Upcoming Events

The Uproot Project, in partnership with DCEFF, presents an engaging evening exploring climate politics and trust in the media

The event will begin with a screening of 2025 DCEFF Opening Night Select The White House Effect. The film will be followed by a conversation with journalists Justin Worland from Time and Jenny Hijazi from Bloomberg, moderated by Chelsea Henderson, author of Glacial: The Inside Story of Climate Politics.

We are thrilled to be teaming up with the National Academy of Sciences to offer a free screening of our 2025 Shared Earth Foundation Award winner Out of Plain Sight.

This screening will be followed by a conversation with co-director Rosanna Xia and several scientists featured in the film: Dr. David Valentine (UC Santa Barbara), Dr. Alissa Deming (Pacific Marine Mammal Center), Dr. Eunha Hoh (San Diego State University), and Dr. Lihini Aluwihare (Scripps Institution of Oceanography).

A Co-presentation between DCEFF and the AFI Silver as part of their European Union Film Showcase

For over a century, a ginkgo tree, standing sentinel in the garden of Philipps University of Marburg in Germany, experiences its surroundings — but how and what it experiences is a mystery. Every day, students, professors and staff pass by the tree, graze its bark, recline beneath its shade. Ildikó Enyedi’s profound scientific epic locates three such passersby, separated by generations. In 2020, a professor of neuroscience, stranded and isolated on the COVID-abandoned campus, begins to conduct experiments on the tree’s sensorial faculties. In 1972, a first-year student, inspired by a romantic dalliance, cares for a sensitive geranium; and, in 1908, the university’s first female student discovers a new way of seeing plants through photography. Enyedi excavates these stories from the ginkgo tree’s roots, like living fossils that have implanted themselves into its being.

The cast is led by Tony Leung Chiu-wai (IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, CHUNGKING EXPRESS) and Léa Seydoux (THE BEAST, BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOUR), as two preternaturally sensitive and curious modern researchers who wish to understand the mind of plants. Their inquiries open a portal into an expanded sense of time and connection, uniting their story with those who came before them and with the plants who have borne witness all the while.

A Co-presentation between DCEFF and the AFI Silver as part of their European Union Film Showcase

For over a century, a ginkgo tree, standing sentinel in the garden of Philipps University of Marburg in Germany, experiences its surroundings — but how and what it experiences is a mystery. Every day, students, professors and staff pass by the tree, graze its bark, recline beneath its shade. Ildikó Enyedi’s profound scientific epic locates three such passersby, separated by generations. In 2020, a professor of neuroscience, stranded and isolated on the COVID-abandoned campus, begins to conduct experiments on the tree’s sensorial faculties. In 1972, a first-year student, inspired by a romantic dalliance, cares for a sensitive geranium; and, in 1908, the university’s first female student discovers a new way of seeing plants through photography. Enyedi excavates these stories from the ginkgo tree’s roots, like living fossils that have implanted themselves into its being.

The cast is led by Tony Leung Chiu-wai (IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, CHUNGKING EXPRESS) and Léa Seydoux (THE BEAST, BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOUR), as two preternaturally sensitive and curious modern researchers who wish to understand the mind of plants. Their inquiries open a portal into an expanded sense of time and connection, uniting their story with those who came before them and with the plants who have borne witness all the while.

Past DCEFF Selection Hollow Tree is returning to DC for a special screening co-presented by JxJ and DCEFF.

Hollow Tree follows three teenagers coming of age in their sinking homeland of Louisiana. For the first time, they notice the Mississippi River’s engineering, stumps of cypress trees, and billowing smokestacks. Their different perspectives — as Indigenous, white, and Angolan young women — shape their story of the climate crisis.

Screening will be followed by a conversation with filmmaker Kira Akerman moderated by environmentalist Susan Crawford.

Join DCEFF organizers, filmmakers, and partners at Georgetown University’s Capitol Campus for an exclusive first look at some of the award winners and highlights from our 2026 lineup.

You’ll see clips, hear exciting announcements about what to expect this March, and have a chance to connect with an amazing community of environmentalists and film enthusiasts.

March 19-28, 2026, the Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital (DCEFF) returns to venues throughout the DC Metro Area. Stay tuned for exciting announcements early in 2026.