a radical new way to restore native ecosystems for pollinators and create natural spaces for us all within cities—by turning the walls of buildings and construction sites into meadows.


THE QUEST TO SAVE PARASITES - dir. Emily Driscoll

Scientists are on a mission to save parasites, not to kill them. Climate change is already doing an increasingly good job at the latter, and that could be a big problem for the world.


TOXIC ART - dir. Jason Whalen|

Acidic mine drainage is a pervasive problem in Appalachia, poisoning streams and killing wildlife. The technology and funding to remove these pollutants and bring life back to streams just didn't exist until fine art painter and professor John Sabraw rallied a team to address the issue in their local stream and developed a breakthrough process to upcycle pollutants into paint pigments.

Duration: 137 min

IWFF Shorts Block

Sustainable Futures

Sustainable Futures