RVA Environmental Film Festival

09/12/2026

A shout out to Sierra Club- Falls of the James Group for letting us add to their table today at the James River Ecofest!
It’s inspiring to see so many organizations who care about Earth and climate crisis come together AND to see young ones engaging in learning and activities.
Thanks to James River Association for this event!

08/23/2026

Submissions are open!

The RVA Environmental Film Contest is an important part our film festival! First and second prize winners are screened during the festival’s opening weekend.
This year’s festival launches Feb. 20-21 Studio Two Three!

Updates!
The contest is now open to filmmakers residing in Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, DC and Maryland.
The awards have increased because, well, it’s a great cause. First prize - $1500 + laurel logo
Second prize - $750 + laurel logo

Submissions are through filmfreeway.com

Please share!

Sierra Club- Falls of the James Group Appalachian Voices Style Weekly VPM Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine Wild Virginia Citizens Climate Lobby Chesapeake Climate Action Network James River Film Society League of Conservation Voters Chesapeake Conservancy NC Conservation Network

08/17/2026

Help Plan the 2027 RVA Environmental Film Festival -

As a past attendee or friend of the RVA Environmental Film Festival (RVAEFF), you know how important the festival is to the Richmond community.  The success of RVAEFF depends on the efforts of passionate volunteers - individuals like you who willingly give their time and talents to plan and run t...

03/03/2026

FUTURE COUNCIL!!!
Come out for the FINAL film of the 2026 RVA Environmental Film Festival!
March 7, Saturday, 1-3 at the VMFA, Reynolds Lecture Hall.

After the film there will be a guest video appearance by one of the young ones who went on this journey!

In FUTURE COUNCIL Director Damon Gameau (2040, That Sugar Film) invites eight children on an epic adventure across Europe in a school bus powered by biofuel. Their mission is to better understand the planet’s predicament, explore solutions and, most importantly, take the conversation from the streets, into the boardrooms of some of the world’s largest polluters and most influential companies.

This inspiring and surprisingly humorous journey, where ‘School of Rock’ meets ‘An Inconvenient Truth’, results in the children forming a ‘Future Council’ to advise and influence the world's most powerful companies on their decisions that impact nature.


Wild Virginia University of Richmond Sustainability Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine Virginia Outdoors Foundation RVA Magazine RVA Paddlesports VPM Richmond Audubon Society Groundwork RVA

02/24/2026

The festival continues!
Our partners in the Richmond Community are hosting some amazing films and events. Please come out and support them and the festival!

Tuesday, February 24, 6:00 - 8:30 pm “Honeyland”
Libbie Mill - Henrico Public Library (2100 Libbie Lake E St, Richmond)
Explore modern beekeeping practices with demonstrations from East Richmond Beekeepers Association (ERBA) before the film!

Wednesday, February 25, 6:00 PM - “The Street Project”
Main Library - Richmond Public Library
“The Street Project” will be followed by a panel discussion with representatives from local organizations who seek to make the streets safer for anyone not in a car, including pedestrians, cyclists, and public transportation users.

Thursday, February 26, 6:00 PM “The Cigarette Surfboard”
University of Richmond, Jepson Hall, Room 118
Hosted by University of Richmond Office of Sustainability
There is a reception with the filmmaker, Ben Judkins, and a Q&A following the film!
Yes - it is about a surfboard made of discarded ci******es and the activism around that.

Friday, February 27, 5:30 PM - “Common Ground”
ICA/ VCUarts hosted by VCUarts Cinema program.
This film highlights how regenerative farming practices can heal the soil, improve health, and stabilize the economy, while also addressing issues of racism in the food industry.

Saturday, February 28, 2:30 PM- “Teach Me to Be Wild”
The Robins Nature Center - Maymont
A beautiful and touching film about an animal sanctuary and a therapeutic program for ‘at-risk’ youth.
(Free - ticket to Robins Nature Center not required)

Tuesday, March 3, 5:30 PM- “The Little Things that Run the World”
Library hosted by Chesterfield County Public Library
Through striking visuals and authoritative voices, “The Little Things That Run the World” uncovers the essential role insects play in sustaining life on earth.

Stay tuned for the festival’s grand finale, March 7th!


