The country’s second-oldest environmental film festival kicks off in Ithaca on Friday.
The 28th annual Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival, or FLEFF, features 35 films by local and international filmmakers, running from March 28 – April 13.
Screenings and events will be held on Ithaca College's campus and at the Cinemapolis movie theatre in downtown Ithaca. The festival’s theme this year is "movement."
The focus on the environment is broad, according to Ithaca College professor Michael Richardson, one of the festival’s directors.
“We try to have an even more expansive view of environment,” said Richardson. “So that might be the sort of political, social, socioeconomic environments that we move in and how they might relate to issues like food insecurity, supermarket deserts, that sort of thing.”
This year’s films include Let Them Be Naked by Jeff Garner, which examines the chemicals used in clothing manufacturing, as well as films about animals and the natural environment.
One of the festival’s main events this year will feature a series of short films and a discussion about the work of the local arts group Ithaca Murals.
The events will include several opportunities for attendees to engage with environmental issues and speak to artists about their work.
To Richardson, it’s a unique opportunity to see films that ordinarily may not make it to the big screen.
“They're films that you might not have heard of, that are from new directors, or they're about issues that, for various reasons, don't get covered in the mainstream media,” said Richardson.
Find the full program of events and learn more about the festival at Ithaca.edu/FLEFF.
