Connecting to Nature Short Films

About Damn Time

Dana Romanoff

(2025, United States, 24 min.)

For decades, amidst the roar of rapids and the serenity of the Grand Canyon, adventurers have come to explore and test their mettle against the Colorado River. Dories—delicate, hand-crafted wooden boats—are known as the ballerinas of the river. They first danced on the Colorado River in the 1970s, introduced by environmentalist Martin Litton to immerse people in the Grand Canyon’s majesty and rally support against destruction of a fragile ecosystem. But for a long time, this was not an inclusive environment. About Damn Time chronicles the legacy of trailblazing boatwomen who, guided by determination, have challenged a male-dominated world, helped to protect sacred rivers, and are now passing the oars to the next generation.

Soundscape

Timmy O’Neill

(2023, United States, 14 min.)

Erik Weihenmayer is a global adventure athlete and author, who has climbed the “Seven Summits” [highest peaks on each continent], kayaked the Grand Canyon, and climbed some of the trickiest rock faces in the world. He just happens to have done all this while being blind. In Soundscape, we see what motivates him, the challenges he faces, and his unique echolocation strategy for navigating while he ascends a massive alpine rock face deep in the Sierra Nevada. Using expert camera work and emotive, novel animation adaptive climbing pioneer and film director Timmy O’Neill takes us on a story that is a surprising and soulful adventure and shows us what happens when people push themselves beyond the limits of what others think is possible.

Planetwalker

Dominic Gill, Nadia Gill

(2024, United States, 31 min.)

In 1971 John Francis witnessed an oil spill in the San Francisco Bay. The sight of oiled birds on the shoreline caused him guilt and motivated him to give up motorized transport and rely solely on his own two feet. Months later, still feeling angry but knowing that his anger wasn’t helping the world, he took a vow of silence–convinced that listening to others might help him make more sense of the world. For 17 years, he didn’t talk or ride, but he kept on walking clear across the country and meeting people where they were. His silence and time in the outdoors allowed him to study the world, helped him create community, and brought him the motivation to do something about how we respond to oil spills. Always at the core of his emerging belief was the power of kindness in the people he met, talked to, and broke bread with.

Following the films, we had a panel discussion on inclusion in the outdoors and the health benefits of connecting with nature featuring:

• Erin Raupers, Assistant Director, Health Promotion & Wellness, Penn State Student Affairs
• Aubrey Tallon, Volunteer Program Manager, Arboretum at Penn State, and co-founder of Centre Region Lavender Scouts