ALT EFF 2024 film festival returns to Mumbai to spark urgent climate conversations

The All Living Things Environmental Film Festival (ALT EFF), held annually in Mumbai, will take place this year from November 22 to December 8 at Liberty Cinema.

ALT EFF has served as a vital platform for promoting environmental awareness through cinema, focusing on global climate issues. It brings together filmmakers, activists, and audiences to create impactful discussions around sustainability and environmental challenges.

ALT EFF was launched in 2020 in Panchgani, Maharashtra. The festival screens approximately 50 films annually, showcasing a mix of Indian and international works that focus on environmental and socio-ecological issues. It has quickly gained prominence as India’s leading environmental film festival, drawing attention to critical global challenges through the medium of film​.

It has since grown into a prominent platform for environmental storytelling through cinema, showcasing films from around the globe. The festival uses a hybrid format, including in-person screenings and virtual events to engage audiences and foster discussions on pressing environmental issues. It highlights diverse genres, including documentaries, fiction, and animated films, addressing themes such as climate change, biodiversity, and sustainability

The festival has partnered with renowned figures like Bollywood actor Jackie Shroff, who has been appointed as the brand ambassador, and acclaimed director Richie Mehta, who is promoting the cause of environmental consciousness.

The festival's screenings will showcase a variety of films that explore topics such as conservation, climate change, and the consequences of human activity on the planet.

Among the films set to be featured, Poacher, directed by Richie Mehta, highlights the devastating effects of illegal wildlife trade, especially poaching, a pressing issue in the fight for wildlife conservation​. Another anticipated screening is The Last Forest, a documentary about the indigenous tribes in India at the forefront of defending the environment against industrialisation and deforestation.

"We span across 70 cities in India, which include close to 30 villages as well. The idea of the festival is to make it accessible for all people to engage with our films, which evoke a sense of how communities live and the issues concerning their environments," said Kunal Khanna, co-founder and festival director.

Khanna lived in Australia for 13 years from 2005 to 2018. Having worked with government policies concerning sustainability and also having studied the subject, Khanna came back to India in 2018 to advocate for climate justice and change through the power of films that speak of marine life, reviving indigenous cultures, food politics, biodiversity, the cost of capitalism, and so on.

The festival serves not only as a space for cinema but also as a platform for conversation about urgent environmental issues. Through this mix of film and activism, ALT EFF aims to inspire meaningful change, encouraging viewers to reflect on their own relationship with the environment.