Environmental Movies

my top 15 & why you should watch them

Being an environmental documentary filmmaker, I’ve watched hundreds of environmental films of all sorts. They inspire my work and lifestyle and are great sources of empowerment. I often get asked for recommendations so I thought I’d share the list of my favorite fifteen, giving you some insight on why I love each of them and why you might be interested in watching a few.

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1.

Environmental Movies // Chasing Coral

Around the world, coral reefs are vanishing at an unprecedented rate. Chasing Coral is the story of a team of divers, scientists, and photographers who set out on an epic ocean adventure to unveil the reasons behind this dramatic decline.

Green Wanderlust Insight — I love this film because it’s informative, beautiful, and entertaining, which is a really hard balance to strike with a scientific documentary. It’s also about my happy place, the ocean, and from the first few minutes you’re completely drawn into the story and invested in the outcomes. A marvelous and heartbreaking tale I recommend to anyone who enjoys the underwater world.

2.

Environmental Movies // Jane

Using novel footage, this film tells the story of Jane, a famous primatologist and anthropologist who was one of the first scientists on earth to demonstrate that chimpanzees have complex feelings and behaviors. Focusing on her groundbreaking fieldwork in Tanzania, the film offers an intimate portrait of an inspiring woman and conservationist.

3.

Environmental Movies // Serengeti Rules

Exploring some of the most remote and spectacular places on Earth, a pioneering group of scientists make surprising discoveries that flip our understanding of nature on its head and offer new hope for restoring our world.

Green Wanderlust Insight — I first saw this film during the Wild and Scenic film festival in 2018, and I remember being completely blown away by it. If you’re looking for a visually stunning film, this one is for you! The camera work is really wonderful. Serengeti Rules is also very special because it successfully translates a complex biological abstraction into a simple and universal concept that anyone can understand and therefore appreciate.

4.

Environmental Movies // More Than Honey

Deep dive in the fascinating world of bees by exploring the life of a small family of beekeepers and contrasting it with modern industrialized honey farms. More Than Honey is a film on the relationship between mankind and honeybees, but also about nature and our future.

Green Wanderlust Insight — More Than Honey is far more than a simple film about bees, it’s a reminder and a vast ecological call to action. Since then, a lot of other documentaries that deal with the same theme have come out but just like Hollywood movie classics, this one is still a must-see.

5.

Environmental Movies // Once Upon A Forest

In this film Luc Jacquet takes us on an extraordinary journey into the depths of the rainforest, at the heart of life itself. For the first time a tropical forest is born before our eyes! From the giant canopy to the myriad hidden links between plants and animals, Once upon a Forest captures the wonders of a centuries-old tropical primary forest before our eyes.

Green Wanderlust Insight — Add the word documentary when you look it up, otherwise, you’ll stumble upon the 22% rotten tomatoes rated animation movie about a mole rat—which is not the one I’m recommending here! I love trees and this film is such a beautiful celebration of their beauty and wisdom. A must-see for all my tree huggers out there!

6.

Environmental Movies // An Inconvenient Truth

A classic. An Inconvenient Truth is Al Gore’s Oscar-winning documentary about climate change. Filmmaker Davis Guggenheim follows Al Gore on a lecture circuit as he raises awareness of the dangers of global warming.

Green Wanderlust Insight — Simple and straight to the point, this very well documented film is the perfect stepping stone for anyone interested in dipping their toes into the climate change conversation.

7.

Environmental Movies // Food, Inc

In "Food, Inc.," filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on the United States’ food industry, exposing the highly mechanized and dehumanized face that has been hidden from the American consumer. The movie also demonstrates how the food chain has fallen into the hands of just a few corporations that often put wealth before the health of their buyers.

8.

Environmental Movies // Wall-E

Wall-E, a machine responsible for cleaning a waste-covered Earth meets another robot sent from space and falls in love with her. Together, they set out on a journey that alters the fate of mankind.

Green Wanderlust Insight — I recently re-watched this movie and I’ll confirm that it’s still just as relevant as when it came out, if not more so. As the New York Times puts it, “Wall-E breaks new ground in giving us a computer-generated cartoon vision of our own potential extinction”: definitely food for thought!

9.

Environmental Movies // Into the Wild

Fresh out of university young Christopher McCandless has a promising future ahead of him. Yet, turning his back to the comfortable lifestyle awaiting, he decides to leave it all behind and set out into the wild, reconnecting with nature and himself. At the end of a tumultuous journey, he reaches his goal in the heart of Alaska: a life in balance with mother nature.

10.

Environmental Movies // Avatar

Avatar is the story of an ex-Marine who finds himself thrust into an alien planet, colonized by the humans to mine a rare metal. As an Avatar, a human mind in an alien body, he finds himself torn between these two conflicting worlds.

11.

Environmental Movies // Chasing Ice

This Emmy-Award winning movie is the story of one man’s mission to change the tide of history by gathering undeniable evidence of our changing planet. The film follows National Geographic photographer James Balog as he deploys time-lapse cameras to capture the world’s changing glaciers.

12.

Environmental Movies // Before The Flood

Actor and environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio meets with scientists, activists and world leaders to discuss the dangers of climate change and possible solutions.

Green Wanderlust Insight — It’s wonderful to see such a famous actor using his influence, position, and charisma to bring attention to the urgent climate crisis. The movie isn’t perfect, but it’s self-critical, and that’s what also makes it great.

13.

Environmental Movies // The Game Changers

This documentary follows former UFC fighter James Wilks who, while recovering from an injury, researches nutrition, and travels the world to discuss his findings with elite athletes who follow plant-based diets.

Green Wanderlust Insight — While this film has generally been well received by viewers, it has also received criticism for scientific inaccuracies. Nutrition is a daunting subject, there’s evidence for all and nothing and it’s really hard to make out which study to trust or dismiss. But regardless, seeing movies like The Game Changers is important because it serves as a counterpart to what is usually shoved down our throats by biased advertisements and money-driven lobbying powers. One thing is for sure though: eating less meat essential to curbing climate change.

14.

Environmental Movies // Samsara

Filmed over nearly five years in twenty five countries, Samsara is a film that wordlessly transports us to the world’s most incredible natural and human-made wonders.

Green Wanderlust Insight — Although not explicitly about the preservation of the environment, the force of this documentary is that it allows viewers to come to their own conclusions regarding humanity and its mad race to development. It’s one of the most beautiful environmental movies I’ve ever seen!

15.

Environmental Movies // March of the Penguins

At the end of each Antarctic summer, the emperor penguins of the South Pole journey to their traditional breeding grounds in a fascinating mating ritual that is captured in this documentary by intrepid filmmaker Luc Jacquet. Rated 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, this masterpiece is a must see for all nature and wildlife lovers! It’s entertaining, heart-gripping and incredibly moving.

A BIASED 16.

Environmental Movies // Pursuing the Monarchs

Maybe it’s okay to be biased if you’re open about it? Written, directed, and partly edited by yours truly, this feature film documentary is my biggest accomplishment to date!

Entirely produced while I was in college studying Biology and Chinese, Pursuing the Monarchs examines the social and biological factors causing a rapidly waning monarch butterfly population across North America. My film takes you across the American heartland from the vast plains of Iowa to the jungles of Michoacán and investigates this treasured species’ battle for survival against rampant deforestation and the devastating practices of industrialized agriculture.

It’s available on Vimeo, for FREE

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