Celebrate Earth Month With Acclaimed Films of the Past Year

Over the past year, filmmakers around the world have shown an increased interest in climate change and its effect on living beings. Several relatively new films tackle environmental causes, and many are streaming right now. Learn about some of these below, and read more about Earth Month here.

Throughout the 2022-2023 awards season, two short documentary films about animal conservation took center stage. First is "The Elephant Whisperers," which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film last month. The documentary follows a couple raising an orphaned, injured baby elephant named Raghu in India's Mudumalai National Park. They later adopt a second elephant, named Ammukutty, and tearfully give up Raghu. This film examines the delicate balance between leaving nature to its own devices and intervening to help the animal world. Distributed by Netflix, "The Elephant Whisperers" is currently available to watch on the streaming service.

Another documentary short that dominated the awards circuit over the season is the Russian-British co-production "Haulout." The Oscar-nominated film centers on Russian marine biologist Maxim Chakilev, who spends three months every fall observing thousands of walruses in the Russian Arctic. The animals swim ashore to rest and mate, and they typically take breaks by resting on sea ice during their journey. Due to rising water temperatures, there is often no sea ice for the walruses to rest on, so they arrive weak from the long open-sea swim and attempt to all squeeze onto the available shore at the same time. Tragically, each year more walruses fail to survive this trek as sea ice continues to recede. "Haulout" is a dire visualization of what is to come if temperatures continue to rise. The documentary is available to watch online here.

Another critically-acclaimed, award-winning short film released in the past year is the animated tearjerker "Ice Merchants." The dialogue-less Portuguese film follows a father and son who live in a house attached to the side of a cliff, where they make ice to sell in the village below. Every day, the two deliver the ice below by jumping from their house with a parachute, then return using a pulley system. One morning, the temperature rises to the point that ice does not form for them to sell. Additionally, melting snow piles onto their house, leading to potentially tragic consequences for the pair. The film examines the long-reaching effects of even a small rise in temperature. Last month, "Ice Merchants" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. It is available to watch here.

Lastly, another award-winning film centered on animal conservation is the full-length documentary "All That Breathes," which earned a nomination for Best Documentary Feature Film at the Academy Awards. The film chronicles the lives of siblings Mohammad Saud and Nadeem Shehzad, who treat injured birds (specifically black kites) in India. Pollution in New Delhi is harming these birds that are highly regarded in Muslim culture, and the two siblings are on a mission to rescue them. Co-produced by HBO Documentary Films, "All That Breathes" is streaming on HBO Max.

We hope that these films will inspire you to think globally and act locally this Earth Day. Each one of us can make a difference.