Festive. And loud. That was the mood and volume at the 2023 One Earth Film Festival kick-off party Friday night as whistles, cheers, applause and cowbell noisemakers delivered on this year’s theme, “Let’s Get Loud!”
The 12th annual festival roared back to a fully in-person event, while filmmakers, whose works are featured selections this year, joined via Zoom and were projected on a large screen for everyone to see.
It’s March 6, opening night for the ninth One Earth Film Festival. Inside the Gold Coast Tesla showroom, the mood is festive. Champagne flows at a corner station. Guests throughout the car-filled space take group photos with their smartphones. Others wait in line for a Tesla test drive. The cheery sounds of party chatter fill the air.
A trip to Chicago to accept his first-place award in the One Earth Film Festival’s Young Filmmakers Contest brought Nathan Goswick more than he expected. The 17-year old’s winning entry, “Plastic Bags,” captured the attention of Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow, a nonprofit that presses corporations on sustainability.
Connor DeVane made his filmmaking debut with “Hike the Divide.” In the documentary, he takes the 2,700-mile trek from Canada to Mexico on the Continental Divide Trail as he seeks hope in the face of climate breakdown. The film shares the stories of the community activists and problem solvers Connor meets, marking a trail from apathy and resignation to hope and engagement. One Earth Film Festival asked DeVane to respond to a few questions in advance of the festival, in which he will participate in a live video Q&A following the screening of “Hike the Divide” Thursday, March 12 at Truman College, 1145 W. Wilson Ave., in Chicago.