Fine Art Magazine Blog: Closing night at The EarthX Film & Music Festival October 22, 2023 | 6 PM The Kessler Theater

Wednesday, October 18, 2023

Closing night at The EarthX Film & Music Festival October 22, 2023 | 6 PM The Kessler Theater | Dallas, TX

Get Tickets to Sunday night at The Kessler

Use promo code, "EXFFCOMMUNITY" at checkout to receive 20% off of your order!

Closing night at The EarthX Film & Music Festival

October 22, 2023 | 6 PM

The Kessler Theater | Dallas, TX

The EarthX Film & Music Festival's closing night screening will take place on Sunday, October 22nd at The Kessler Theater in the heart of beautiful, historic Oak Cliff. We will share a selection of short films that highlight stories of characters that not only find purpose in the outdoors, but strive to share that opportunity with others. Themes of conservation, food sovereignty and intersectionality will also be discussed both on screen and in thoughtful panel conversations with several special film guests in attendance! The evening will also feature an intimate performance from Danielle Ponder, a rising R&B/Soul singer who left her career as a New York public defender to pursue her calling in music.

Tickets are on sale now!

As a thank you for being a friend of EarthX, we are offering you an exclusive promo code! Use promo code, "EXFFCOMMUNITY" at checkout to receive 20% off of your order!

-The EarthX Film Festival team

Get Tickets to Sunday night at The Kessler

About the inspiring films

Well Worn Life (6 min)
Well Worn Life is a short documentary film series by Arkansas-based outdoor company Livsn Designs. Well Worn Life reveals the recipes of outdoor-minded individuals who love life deeply - and live it to the fullest extent - as their brand name, livsnjutare suggests. In their newest film, meet Dani Reyes-Acosta: a mountain athlete, land cultivator, and storyteller whose path consistently seeks the limits of her possibility. Ticking off climbs and ski lines across South America, cultivating her role as a legacy Coloradan, and setting the course for the future of outdoor access in remote communities, Dani is a visceral example of how self-care and self-determination can harmonize via the outdoors.

The Ghost Rainforest (10 min)
Told from the perspective of indigenous activist Narubia Werreria, ‘The Ghost Rainforest’ follows a group of five indigenous leaders and activists from the Amazon, making an emotionally charged and once in a lifetime journey to a little known and desperately rare temperate rainforest habitat on the West Coast of Scotland. The visit is set amidst the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, a moment in history the world needed to listen to them, as ‘guardians of the forests’, but instead left them feeling ignored and sidelined. They bring their ancestral wisdom and deep spiritual connection with nature to Scotland’s Rainforest to carry out a sacred blessing, connect distant communities and share a message of resilience and hope, to weave our existence back into the web of life. The film focuses on the importance of indigenous wisdom to reconnect to these habitats before it’s too late.

4DWN (17 min)

The story of 4DWN is incredibly inspiring because it is both unconventional and deeply personal. Their place on the confluence of food security and skateboarding provided a unique storytelling experience and a portrait of humanity and hope that documentary audiences typically don’t experience.

Miles to Go (8 min)

In 2022 alone there were over 300 anti LGBTQ+ bills proposed in various states across the country. Refusing to sit idly by, trans trail runner Perry Cohen (he/him) formed a team of fellow runners who identify as trans men with an aim to compete in races in states proposing and passing hateful legislation. Miles to Go follows their journey into the world of trail running and the freedom to be themselves on the trail.

The Mud on Their Hands (14 min)

Everything changed after Katrina. Many fled the destruction but Rev. Tyronne Edwards of Phoenix, LA, led the effort to rebuild the town his family has lived in for five generations. After a lifetime of community organizing - climate activism and inspiring future generations to protect their home from future storm surge has become Tyronne’s latest calling.

Antarctica: At the Intersection of Technology and Climate Action (10 min)

At Dell Technologies, the commitment to the environment runs deep. That's why they teamed up with National Geographic National Geographic explorer and filmmaker, Mike Libecki on his recent expedition to Antarctica, where he met with researchers studying micro-plastic pollution and the effects of climate change. This documentary provides an eye-opening look at what they discovered.

Meet the Artist, Danielle Ponder

In 2021, Danielle Ponder took a leap of faith: she left her successful day job working in the public defender’s office in her hometown of Rochester to devote herself full-time to sharing her powerful voice with the world. That leap paid off - she'll be performing on Sunday night as part of our program Where Passion Meets Purpose.

Meet the Emcee of the evening and Well Worn Life subject,

Dani Reyes-Acosta

Award-winning filmmaker, athlete, and strategist Dani Reyes-Acosta inspires individual action and collective communion through stories of reciprocity in the outdoors—rewriting the story of how we build community along the way. She is the subject of the short documentary Well Worn Life, and will join us for the closing program Where Passion Meets Purpose.

Join us after the show at The Wild Detectives

Following the event, guests who purchase a ticket including after party admission are invited to join us at The Wild Detectives for drinks, dancing, and music by Dallas local, DJ Elkin Pautt, as we celebrate our final festival night.

Get Tickets to Sunday night at The Kessler

Tickets are still available for the other nights of the Film Festival! Join us for an incredible opening night with musician Donna Missal & Filmmaker Josh Tickell for the screening of Common Ground, the follow up film to Kiss the Ground, at Texas Theatre on 10/20 and for an immersive experience like you've never seen before which includes an evening of inspiring films, music, food and entertainment at Arts Mission Oak Cliff on 10/21.