The only environmental film festival in Texas will bring a combination of short films, music and conversation to Fort Worth for the first time Sept. 8.
“A Party for the Planet” will feature three short film screenings and live performances by Fort Worth-based musician Abraham Alexander at the Downtown Cowtown at the Isis Theater in the Stockyards.
The event is the brainchild of EarthX, a Dallas-based nonprofit organization that organizes conferences and festivals centered around environmental issues. Dickies and the Fort Worth Film Commission are also sponsoring the festival.
Laura Shaunette, EarthX Film’s director of programming, called the Fort Worth event a “tasting menu” of what’s to come in October, when the organization hosts a three-day film festival in Dallas’ Bishop Arts District.
“For a one-off event like this, when we’re hopefully meeting a bunch of new folks that are getting to know what we do for the first time, we really wanted to give almost a sampling of what they might see at a more focused event,” Shaunette said. “Getting to share that with our neighbors in Fort Worth is really awesome.”
If you go
What: A Party for the Planet film festival and concert
Time: 7-9 p.m. (Doors open at 6 p.m.)
Date: Sept. 8
Where: Downtown Cowtown at the Isis Theater, 2401 N Main St, Fort Worth, TX 76164
Admission: Tickets are $40-$70. Purchase here.
Two of the selected films focus on environmental challenges and solutions facing Texas. The documentary “4DWN,” produced by EarthX Film, hits close to home by following 11-year-old Zion Carr’s experience at a south Dallas skate park that doubles as a community resource and farming hub.
Carr witnessed the shooting of his aunt Atatiana Jefferson by Fort Worth police officer Aaron Dean in 2019 and testified against Dean at his trial last year. Filmed in late 2022, the documentary does not address Carr’s preparation for the trial, which resulted in Dean being convicted for manslaughter, according to The Dallas Observer.
The 15-minute film “Batsies” profiles two Texas State University researchers working to save the state’s bat populations from wind turbines and other threats. Attendees will finish up the screenings with “The Blackcountry Journal,” a 9-minute short following a skier’s connection to the mountains and nature through art, Black culture and jazz.
“Representation both on-screen and in the outdoors helps us to come up with better climate solutions,” said Shaunette, who will moderate a panel with filmmakers and subjects of the films at the event. “The more people that are part of the conversation, the more people that are seen in the conversation, then the more equitable the solutions are going to be.”
Alexander will wrap the evening by playing a full set with his band. Shaunette wants to leave attendees feeling hopeful about how they can contribute to environmental solutions in their communities.
“We want to lift up the folks that are doing the work so that folks can see that it’s happening in their neighborhoods,” she said. “It helps us identify where there are places to get involved, but also maybe where more work needs to happen.”
Haley Samsel is the environmental reporter for the Fort Worth Report. You can reach them at haley.samsel@fortworthreport.org.
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This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.