EXPANSIVE ECOLOGICAL IMAGINATION 2

New short films from around the living world to expand our ecological imaginations

Tuesday, May 5, 2026 | 7:00 p.m. | Cinema 21

Click here to purchase tickets (coming soon)

Information about individual films follows.

EMBODIED

Directed by Samuel Wright Smith
2025 | USA | 13 minutes
English with English captions

Official Selection | West Coast Premiere

Brilliantly rendered in oil pastel animation, EMBODIED is a collective reflection on death and dying, as shared by individuals facing the end of life with the aid of psychedelic-assisted care.

HOW A RIVER IS BORN

Directed by Luma Flôres
2025 | Brazil | 9 minutes

Official Selection | Regional Premiere

Ayla wakes up in a mountainous river landscape. Driven by curiosity and a desire to get to know the place, she dives into a journey. As she discovers where she is, she also discovers herself.

PYROPHILES: ON FIRE AND FUNGI

Directed by Maya Han
2025 | USA | 14 minutes
English with English Captions

Official Selection | West Coast Premiere

Inspired by the fascinating phenomenon of pyrophilous fungi, this experimental documentary/essay film explores the surprising ways in which fire and fungi are intertwined, encouraging reconsideration of fire as a destructive force and pointing to possibilities in the face of climate change and our Pyrocene era.

VOX HUMANA

Directed by Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan
2024 | The Republic of the Philippines | 22 minutes
Tagalog with English subtitles

Official Selection | Indigenous Voices | Regional Premiere

In the aftermath of multiple natural disasters, the police find a man in the woods. A zoologist, a sound recorder, and a news team grapple with the fact that he may be the cause of the devastation—or that he holds the key to the truth.

WATER SPORTS

Directed by Whammy Alcazaren
2024 | The Republic of the Philippines | 20 minutes
Tagalog with English subtitles

Official Selection | Regional Premiere

Jelson and Ipe, two students deep in love, undergo trials of the mind and body as they prepare themselves to survive a world devastated by climate change. Though life may be harsh and unforgiving, they believe what their teacher says: that a strong heart and mind can triumph with an iron will. But Jelson and Ipe soon learn that maybe the best way to survive the end of the world is to simply just live, laugh, and love.

WITNESS: AN ORGANIMA FILM

Directed by Nik Arthur
2025 | Canada | 5 minutes

Official Selection

Meticulously handcrafted, WITNESS: AN ORGANIMA FILM captures the sentience in small life-forms: ancient beings on stone, an intelligent water droplet, and spirits of sunlight. Utilizing novel animation approaches wherein natural materials guide their own stories, elemental archives invite viewers to question the nature of human purpose and renew their child-like vision.