Need a hand navigating our experimental films? We’ve put together a brief explainer to help extrapolate some of the environmental themes contained within our Experimental Shorts package. This year, several films see forces of creation and decay alter ecosystems, on both a natural and narrative level. Acts of mediation and interpretation are also explored as films chart the intersection of worlds built, natural and cognitive. Resistance   Having played to critical acclaim at festivals such as Locarno and IFFR, Resistance is a powerful piece of minimalist cinema that documents the microscopic a ..read more

Ahead of her panelist role following Australasian Shorts, we spoke with Dr Jody Gunn, Executive Manager of South East Australia at Bush Heritage Australia, about the necessity of collaboration in conservation and the power of storytelling. Bush Heritage works with Traditional Owners to achieve conservation outcomes across Australia through genuine partnership, that may be on BHA owned land or land owned and managed by Aboriginal people. You collaborate around shared values for country, conservation or scientific research, and cultural and biological management. Do you think on a global scale ..read more

This year EFFA hopes to bring events and screenings that not only draws people into environments and encourages them to discuss, explore and act on environmental issues, but to actively model environmental sustainability by working with venues to minimise and manage the waste created at our events. The discussion around waste and its impact on our natural environments and resources is a topic Australians are becoming increasingly aware of. By demonstrating sustainable pathways we hope to further our impact by creating positive and sustainable changes to the way we manage our events. EFFA’s ..read more

Fashion designer Amanda Morglund is the star of the short film ‘Mycelium Made’, showing at EFFA 2019 as part of the Australasian Shorts. We spoke to Amanda about her use of mushrooms as fabric and the role it could play in the sustainable fashion movement. What is the name of your mushroom – mycelium – fabric? I refer to them as Mycomaterials, there’s two types, the first being made from the mycelium/root network of the fungi and a substrate (a food source) which happens to be waste textiles in this case. The second type of material is made from the dried caps of mushrooms which is shaved into ..read more

At EFFA, the actions taken to protect our precious planet are just as vital as the films being shown. The theme of the festival this year is SEE. CHANGE. See films that expose you to diverse perspectives and be empowered to enact change through the incredible line up of panellists providing tools to do so. From city planners and conservationists, to activists and academics, to Indigenous thought leaders and filmmakers, our expert panelists will enable you to understand the issues at hand and do something about them. Find out about the panellists and speakers and how they’ll contribute to eac ..read more

We spoke with Student Voice Network Founder Lucy Skelton about the power of youth in activism and marketing environmental issues ahead of her panelist position at the Youth Unstoppable screening & Youth Forum. You founded the Student Voice Network (SVN). What motivated you to do this, how did you get started and what does the Student Voice Network do? I started the Student Voice Network because I want to help the world and know I can’t do it alone.  The Student Voice Network is a platform for students from all across the country to come together, share resources and take collective actio ..read more

In the lead up to her role of panelist at The Hottest August, we spoke to Professor Lesley Head, Head of School of Geography at the University of Melbourne, about how our surroundings impact the ways humans react to environmental change and how we are all climate deniers. The film The Hottest August is somewhat of a micro-study of the factors that impact how we deal with a pressing emergency, including our culture, race and socioeconomic position. Based on your research, how can these factors impact how a person responds to climate change? The different ways an emergency is experienced can var ..read more

Ahead of her panelist role at City Dreamers, a film celebrating ground-breaking female architects, we chat with Landscape Architect Kate Dundas. As Board Member of urban farming non-profit 3000acres, Kate’s focus on the importance of communities growing food together is an extension of the great advances in green spaces the women of City Dreamers achieved in 20th Century architecture. Why is urban agriculture important not only for our natural environment, but for our city fabric? There is plenty of research that shows how important it is for humans to be connected to nature, it makes us heal ..read more

In celebration of Werner Herzog’s body of work exploring environmental themes, EFFA is screening the preeminent filmmaker’s 2007 Academy Award-nominated Encounters at the End of the World, followed by his new film, Nomad: In the Footsteps of Bruce Chatwin. But why Werner? Here we chat with RMIT’s Dr Tyson Wils, whose thesis was on depictions of the natural world in the films of Werner Herzog. Dr Wils is co-editor of the book Activist Film Festivals: Towards a Political Subject and has worked as a film programmer at the Human Rights Arts & Film Festival. What makes Herzog an environmental t ..read more

In celebration of Werner Herzog’s body of work exploring environmental themes, EFFA is screening the preeminent filmmaker’s 2007 Academy Award-nominated Encounters at the End of the World, followed by his new film, Nomad: In the Footsteps of Bruce Chatwin. But what’s so special about Werner? Here we chat with filmmaker and lecturer, James Thompson, who is currently completing a practice led PhD at MADA (fine arts) Monash University, and is a long-term regular fixture of the RMIT University cinema studies program, to find out! For those who don’t know him, can you give some context to Herzog as ..read more