MORE THAN HUMAN
New short films from around the living world celebrating kinship with our more than human relatives
Thursday, April 30, 2026 | 7:00 p.m. | The Hollywood Theatre
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Information about individual films follows.
FISH FOR THE FUTURE
Directed by Matthew Benton
2025 | USA | 5 minutes
English with English captions
Official Selection | Regional Premiere
FISH FOR THE FUTURE follows Rosi Digit, the Principal Conservation Biologist at Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains, who has been an integral part of conservation in the Santa Monica Mountains for nearly four decades. In January 2025, the Palisades Fire quickly approached her home and the habitats that she has protected for decades. When the fire burned all of the critical habitat for the endangered Southern Steelhead Trout in Topanga Creek, she knew they had to rescue as many fish as possible before the rains swept dangerous amounts of mud through the watershed, killing any aquatic species. She gathered with various groups and agencies to work and rescue many steelhead in the creek very quickly.
HOUSTON’S WHITEBEAM
Directed by Jake Morris and Alex Darby
2024 | United Kingdom | 13 minutes
English with English captions
Official Selection | West Coast Premiere
Libby Houston is a climber, botanist and poet who, at 80 years old, continues her work climbing the 300-foot cliffs of Bristol's Avon Gorge to investigate rare plants. By reaching every ledge on every rock face and using her poet's eye for close observation, Libby has helped establish the area as one of England’s most important botanical sites. As it stands, there is only one known member of her namesake discovery, Houston’s Whitebeam, and reflecting on its inevitable extinction prompts Libby to contemplate her own legacy.
LIKE FRIEND, LIKE DEER
Directed by Malek Eghbali
2025 | Islamic Republic of Iran | 13 minutes
Official Selection | USA Premiere
Inspired by the story of a wildlife ranger who killed an illegal hunter during a confrontation, this intricately hand-painted film explores the deep connection between humans, animals, and the environment we all share.
THE LITTLE BROWN BIRD
Directed by KT Bryden
2025 | USA | 33 miinutes
English with English captions
Official Selection
Once down to a population of only 80 in the wild, the Florida Grasshopper Sparrow is at risk of extinction. Biologist Fabiola ‘Fabby’ Baeza-Tarin and an unexpected team work together to protect the sparrows, their shrinking habitat, and the headwaters of the Everglades.
REINDALEN
Directed by Morgan Elizabeth Heim
2024 | Norway | 14 minutes
English with English captions
Official Selection | West Coast Premiere
In the fastest-warming place on Earth, two friends, Emma and Oline, and their canine sidekick, Thando, uncover how the world's smallest and fattest reindeer are thriving because of rising temperatures. But are they seeing a positive side-effect of climate change in the Arctic, or witnessing the end of innocence for Svalbard reindeer?
ROOST 2020 PDX
Directed by Irene Tejaratchi Hess
2025 | USA | 19 minutes
English with English captions
Official Selection | West Coast Premiere
Director in attendance
What begins as a traditional natural history documentary about Portland’s crow roost becomes a chronicle of a city navigating a year of immense turmoil and unexpected beauty.
ROOST 2020 PDX weaves together seemingly disparate threads: thousands of crows gathering to roost, empty pandemic streets, tear gas clouding protests for racial justice, federal agents occupying a city, and wildfires.
Through it all, nature offers refuge, as well as a vivid illustration and reflection on the power of numbers.