Pulitzer Center Shorts: Changing Tides

As social and political tides turn, changemakers and climate communicators around the world persevere for the protection of our planet and its people. The Pulitzer Center is proud to present a few of their stories, in partnership with DCEFF, during an evening of short films celebrating those who inspire change through meaningful climate storytelling. From the Indigenous groups preserving the soundscape of the Indonesian rainforest, to the California town fighting for clean water, to the researchers sounding an alarm on Thailand’s vanishing dugongs, these films–and their creators–highlight the determination and creativity driving worldwide climate action at this challenging time.

The Environmental Film Festival is free and open to the public; registration is required.

Films:

Jakarta is the world’s fastest-sinking city. In response, Indonesia’s government is building a new capital city in the hills of east Borneo. But these hills are some of the planet’s most biodiverse ecosystems and home to the indigenous Balik people. Abidin, a Balik elder, teams up with bioacoustic scientists to document the impacts of the new city’s construction on endangered species through sound. With his tribe’s survival at stake, recording the sounds of the forest is a way for Balik people to preserve their knowledge and pass it on to future generations – before it’s too late. Sound Guardians is a cinematic and sonic celebration of east Borneo, encouraging the viewer to reflect on their own evolving soundscapes in a time of climate upheaval.

Directed by Leah Varjacques, Produced by Rizky Rahad, Edited by Sam Price-Waldman

In the town of Allensworth, California, residents join forces with Dr. Ashok Gadgil to fight for clean water and to preserve the town’s historic legacy, continuing the work of their families who lived in the town for generations.

Produced & Directed by Neenma Ebeledike and Isabella Roya Marzban

A crisis has been unfolding along Thailand’s shores: dugongs are washing up dead in alarming numbers. Some experts fear fewer than 120 remain. The cause is largely starvation, triggered by the rapid collapse of seagrass meadows - the dugongs’ only source of food. In a desperate search for seagrass, last year, dugongs migrated into a small bay in Phuket where they were spotted by an enthusiastic amateur conservationist. Theerasak “Pop” Saksritawee has been volunteering to help marine biologists to monitor the dugongs ever since, fondly naming two of his favourites Miracle and Jingjok. In this short film for The Guardian Documentaries, supported by the Pulitzer Center, Pop sounds an urgent alarm on Thailand's last dugongs before they vanish forever.

Director & Producer | Mailee Osten-Tan
Director of Photography | Nicolas Axelrod
Additional Cinematography | Theerasak Saksritawee
Editor | Mailee Osten-Tan
Primary Field Producer | Janjira Lintong
Secondary Field Producer | Jirada Sanguanwong
Research Assistant | Kanokwan Wimhonkhajonsiri
Translation | Janjira Lintong, Kanokwan Wimhonkhajonsiri, Mai Nardone, Ratanapa Puangrat, Nantawan Wangudomsuk
Colour | Klover Colour Studio Grant
Original Music | Pongsathorn Posayanonth
Sound design | Tada Mitrevej

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Host or Publisher Pulitzer Center and Environmental Film Festival