Outer Banks Environmental Film Festival

10/12/2026

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Come learn about the Fun Guys of the forest at this year’s Outer Banks Environmental Film Festival. Officially endorsed by the Fungi Foundation, Kingdom Fungi is a feature documentary that delves into the extraordinary world of fungi, following four dedicated amateur and professional field mycologists whose work is driven by a shared mission to document, educate and protect this remarkable kingdom.

Set across diverse and changing habitats in Southern England, the film reveals the science of identification, the ecological processes unfolding beneath our feet, global environmental policy, and the personal stories that drive each character’s devotion.

The journey extends internationally—following a botanical artist exhibiting at the Reino Fungi Festival, with insight from the Royal Botanic Gardens (Kew) and the Fungi Foundation. The film also takes us on a special fungi photography expedition to the Himalayan foothills, guided by the National Mushroom Centre, to explore the largely undocumented species of the temperate rainforests of Bhutan in search of new-to-science species.

KINGDOM FUNGI reveals fungi as a vast and largely under-researched kingdom that continues to shape life on Earth in ways we are only just beginning to understand. Get your tickets and see the full lineup at https://www.obxeff.com. Thank you to this year’s festival sponsors National Parks Conservation Association Don & Catharine Bryan Cultural Series Dare Arts Island Bookstore North Carolina Coastal Federation North Carolina Environmental Justice Network. Tell your friends Meet Me In Manteo Outer Banks Insider Outer Banks Voice

10/07/2026

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At this year’s Outer Banks Environmental Film Festival you can, “Embark on a revealing journey along the Colorado River, witnessing its dramatic transformation as the receding waters of Lake Powell unveil hidden rapids and forgotten landscapes. Explore intertwining ecological discoveries, indigenous perspectives, and a river in a state of rebirth.” Get your tickets now at
https://www.obxeff.com
Thank you Don & Catharine Bryan Cultural Series National Parks Conservation Association Dare Arts Island Bookstore North Carolina Coastal FederationNorth Carolina Environmental Justice Network for supporting this festival!

10/05/2026

From Sound to the Sea explores the struggle to preserve one of
America’s most fragile coastal ecosystems. Home to a rare herd of ~150 wild horses, Corolla is at a tipping point: environmental diversity versus unchecked development. The documentary reveals a community wrestling with its identity and the responsibilities of stewardship.See it at this year’s fourth annual Festival by the Peace Garden Project, November 5-7 in Manteo, North Carolina. Thank you to our sponsors Don & Catharine Bryan Cultural Series North Carolina Coastal Federation National Parks Conservation Association Carolina Environmental Justice Network

09/21/2026

Keystone is an intimate documentary examining the American bison as a true keystone species—one whose presence has shaped the ecology, culture, and survival of North America’s grasslands. Through science, history, and lived stewardship, the film explores how bison behavior influences soil, water, biodiversity, and landscape resilience. Rather than beginning with modern management or mythology, Keystone asks a foundational question: why this animal remains indispensable to healthy ecosystems—then and now.

09/15/2026

Get your tickets for the Peace Garden Project’s 4th Annual Outer Banks Environmental Film Festival at
https://www.obxeff.com. On Thursday evening, November 6th, join us for Seeds of Peace with a conversation after the film with Dave Hedberg. A survivor of the Hiroshima atom bomb confronts her trauma and gathers seeds of trees that survived the blast; planting symbols of hope, healing, and remembrance in towns across Oregon eighty years later.
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As a ten year old girl, Hideko Tamura Snider was an eyewitness to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Suffering the loss of her mother and family, she dedicated her life to sharing a message of peace, resilience, and collective healing.
In 2017, Hideko joined a global effort to cultivate peace by collecting the seeds of trees that also survived the atomic bomb. But Hideko could do this alone. A network of professionals stepped in at critical points to grow these seeds and distribute over 55 trees to communities across Oregon. Plantings across the state are led by groups of differing backgrounds and experiences ranging from veterans groups to Japanese American families remembering incarceration. While each peace tree in Oregon began as a seed from Hideko’s message of peace, we discover that each has taken root in a community with its own unique and symbolic meaning of peace and reconciliation.

08/25/2026

We hope you’re getting ready for this year’s festival. We are! Check out the film lineup at https://www.obxeff.com

07/26/2026

We are in the process of releasing the selections for the 2026 Festival. The final batch of notifications will go out today. Good luck to all the filmmakers!

05/28/2026

You still have time to get your submissions in! The final deadline for submissions is July 1st, 2026.

12/17/2025

Congratulations to the 2025 festival winners.

The Invisible Mammal -Hidden Stories- Kristin Tieche

Sargassum - International Film & Audience Selection- Claude Barnes

The Snake and the Whale- Religion, Spirituality, and Environment- John Carlos Frey

Red Wolf in Timeout- Animated Film - Dave Russo, Calliope Mary, Madeline Leve

Pasagarda- Narrative Feature- Dira Paes

Dream to Cure Water- Indigenous Film- Ciril Jazbec

The American Southwest- Feature Documentary-Ben Masters

Something in the Water- Black Stories- Nateya Taylor, Everett Coleman, Justin Goodrum

Keepers of the Coastline- Short Film- Jeremy Charles, Nick Buttram, Savannah Edwards

Building Bombs (Restored)- Spirit of the Festival- Susan J. Robinson, Mark Mori

Submissions are open for 2026.

Peace Garden Project is now accepting submissions for the 4th Annual Outer Banks Environmental Film Festival to be held in Manteo, NC from November 5-7, 2026...