University of Richmond Sustainability Groundwork RVA James River Association Chesapeake Climate Action Network Sierra Club- Falls of the James Group VCU Life Sciences and Sustainability Style Weekly RVA Magazine Capital Region Land Conservancy

02/23/2026

“The Little Things That Run the World”
3/3/2026 5:30pm

Hosted by Chesterfield County Public Library @ LaPrade Library, 9000 Hull Street Road, North Chesterfield

With Karen Kester Ph.D. Professor Emerita, Biology, Distinguished Career Professor from Virginia Commonwealth University and Master Naturalist

THE LITTLE THINGS THAT RUN THE WORLD introduces viewers to a diverse group of scientists, nature lovers, gardeners, farmers, and general bug enthusiasts in exploring the importance of flying insects amid rapid declines in their numbers. This most numerous groups of animals on the planet by far - three quarters of all species - have also been called the “glue of life” on Earth. They literally hold ecosystems together.

Insects were the first animals to evolve flight nearly 440 million years ago, and they survived all five of the known mass extinctions since then. But there is evidence that the pace of decline among insects in parts of the world today is fast approaching the levels of previous catastrophes. What this means for the rest of life on Earth, including humans, is the focus of THE LITTLE THINGS THAT RUN THE WORLD.

Sierra Club- Falls of the James Group VCU Life Sciences and Sustainability Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine University of Richmond Sustainability Capital Region Land Conservancy RVA Magazine VPM

02/22/2026

Day two of the RVA ENvironmental Film Festival!
It’s a good day to watch films about rivers, environmental activism, connecting to and appreciating our natural environment.

Sunday, February 22, 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM @ Studio Two Three
FREE and open to the public!

Films: (full schedule at rvaeff.org)
• Undammed
• Exposing the Darkside of American AI Data Centers Explosion. Q/A Dakin Campbell, Business Insider
• River Called Home
• Not On This Land. Q/A Jessica Sims, Virginia Conservation Network
• Out There: A National Parks Story
• Look Down, Not Up. Q/A Yehuda Goldman and Rick Siber, Filmmakers

AND our Virginia Environmental Film Contest Winners!!!
All Forward! (Justin Black) and Catching Pinecones (Chad Heddleston) with Q&A following the films!



Sierra Club- Falls of the James Group James River Association Wild Virginia Chesapeake Climate Action Network VCU Life Sciences and Sustainability University of Richmond Sustainability RVA Magazine Richmond Audubon Society Richmond Public Library

02/21/2026

Hosted by Maymont’s Robins Nature Center, Saturday, February 28 @ 2:30pm

“Teach Me to Be Wild” explores the work of a sanctuary in Northern California, where a team of injured, non-releasable wild animals become Wild-Teachers and are helping heal generations of hurt children (at-risk teens, justice-involved youth, foster kids and others). The traumatic histories of the creatures, who range from an Andean condor to a two-toed sloth, often parallel those of the at-risk children who visit. Unexpected and empathic connections are forged that ripple into stories of transformation.

Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine Appalachian Voices Richmond Audubon Society Richmond Public Library Virginia League of Conservation Voters Wild Virginia

02/21/2026

Hosted by VCUarts’ Cinema program, @ VCUarts Institute Contemporary Art. 601 W. Broad Street

Friday, February 27 - 5:30

COMMON GROUND profiles a hopeful and uplifting movement of white, black, and indigenous farmers who are using alternative “regenerative” models of agriculture that could balance the climate, save our health, and stabilize America’s economy – before it’s too late.
Sobering yet hopeful, ‘Common Ground’ exposes the toxic interconnections of American farming policy, politics, and health, by sharing stories of destruction and healing across the United States and beyond, and how regenerative agriculture and soil health plays a vitally important role in changing these systems for the better. At it's root, it explores how people from different walks of life, different political backgrounds, and different places share one thing in common – the very soil beneath their feet.
The film is directed by Josh and Rebecca Tickell (Big Picture Ranch), who have created bold and inspiring environmental films (Kiss the Ground, On Sacred Ground, Regenerate Ojai, Fuel, The Big Fix), while winning coveted awards along the way from Sundance, Cannes, Red Nation, and Tribeca.
Sierra Club- Falls of the James Group Chesapeake Climate Action Network James River Association Virginia Outdoors Foundation VCU Life Sciences and Sustainability Citizens Climate Lobby VPM