The Portland EcoFilm Festival’s EcoHero Award is presented annually to a filmmaker or film subject who has made outstanding contributions to the environment, wildlife and/or environmental justice.
Winner of the 2024 Portland EcoFilm Festival’s EcoHero Award
JoJo Nyaribo is a young nature lover and wildlife advocate. He is featured in the short film, JOJO: A TOAD MUSICAL, which weaves together Jojo’s love for the natural world with his journey in learning about and fighting against a specific fungus that has been wiping out a staggering number of amphibians around the globe. Jojo will explore what his role is in preventing the spread of this fungus through small actionable tasks as simple as cleaning his own running and hiking shoes and educating his friends and family.
This young adventurer is constantly on a path of discovering who he wants to be in the world through a lens of being kind to himself and the environment around him.
Winner of the 2023 Portland EcoFilm Festival’s EcoHero Award
Tim Anaviapik Soucie is the founder and current leader of the Pond Inlet Water Quality monitoring project. “I started this project from being encouraged by community members and Elders, and to answer the many outcries from residents, complaining of stomach illness. Our community had no equipment, no capacity back then to research water.” The main goal is to build community capacity to research and monitor source water in Mittimatalik, combining the guidance and knowledge of Elders to science-based monitoring of climate and water quality indicators (physico-chemical parameters, microbial load and benthic invertebrates) in local streams and lakes including the community water lake. Tim is featured in the film Imalirijit.
Winners of the 2020 Portland EcoFilm Festival's EcoHero Award
Yemn Jordan Taisigue Lopez, the Nicaraguan actor, teacher and anthropologist featured in the film CUENTOS DEL RIO (RIVER TALES.)
And the GORONGOSA NATIONAL PARK PROGRAMS STAFF, including African elephant ecologist DOMINIQUE GONÇALVES, featured in the film OUR GORONGOSA.
Winner of the 2019 Portland EcoFilm Festival's EcoHero Award
STACEY RYAN
A lifelong resident of Mossville, Louisiana who took a public stand refusing to leave his formerly-thriving African American town, now surrounded and decimated by 14 petrochemical plants, and the future site of apartheid-born South African-based chemical company Sasol’s newest plant – a $21.2 billion project and the largest in the western hemisphere. Featured in the film MOSSVILLE - WHEN GREAT TREES FALL.
Winner of the 2018 Portland EcoFilm Festival's EcoHero Award
SUZANNE FOUTY
Hydrologist and wildlife advocate working to raise recognition of the key roles beavers and wolves play in healthy ecosystems. Featured in the film THE BEAVER BELIEVERS.
Winner of the 2017 Portland EcoFilm Festival's EcoHero Award
WINONA LADUKE
Indigenous leader, environmentalist, rural economist, author, founder of Native grassroots environmental support organization, Honor The Earth. Subject of the film FIRST DAUGHTER AND THE BLACK SNAKE.
Winner of the 2016 Portland EcoFilm Festival's EcoHero Award
JON BETZ and TAGGART SIEGEL
Filmmakers of SEED: THE UNTOLD STORY, their third feature film (along with QUEEN OF THE SUN and THE REAL DIRT ON FARMER JOHN) examining mankind’s shaping of agricultural practices and history.
Winner of the 2015 Portland EcoFilm Festival’s EcoHero Award
RON PRECIOUS
Original Greenpeace expedition cinematographer whose imagery helped set in motion a global awakening of the environmental movement via Greenpeace’s direct action protests on nuclear arms and ocean advocacy. Featured in the film HOW TO CHANGE THE WORLD.
Winner of the 2014 Portland EcoFilm Festival’s EcoHero Award
ELMER CROW, JR.
Nez Perce elder who led efforts to restore Pacific Lamprey to PNW rivers. Accepting the award in memory of Mr. Crow was his wife, Lynda Crow and son Jeremy Five Crows. Mr. Crow is profiled in the film THE LOST FISH.
