EarthX Film & Music Festival, the only environmental film festival in Texas, takes place Oct. 20-22 with three evening programs in three beloved venues in the Oak Cliff neighborhood of Dallas. Each program features film, music and conversation with an environmental bent. Sunday night’s program is being called “Where Passion Meets Purpose,” exploring tenacious characters who have carved out space in their communities and paved the way for others to do the same.
The final night of the festival, presented by Dell Technologies, will take place at the historic Kessler Theater in the heart of Oak Cliff.
The evening will feature a series of six short films, a discussion featuring documentary subjects and filmmakers and a concert by the powerful Danielle Ponder, who has found stardom after leaving her career as a public defender to pursue music full-time.
Films in the showcase are:
- Well Worn Life: Meet Dani Reyes-Acosta: a mountain athlete, land cultivator, and storyteller whose path consistently seeks the limits of her possibility. Ticking off climbs and ski lines across South America, cultivating her role as a legacy Coloradoan, and setting the course for the future of outdoor access in remote communities, Dani is a visceral example of how self-care and self-determination can harmonize via the outdoors.
- The Ghost Rainforest: Told from the perspective of indigenous activist Narubia Werreria, this short film follows a group of five indigenous leaders and activists from the Amazon making an emotionally charged journey to a rare temperate rainforest habitat on the west coast of Scotland.
- 4DWN: The story of 4DWN is incredibly inspiring because it is both unconventional and deeply personal. Their place on the confluence of food security and skateboarding provided a unique storytelling experience and a portrait of humanity and hope that documentary audiences typically don’t experience.
- Miles to Go: In 2022 alone, more than 300 anti-LGBTQ+ bills were proposed in various states across the country. Refusing to sit by idly, trans trail runner Perry Cohen formed a team of fellow runners who identify as trans men with an aim to compete in races in states proposing and passing hateful legislation.
- Antarctica: At the Intersection of Technology and Climate Action: At Dell Technologies, the commitment to the environment runs deep. That's why they teamed up with National Geographic explorer and filmmaker Mike Libecki on his recent expedition to Antarctica, where he met with researchers studying microplastic pollution and the effects of climate change.
- The Mud on Their Hands: Many people fled after the destruction of Hurricane Katrina, but Rev. Tyronne Edwards of Phoenix, Louisiana, led the effort to rebuild the town his family has called home for five generations. After a lifetime of organizing, climate activism and inspiring new generations to protect their home from future storm surge has become Tyronne’s latest calling.
Following the screenings, a panel discussion with several of the films’ subjects will take place. Guests include Reyes-Acosta from Well Worn Life, who will lead the discussion; Rob Cahill, Mike Crum and Teresa Tumminia from 4DWN; Seth List, one of the subjects of Miles To Go; and Edwards from The Mud on Their Hands.
To end the evening, singer-songwriter Danielle Ponder will perform. Ponder is an apt performer for the evening: To become a full-time singer, she has taken a tremendous leap of faith, leaving her successful day job working in the public defender’s office in her hometown of Rochester, New York, to devote herself to sharing her powerful voice with the world. The singer-songwriter’s mesmerizing eight-song debut, Some of Us Are Brave, reinforces that her leap has been rewarded with a safe landing. Written and recorded over three years, the album is a refreshingly original, shiver-inducing mix of pop, R&B, blues, rock, and moody trip-hop topped by Ponder’s celestial voice— an instrument that can plumb melancholy depths with a heartsick murmur and scrape the sky with hurricane force wails.
“This evening is all about the power of environmental activism. Each of the subjects of our documentaries, and even our concert performer Danielle Ponder, have powerful voices that they use to change the world around them,” said EarthX Film & Music Festival Director Hayley Nenadal. “It takes a lot of courage to have climate conversations in Texas. We want people to leave closing night feeling inspired.”
Following the event, guests who have purchased a ticket that includes after-party admission are invited The Wild Detectives for drinks, dancing and music by DJ Elkin Pautt to celebrate the final festival night.
EVENT INFORMATION
What: EarthX Film & Music Festival
When: Oct. 20-22, 2023
Where: Various locations throughout Oak Cliff
Tickets: Oct. 20, 2023
Doors open 6 p.m., showtime 7 p.m.
Texas Theatre, 231 Jefferson Blvd., Dallas, TX 75208
$37 - Film screening, live Q&A and concert by Donna Missal
$50 - Same as above plus admission to the after-party
Oct. 21, 2023
Doors open 6 p.m., showtime 6 p.m.
Arts Mission Oak Cliff, 410 S. Windomere Ave., Dallas, TX 75208
$60 – Seating, Dive Coastal Cuisine small plates, Lightware Labs show, film screenings, live Q&A and concert by Ben Sollee
Oct. 22, 2023
Doors 6 p.m., showtime 6:30 p.m.
The Kessler Theater, 1230 W. Davis St., Dallas, TX 75208
$30 - Floor level seating: Film screenings, live Q&A and concert by Danielle Ponder
$40 - Same as above plus admission to the after-party
$50 - Balcony level seating plus admission to the after-party
$340 – Private suite including eight tickets plus admission to the after-party
Early bird pricing, which includes a 15% discount for all events, is available through Oct. 9, 2023.
Tickets are available for purchase at earthxfilmfestival.org.
About EarthX Film:
EarthX Film & Music Festival's mission is to build an annual flagship environmental film festival in Dallas, Texas, and a year-round community that supports film, music, culture, and the outdoors. We seek to promote film and the art of storytelling in a way that entertains, informs and inspires audiences to get outside, push boundaries, and protect the environment. We are reaching beyond the choir with the environmental conversation. https://earthxfilmfestival.org/