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Nature Connection Pitch

Stories Weave a More Nature-Connected World

Nature heals us: physically, mentally, spiritually, and socially. We believe storytellers can reconnect us to that truth. Through our Nature Connection Pitch program, we support filmmakers uplifting the voices and communities whose deep relationships with the natural world are essential to leading this movement forward.

Here’s how the program works: In partnership with film industry collaborators, we issue an open call seeking original short documentaries (10–30 minutes) that spotlight the leaders, activists, and communities trailblazing the way for a more nature-connected world.

Five finalists are chosen from the open call. In addition to in-person training and workshops, travel, accommodations, and festival passes, and the opportunity to present to a panel of industry leaders, four of them receive a $10,000 grant and the winning project receives $50,000. 

This year, we’re teaming up with DC/DOX on the Open Call and the pitch process, which happens on June 13, 2026 in Washington DC.

Meet the 2026 Nature Connection Pitch finalists below.

  • 1 / 5

    Directed by Isabela Zawistowska; Produced by Chamberlain Staub

    This film follows 87-year-old chinampera Doña Susana and scientist Diana Mendoza as they work to protect Xochimilco. Blending ancestral farming practices, axolotl conservation, and cultural resilience, their story is a testament to intergenerational knowledge and environmental stewardship.

  • 2 / 5

    Co-directed by Mahai Soler and Martín Kingman; Produced by María José Calderón

    After losing his leg, Rapa Nui fisherman José Teao finds healing and renewed strength in the ocean. Te Mana o Teao follows his journey of resilience and spiritual transformation, where the sea becomes a source of purpose, power, and connection.

  • 3 / 5

    Directed by Kristy Hyunsoo Choi
    The mountain Sing Peak was named in 1899 after Tie Sing, a Chinese chef who cooked for early mapmakers and founders of the National Park Service. Each year, a community of Asian Americans treks off-trail to reach its summit. This film explores the history, erasure, and reclamation behind that journey, and asks why it matters today.

  • 4 / 5

    Co-Directed by Micah Dudash; featuring Javier Pineda

    A DACA recipient finds identity and belonging through snowsports in the United States. As he works to expand outdoor access for immigrant and BIPOC communities, he sets his sights on summiting and snowboarding an 18,000-foot active volcano in Mexico.

  • 5 / 5

    Directed and Produced by Jamaica Kalika

    A group of Black farmers are drawn to Croom Road to heal land depleted by tobacco farming and the legacy of chattel slavery. Grounded in cooperative economics and ancestral land stewardship practices, they are cultivating both soil and sovereignty.