The annual Environmental Film Festival in Washington, D.C. has announced that it is canceling all public events scheduled to take place between March 12 and 22 as a precaution against the COVID-19 epidemic. The festival will turn into a “virtual” version on March 16.
“We did not come to this decision lightly, but as the safety of our audience, local and out-of-town participants, volunteers, partners, and staff is our highest priority, we have determined that this was the only viable course of action to take,” the organizers said in a statement.
However, the festival is not completely cancelled. Instead, it is launching select 2020 movies for online streaming next week.
"Don’t worry, film fans: Beginning next week, the festival will host a virtual showcase featuring select films, so you’ll have something to watch if you end up quarantined."https://t.co/WR4Uy7tR65
— DC Environmental Film Fest (@dceff_org) March 12, 2020
There will also be a smaller version of the festival in the fall, where the 2020 award winners will be screened.
Festival goers who previously bought tickets for any of the festival’s events can get a refund at their point-of-sale.
This will be the 28th edition of the event. Its movies were originally going to be shown in two dozen venues in the District, including National Geographic, Naval Heritage Center, Landmark E Street Cinema, National Gallery and National Archives.
The films listed below can be viewed online starting from Monday. Some movies are free to watch, while you will be charged for others:
A Living River
Artifishal
Farmscape Ecology
Open Water
Death of a Species
Stories from the Blue
Vanishing Venezuela
Women On a Mission
Homecoming: Journey to Limuw
Perempuan
Hidden Kingdoms of China
The Story of Plastic
The Pearl Button
Where Life Begins
Nostalgia for the Light
Wine Calling
A Reindeer’s Journey
Stuffed
Honeyland
The Game Changers
The Plastic Problem
A Voice for the Rivers
Nassawango Legacy
D.C. Environmental Film Festival is known as the largest green film festival in the world and the longest-running in the United States. It received the D.C. Mayor’s Award for Excellence in Creative Industries in 2017.
The event that has been organized every March since 1993 offers more than 100 films, a large portion of which are for free.
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