2025 SPECIAL GUESTS
Schedule subject to change.
DAY ONE – THURSDAY, MARCH 6
THROUGHOUT THE FESTIVAL
An immersive, VR freshwater experience
Justin Perkinson
Benthos 360˚
Justin Perkinson is an award-winning filmmaker, immersive storyteller, and Assistant Professor of Cinema Production at Virginia Tech. His work leverages both traditional and emerging tools (such as Virtual Reality and 360° cameras) and connects across disciplines to help communicate science, bridge cultural gaps, and support social and environmental impact. Raised in Virginia and Jamaica, Justin is an avid underwater explorer whose current creative practice is taking him to new depths (literally), as he helps tell stories of aquatic wildlife conservation beneath rivers, seas, and oceans.
Before SHORT FILM BLOCK 1
Welcome by
Geoff Luck
Executive Producer & Director of Impact for the Wild Hope Initiative at HHMI Tangled Bank Studios
Geoff Luck is an Emmy award-nominated producer and director who’s been the showrunner for eleven television series and executive producer of over a hundred programs in science and conservation, many produced during a fifteen-year career at National Geographic. His work as a director has been featured on Netflix, Disney+, PBS and many other outlets, and honored at the United Nations and the Museum of Modern Art.
SCREENING STARTS AT 4pm
ABOUT THE FILM
After SHORT FILM BLOCK 1
An Introduction to the ATC
Katie Allen
Director of Landscape Conservation
Appalachian Trail Conservancy
Katie Allen is the Director of Landscape Conservation at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, working to protect the Appalachian Trail and its surrounding landscape. She coordinates the Appalachian Trail Landscape Partnership, a network of over 100 partners, and oversees the Wild East Action Fund, which supports land protection and capacity building. She also leads the Appalachian Trail Community Program™, which recognizes communities committed to trail stewardship, outdoor recreation, and conservation.
SCREENING STARTS AT 4pm
ABOUT THE FILM
After SHORT FILM BLOCK 1
A Panel Discussion with
Kylé Pienaar
Filmmaker, Wild Hope: Unleaded
Kylé Pienaar is a South African documentary worker who has helped tell stories from around the world. Currently, she is producing short films for a global ocean conservation campaign. Her past work includes Expedition Amazon, March on Washington: Keepers of the Dream and Titanic: 25 Years Later with James Cameron for National Geographic. Her personal favorite project is the New York Emmy-winning short, The Andantes: Motown’s Secret Blend for AARP and WNET.
SCREENING STARTS AT 4pm
ABOUT THE FILM
After SHORT FILM BLOCK 1
A Panel Discussion with
Grace Eggleston, Nick Tucker, and Marissa Woods
Filmmakers, Timber Rattlesnakes of Catoctin Mountain Park
Grace Eggleston is a wildlife cinematographer and documentary filmmaker based in Michigan. She’s passionate about stories that explore the ties between people and their environment. Eggleston has extensive experience filming the diverse forests, rivers, and islands of North America and has worked on many stories about water quality and species diversity across the US.
Nick Tucker is a freelance filmmaker with Waterfowl Creative in Washington DC. Nick got his MFA in cinematography and film production concentrating on environmental filmmaking from American University.
Marissa Woods is completing a Master of Fine Arts in Film and Media Arts in American University’s School of Communication where she also teaches as an adjunct instructor. Marissa was awarded an environmental filmmaking fellowship with the National Park Service and is a recipient of the Mavis and Sydney Palmer scholarship.
SCREENING STARTS AT 4pm
ABOUT THE FILM
After SHORT FILM BLOCK 1
A Panel Discussion with
Lindsey Aranson, Elizabeth (Lee) Green, Lily Huffman, and Sarah King
Filmmakers, Reviving the Forgotten River (Student Film Award)
Lindsey Aranson is a documentary filmmaker specializing in post-production and social impact storytelling. Currently pursuing an MFA at American University, she sees documentary film as activism, creating works on gun violence prevention, mental health, queer pride, and environmental justice.
Elizabeth Green is a documentary producer focused on environmental justice and sustainable agriculture. A Hampshire College graduate and current MFA candidate at American University, she uses film to spark meaningful conversations and drive social impact.
Lily Huffman is a science communicator and visual storyteller dedicated to conservation. With a background in Coastal Environmental Management, she is pursuing an MA in Film and Media Production at American University to merge science and storytelling for environmental action.
Sarah King is a cinematographer and documentary filmmaker specializing in environmental storytelling. With a BFA in Cinematography and an MFA in progress at American University, she uses striking imagery to inspire respect for nature and wildlife.
SCREENING STARTS AT 4pm
ABOUT THE FILM
After THE GRAB
Learn about the proposed water bottling plant in Jefferson County with
Dr. Christine Wimer
President, Jefferson County Foundation
Dr. Christine Wimer, President of the nonprofit Jefferson County Foundation, has a bachelor’s degree in biology, a master’s degree in applied molecular biology and earned her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Cornell University. She’s a board-certified surgeon and has completed a post-doc in equine immunology. Jefferson County Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, supports and promotes effective and accountable government, sustainable development, and the protection of health, heritage, and the environment in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia.
SCREENING STARTS AT 6:30pm
ABOUT THE FILM
DAY TWO – FRIDAY, MARCH 7
After Short Block 2
A Q&A WITH
Lori L. Udall
Program Director for the Sacharuna Foundation (producers of Deep Trouble)
Lori L. Udall has 35 years of experience in public policy and international development specializing in environment, human rights, governance and independent accountability mechanisms of Development Finance Institutions and international organizations. Udall is Director of Montpelier Consulting, LLC and Program Director of Sacharuna Foundation. Udall has a BA from George Mason University, MCL from George Washington University and LLM from Downing College Cambridge.
