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Announcing Festival Theme 2022: 'TURN the TIDE'

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Announcing Festival Theme 2022: 'TURN the TIDE'

Over the years, One Earth has framed our festivals with themes that represent a call to action: “This is the Moment” (2018), “All In” (2019), and “Power of We” (the election year of 2020). Last year we celebrated our 10th anniversary with “10 Years of Inspiring Change.”

As the imperative to act only grows stronger, our 2022 theme – “Turn the Tide” – reflects the wave of catastrophes rushing in at us and the need for us to push back, so we can avoid the worst case scenarios that threaten to sink our hope for a healthy future for our children.

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'Plastic Bag Store: The Film' Runs Jan. 20 to 30

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'Plastic Bag Store: The Film' Runs Jan. 20 to 30

The Plastic Bag Store may appear to be any other storefront grocery; however, the items found here are all created from trash picked up off of New York City’s streets. Inside, you'll find your healthy and hearty kale made from L.L. Bean delivery bags, oranges made from thrown away Toys "R" Us bags, some “Bagarino” frozen pizza, and "Bag and Jerry's” Ice Cream. You'll even find some of your favorite magazines like “Bag Appétit” and “Bagmopolitan.”

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Cheryl Johnson: Still Fighting for Environmental Justice on Chicago’s Southeast Side

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Cheryl Johnson: Still Fighting for Environmental Justice on Chicago’s Southeast Side

For over 40 years, Chicago’s People for Community Recovery (PCR), has advanced the cause of social and environmental justice. PCR’s initial mission was to press for repairs in Altgeld Gardens, a Chicago Housing Authority development on the South Side of Chicago. However, under the leadership of Hazel Johnson, known in many quarters as Mother of the Environmental Justice Movement, PCR turned to the more serious problems of urban environmental pollution when the group learned that the Southeast side of Chicago had the highest cancer rate in the city.

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Meet One Earth's New Communicators

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Meet One Earth's New Communicators

Join us in welcoming three new young leaders who will be helping to promote our March and April film festivals. They’ll be helping to write the One Earth newsletters you receive in your inbox, the film descriptions you see on our website, the social media posts you enjoy in your feeds and much more. 

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It's a Wrap: Counting the Difference in 2021

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It's a Wrap: Counting the Difference in 2021

It’s time to look back and celebrate all the things we’ve accomplished together this year. Here’s 2021 by the numbers.

4,046 attendees at 26 film watch parties
At each of the virtual events during the main Fest Season in March and during Earth Week in April, we learned about the climate crisis, were presented with more than 250 action ideas, and pledged to take action.

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Five New Activism Awards Added to Young Filmmakers Contest

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Five New Activism Awards Added to Young Filmmakers Contest

Each year, the One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest receives amazing short film entries from all across the U.S. The submissions are rolling in ahead of the Jan. 5 deadline, and we are preparing to evaluate them. In 2022, we are excited to announce a new prize level—“The Environmental Activism Prize”—to elevate both the young filmmakers and the organizations on the frontlines of climate change activism.

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The Not-So-Bad Year for Environmentalism

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The Not-So-Bad Year for Environmentalism

As 2021 draws to a close, it seems appropriate to take a look back—to update some of the stories and follow up on some public policy issues I’ve covered for the eNews over the past year. Such a review calls, too, for a brief assessment and a look toward the future. The opinions expressed are mine, not those of One Earth Film Festival or its governing board.

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The Not-So-Big Takeaways from the UN’s COP26 Negotiations

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The Not-So-Big Takeaways from the UN’s COP26 Negotiations

In the October eNews, I previewed some of the anticipated themes of COP26, the annual United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties, which concluded on November 13, in Glasgow, Scotland. Now comes my post-mortem.

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Discover the African American Heritage Water Trail

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Discover the African American Heritage Water Trail

Lake Michigan, one of Chicagoland’s great treasures, is connected to the Mississippi River by a series of waterways, including the Little Calumet River, which flows through several south-side Chicago neighborhoods, carrying nearly two centuries of African American history. The African American Heritage Water Trail honors this history and the remarkable stories of African American freedom seekers and trailblazers who traveled, lived, worked, and overcame enormous obstacles around this river and its banks. Please stop right now and visit this beautiful website, where you’ll find everything you need to understand the trail and the stops along its way.

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Meet Jillian Patton, Development Director, One Earth Collective

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Meet Jillian Patton, Development Director, One Earth Collective

Join One Earth in offering a warm welcome to our new “squad member,” Jillian Patton, Development Director. She is fresh off a thirteen-year stint in New York City, where she was most recently part of the Development team at NYU School of Law. She was also previously part of the team that raised money to develop the storied High Line, a park built on a former elevated train line on the West Side of Manhattan. Established in 2009, it helped provide a model for similar urban greening projects nationwide, such as Chicago’s 606 path that runs along an old rail line here in the city.