CCA 2025 Inspiring Futres Film Selection
Discover a powerful collection of short films from around the world that explore the intersections of climate justice, cultural heritage, resilience, and hope. These works—spanning animation, documentary, narrative, and experimental formats—offer intimate and urgent reflections on our shared environmental future. Created by filmmakers from both the Global North and South, this showcase invites you to witness diverse voices and visions that challenge, inspire, and mobilize action for a just and sustainable world.
Creator: Nazanin Chitsaz (Iran)
Duration: 1:45 minutes
Synopsis:
A child collects water in a world where it is scarce, showing how small actions can lead to collective environmental change.
About the Filmmaker:
Chitsaz is an Iranian filmmaker and writer from Isfahan with a degree in dramatic literature. She has directed five short fiction films since 2016.
Home is Here
Creator: Nikhil Katara
(India)
Duration: 3:16 minutes
Synopsis:
A musical film told from the perspective of a wandering leaf in search of belonging. A call for harmony between people and the planet.
About the Filmmaker:
Katara is a Mumbai-based theater director and writer whose work blends philosophy, environmental awareness, and advocacy.
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L’Homme des Arbres (The Man of the Trees)
Creator: Andrea Trivero (Italy/Burkina Faso)
Duration: 18:55 minutes
Synopsis:
The story of Daniel Balima, who planted over a million trees in Burkina Faso despite living with polio. A tribute to perseverance and care.
About the Filmmaker:
Trivero is a humanitarian and filmmaker with a background in engineering. He documents stories of resilience and environmental justice.
Bloom
Creator: Chandra Bocci (USA)
Duration: 1:37 minutes
Synopsis:
Created from paper scraps and trash, this animated short meditates on resilience and hope in a time of ecological and social crisis.
About the Filmmaker:
Bocci is an Oregon-born artist based in NYC, exploring reuse and sustainability through visual storytelling. She also creates children’s books.
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An Amazon Night’s Dream
Creator: Diego Sarmiento (Peru)
Duration: 5:00 minutes
Synopsis:
A girl and her grandmother reflect on a dream in the Peruvian Amazon. Interpreting its symbols, they connect deeply through indigenous wisdom and storytelling.
About the Filmmaker:
Sarmiento is a multi-award-winning director with a degree in Media and Communications from PUCP (Peru) and an MFA in Documentary Filmmaking from EICTV (Cuba).
injustice, joy
Creator: Theo Daniels
(USA)
Duration: 4:53 minutes
Synopsis:
Explorevs environmental injustice in Washington, D.C., using dreamlike visuals to contrast green neglect and resilience.
About the Filmmaker:
Daniels has degrees in Environmental Metrology and Policy and Political Science. He has worked with NASA, the White House, and climate NGOs.
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Feeling the Apocalypse
Creator: Chen Sing Yap (Singapore/Canada)
Duration: 7:00 minutes
Synopsis:
Challenges the assumption that climate collapse equals meaninglessness. The film urges viewers to confront despair, embrace complexity, and remain engaged.
About the Filmmaker:
Yap is a filmmaker and editor based in Canada, originally from Singapore. His work addresses mental health and climate anxiety.
Cultivate
Creator: Sima Gonsai (United Kingdom)
Duration: 4:43 minutes
Synopsis:
A dance film connecting soil health and climate research through South Asian movement, visual storytelling, and scientific inquiry.
About the Filmmaker:
Gonsai creates narrative and dance films on climate, identity, and accessibility. Her work has appeared on BBC, SkyArts, and global festivals.
The Mayan Forest: When a Tapir Gazes Upon You
Creator: Tania Álvarez (UK/Mexico/Belize)
Duration: 13:45 minutes
Synopsis:
Two groups of children search for a tapir in the Mayan forest. Their journey intertwines myth, memory, and ecological awareness.
About the Filmmaker:
Álvarez is a filmmaker completing her thesis at the National School of Cinematographic Arts. Her films explore animal-human-landscape.
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Humanoid
Creator: Justine Polanco (Philippines)
Duration: 3:50 minutes
Synopsis:
Set in a dystopian future overwhelmed by waste, this film follows Basil, a young botanist fighting to preserve life. When he discovers a mysterious growing plant, it transforms into a sentient being, forging an unexpected bond between man and nature. Blending science fiction with ecological themes, the film is a visually rich meditation on humanity’s relationship with the environment.
About the Filmmaker:
Justine “Poli” Polanco is from San Pedro, Laguna in the Philippines and is a student at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, studying AB Broadcasting. He previously directed Damdaming Nakabitin, winner of the 2nd San Pedro Film Festival.
Temps D’Ordir (Time to Plot)
Creators: Clara Llobet Sabaté & Dídac Meya Valls (Catalonia/Spain)
Duration: 3:52 minutes
Synopsis:
A poetic exploration of weaving not just as a craft, but as a powerful metaphor for connection, resilience, and creation. The film explores how landscapes shape identity, and how life itself is woven from nature’s rhythms.
About the Filmmakers:
Dídac Meya Valls is from Barcelona and trained in film directing. Clara Llobet Sabaté, based in the Pyrenees, is trained in psychology and dance. Together, they blend audiovisual production and performing arts to explore narratives connecting body, image, and territory.
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Como el Caracol (Like the Snail)
Creator: Katalin Egely (Hungary)
Duration: 4:33 minutes
Synopsis:
A gentle meditation on the importance of embracing life’s rhythm and appreciating small wonders. Through poetic animation, it inspires viewers to slow down and reconnect with the natural world.
About the Filmmaker:
Egely is a Hungarian animator and filmmaker who studied at Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design in Budapest. She is known for visually poetic works that combine music, animation, and associative storytelling.
Mancolona
Creator: Ángel Linares (Mexico/United States)
Duration: 9:48 minutes
Synopsis:
A Tzeltal youth documents life in the Mayan jungle, showing the power of Indigenous-led storytelling and the fusion of tradition with technology.
About the Filmmaker:
Linares is a documentary filmmaker and National Geographic Explorer. He studied at UNAM and his work has been recognized at Cannes, DocsMX, and Morelia.
Capsule
Creator: Euella Jackson (United Kingdom)
Duration: 8:01 minutes
Synopsis:
A boy creates a special gift for his estate inspired by a dream shared with his grandmother, exploring intergenerational love and the just transition.
About the Filmmaker:
Jackson is an award-winning filmmaker and producer who uses media to amplify underrepresented voices across the UK cultural sector.
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The Nature of the River
Creator: Agnieszka Waszczeniuk (Poland)
Duration: 7:44 minutes
Synopsis:
This poetic film explores the bond between a woman’s emotional world and the cycles of a river, told through under-camera animation using ground coffee.
About the Filmmaker:
Waszczeniuk is a director, animator, and visual artist based in Białystok, Poland. Her work has appeared in over 100 international film festivals.
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Special Thanks:
Thank you to our sponsors for making the 2025 Creative Climate Awards possible!
This film festival is made possible, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, along with generous support from New York Botanical Garden for the onsite screening.