SCREENING STARTS AT 4PM
ABOUT THE FILM
DAY THREE – SATURDAY, MARCH 8
After Bury Me at Taylor Hollow
A Community Discussion About Green Burials with
John Christian Phifer
Film Subject and Conservation Expert
John Christian Phifer is a licensed funeral director, embalmer, and certified end-of-life doula dedicated to sustainable and compassionate end-of-life care. As Executive Director of Larkspur Conservation, he helped establish Tennessee’s first conservation burial ground.
With formal training in mortuary science and funeral arts, John Christian is a leader in natural burial practices. He is actively involved with the Tennessee Funeral Directors Association, the National Home Funeral Alliance, and the Conservation Burial Alliance, advancing meaningful, environmentally conscious end-of-life options.
SCREENING STARTS AT 11AM
ABOUT THE FILM
After Bury Me at Taylor Hollow
A Community Discussion About Green Burials with
Orion Pahl
Filmmaker
Orion Pahl is a PBS Wyncote Fellow and an award-winning documentary filmmaker living in Los Angeles. He graduated from Columbia College Chicago and interned at Kartemquin Films. His work focuses on humans and their relationship to self, family, work, place, death, and art. Bury Me at Taylor Hollow is his latest feature-length film; it won the jury and audience award at the Nashville Film Festival and was broadcasted nationwide on PBS.
SCREENING STARTS AT 11AM
ABOUT THE FILM
After An Optimist’s Guide to the Planet
A Q&A with
John Ealer
Senior Production Executive, An Optimist’s Guide to the Planet
John Ealer is Senior Production Executive at Cream Productions, Toronto-based producers of An Optimist’s Guide to the Planet. John is an Emmy-nominated producer, director and cinematographer with over two decades experience crafting nonfiction films for premium outlets such as Netflix (Roman Empire), CNN (The History of the Sitcom), Hulu (The Game Show Show), HBO (Seen and Heard), History (The World Wars), Discovery (Gold Rush) and many more. Offscreen, John leads his town’s Conservation Advisory Council and CLEAN initiative. John holds an MFA in Cinema Production from USC and a BA from the University of Iowa.
SCREENING STARTS AT 1:30PM
ABOUT THE FILM
After Short Film Block 3
A Q&A with
Aaron Lemle
Filmmaker, Bat Boy
Aaron Lemle recently received his MFA in Producing and Directing from UCLA’s school of Theater, Film and Television; he wrote, produced, and directed Bat Boy as a student production. Before enrolling at UCLA, he was the lead producer on the Emmy-award winning PBS series Articulate with Jim Cotter. He has also worked at the National Science Foundation and the Clinically Applied Affective Neuroscience lab at Stanford University. He hopes to use film to inspire audiences to care about science and the environment.
SCREENING STARTS AT 4PM
ABOUT THE FILM
After Short Film Block 3
A Q&A with
Joey Curti
Scientific Advisor, Bat Boy
Joseph Nikko Curti, is a Postdoctoral Fellow at UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. Joey’s research focuses on the impacts of anthropogenic stressors on bat community composition in urban areas across California. He received his Ph.D. in 2024 from the UCLA Ecology and Evolutionary Biology department, where he worked with statewide resource managers on a variety of conservation genomics projects. Joey will continue to work with local agencies, including the city of Los Angeles, to translate his science into meaningful conservation actions and policy.
SCREENING STARTS AT 4PM
ABOUT THE FILM
DAY FOUR – SUNDAY, MARCH 9
After Short Film Block 5
A Q&A WITH
Sam Sheline
Filmmaker, Flora, Fauna, Funga
Sam Sheline is an award-winning environmental filmmaker based in Richmond, VA. As a producer for National Geographic Society’s Impact Story Lab, Sheline loves telling untold stories with passionate people and working to understand how to make real-world impact through storytelling.
SCREENING STARTS AT 1PM
ABOUT THE FILM
After Short Film Block 5
A Q&A WITH
Giuliana Furci
Founder and CEO of the Fungi Foundation
Giuliana Furci has been working for the fungi since 1999. Her work triggered the inclusion of fungi in Chilean environmental legislation and made it possible to assess the conservation status of over 80 species of fungi. She is the founder and CEO of the Fungi Foundation, the first NGO in the world dedicated to the protection of fungi. She is a Harvard University associate, National Geographic Explorer, Dame of the Order of the Star of Italy, deputy chair of the IUCN Fungal Conservation Committee, and author of several titles including a series of field guides to Chilean fungi.
SCREENING STARTS AT 1PM
ABOUT THE FILM
After Short Film Block 6
A Zoomed Q&A WITH
Nadia Gill
Filmmaker, Planetwalker
SCREENING STARTS AT 3:30PM
ABOUT THE FILM
After Queer Planet
A Q&A WITH
Dr. Christine Wilkinson
Film Subject and Conservation Expert
Dr. Christine Wilkinson is a conservation scientist, carnivore ecologist, musician, and science communicator based at the California Academy of Sciences and University of California, Santa Cruz. As a science communicator, she has worked with National Geographic Society, National Geographic Partners/Disney, Plimsoll Productions, PBS, and others for TV, radio, and podcast productions with roles spanning on-screen appearances, hosting, and content development. For her research, Dr. Wilkinson integrates participatory community engagement, wildlife ecology, and an environmental justice lens to better understand what may constitute equitable, just, and lasting human-nature relationships globally.
SCREENING STARTS AT 6:30PM
ABOUT THE FILM
Thanks to our sponsor
