Who would have thought the topic of environmental practices could break the ice and bring a couple closer together? This funky animation demonstrates how two wrongs can make a right!

Off the Colombian coast by the village of Choco, three interlacing narratives in the global food chain unfold: industrial fishing of prawns destined for Europe; fishermen who have relied on the fruits of the sea witness the depletion of their own food stock; and along a deforested slope a man and a youth carve a canoe which will be used to replenish their food needs. This poetic rumination of image and sound reveals the means by which our food reaches our table. A fragile eco-system mined for its riches is on the cusp of irreversible change.

Master Dutch horticulturist Ruurd Walrecht, sorted, protected and preserved the seeds of rare vegetables on the brink of extinction. One day, he stopped, packed his collection and disappeared somewhere in Sweden, along with his knowledge of these endangered plant species. He has never been heard from again. Lamenting this loss is an exceptional panoply of helpers who were part of an enterprise driven by his mission: Reid De Jong, a Dutch version of a rugged individualist; Peter ten Bookum, a former graphic designer living a nomadic existence in the wilderness; Boele Ytsma, still mourning his colleague’s departure. Each is as unique as the extraordinary plants and vegetables they so lovingly nurtured and cultivated. Beautifully rendered, this cinematic tour-de-force is a celebration of rare authenticity in our world.

One-day you have a home and the next you do not—this is the reality of the Q'eqchi' indigenous communities in Guatemala. On January 8 & 9 2007, Canadian mining company Skye Resources instigated forcible evictions supported by the Guatemalan government who granted the lands to Skye in 1965, even though the people had the official deeds.

It is not only logging that is destroying the BC forest but the small red mountain pine beetle. The ecosystem is out of balance due to global warming. The Falldown follows the fight against the encroaching beetle which threatens not only to destroy the BC forest, but also the Boreal forest that stretches across the continent.

In Paraguay farming has undergone a fundamental shift and much of it is due to the introduction of industrial soybean crops. In a series of four vignettes, a people, a landscape and a way of life are radically transformed by the establishment of a monoculture agricultural crop that leads to razed farms, a diseased population, dislocation and the ironic growth of the private security business busy in the act of uprooting the populace. Agricultural development show’s its most ruthless face.

A humane and delicate documentary on the last three Lhapas (Tibetan shamans) living in a Nepalese refugee camp. An ancestral tradition that has lasted thousands of years is seriously threatened as the younger generation attends school and modernizes, losing the desire to pursue the custom. With no one to take over, these healing practices will disappear. The remaining Lhapas refuse to let that happen. With scarce access to medical care, the knowledgeable Lhapas are often the only option for Tibetans. The last three have asked that their story be filmed in order to create a record of their practices. With this testimony, at least something can be passed on to future generations, should no one take over. Through the emotional portrayal of these unique men, we are privileged to hear the incredible stories of their childhoods, their callings, the existing diseases and treatments and their escape from Tibet during the Chinese occupation.

A highly engaging and insightful look at the challenges America is facing in regards to its dependence to oil. Seen through the eyes of filmmaker, author and environmentalist Joshua Tickell, we get a sense of the “bigger” picture and whose interests are really at stake in this oil driven war launched post 9-11. His personal style and tone give this film a unique perspective while always remaining pragmatic and optimistic - this is definitely not a small task given the facts he’s uncovering. His principle focus is the promotion of bio-diesel as the ideal alternative for the environment and socio-economic order. Travelling on a cross-country road trip with his now famous “veggie van,” he propagates this immediate, accessible and affordable system of generating clean energy. There are solutions to the problems we are currently facing and Tickell underlines them clearly and marvelously in this entertaining and educational documentary that won the audience award at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.