It was an honor to speak at the 30th annual DC Environmental Film Festival. The panel, moderated by Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaker Katerina Cizek, explores new storytelling technologies that reimagine and re-envision how we view and engage with climate change. It was a pleasure sharing our 2180VR work alongside Winslow Porter and Milica Zec, the creators of Tree, and Nonny de la Peña, creator of Greenland Melting. The DCEFF is a gathering of like-minded environmentalists, filmmakers, designers, and many more to address the pressing issues of the environment. Each year, over 100 films are presented over the festival week to more than 20,000 attendees.
From the website (dceff.org):
The New Frontier of Climate Change Storytelling
Featuring Winslow Porter and Milica Zec (Co-directors, Tree), Vanessa Keith (Creator, 2100: A Dystopian Utopia — The City After Climate Change), Nonny de la Peña, Ph.D. (Co-Director, Greenland Melting), and Katerina Cizek (Artistic Director, Co-Creation Studio at MIT Open Documentary Lab)
“Some of the most innovative work in climate change visual storytelling is taking place, not on a movie screen, but in the realms of virtual reality, augmented reality, and multi-player gaming. It is here where the people formerly known as the audience are being transformed into active users, and where creators are hoping that the immersive nature of these new technologies will generate empathy and transform how we engage with this urgent issue. From Tree, which immerses viewers into the lifetime of a tree, from a seedling to a full-grown rainforest tree; to Greenland Melting which transports the viewer across nine different icy locations throughout Greenland to learn more about the changes taking place beneath its frigid surface; to 2100: A Dystopian Utopia — The City After Climate Change, a massive, multiplayer online role-playing game where people are tasked with creating new ways to protect our cities against climate change threats, this panel will introduce the creators of some of the most celebrated projects. Moderator Katerina Cizek, Artistic Director, Co-Founder, and Executive Producer of the Co-Creation Studio at MIT Open Documentary Lab and award-winning pioneer in digital documentaries will guide us through this new frontier.”
Watch the recorded proceedings 20220317_DCEFF_PANEL.mp4 (dropbox.com)
Vanessa Keith Bio: Keith, Vanessa – Filmmaker – DCEFF