The San Diego International Film Festival (Oct 4-8, 2017) produced each year by the San Diego Film Foundation is proud to announce the Advisory Board of the Environmental & Sustainability Film Track in the 2017 Film Festival. The San Diego International Film Festival features topic specific tracks that present groundbreaking, independent films telling stories that resonate with San Diego patrons in a variety of areas. Other returning unique film tracks include American Indian, Military, and Social Justice with an additional new Equestrian Film Track.

Environmental film submissions are curated by the SDiFF staff and the Environmental Track Advisory Board.
2017 Environmental Advisory Board Members
Patty Elkus, Founding Board Chair. Scripps Institution of Oceanography Director’s Council, Mission Blue Board of Directors
Max Guinn, Founder of Kids Eco Club, CEO & Co-Founder Flashlight Foods, Co-Founder of Climate Change is 4 Real
Susan Guinn, Guinn Law Firm, Board Member San Diego Zoo Global
Susan McClellan, Director of Foundation Board at San Diego Zoo Global
Kerri Smith, Board of Directors of the Rainforest Alliance
Ashley Stone, President and Founder of The Bonobo Project
David J. Winkler, CEO and Co-Founder Del Mar Partnership, Inc., Chair of the DiabetesResearchConnection.org; cofounder and former Chair, Pediatric Diabetes Research Center, UCSD, and former board member of Nature and Culture International.

Executive and Artistic Director of the Festival, Tonya Mantooth shared, “Examining environmental issues is a passion we share with many research organizations in our community. Our Environmental Film Track allows us to keep up with the science and stories that affect our world and share them with a broad audience. Our Environmental Track Advisory Board has been formed with community members with strong ties to the science and advocacy of Environmental study. They help us to curate a selection of films with a focus on raising awareness and understanding of environmental issues.”

Patty Elkus, Founding Board Chair shared “I am actively involved in global environmental advocacy, in San Diego with my decade long service on the Director’s Council of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and additional international ocean boards I serve on. I am thrilled to see the wide range of environmental issues that we will get to share this year through the SDIFF Environmental Track. The films explore a wide range of topics from Monsanto’s GMO testing in Hawaii, to wildlife conservation in Africa, to iconic oceanographer Walter Munk and his drive for “daring exploration”. I look forward to sharing these stories with the community.”

Max Guinn, teen Founder of Kids Eco Club, a youth organization that starts and supports environmental clubs in K-12 schools across the globe and a member of the SDiFF Environmental Advisory Board shared “I discovered my passion for the environment at a young age and want to inspire other kids to care for the planet, its wildlife and each other. I look forward to sharing that passion and outreach through involvement in the SDiFF Environmental film track. Film is a fantastic medium to engage my generation and spark their interest.”

Susan Guinn, Guinn Law Firm, shared “I am grateful to be a part of the Environmental Advisory Board for the San Diego International Film Festival. Film is a great way to inform the public about the environmental challenges facing our world. An educated and inspired public is critical to the mass adoption of scalable solutions. The best environmental films entertain, educate, and move us to action. This year’s selections deliver this and more.”

Susan McClellan, Director and Officer of the Foundation Board at San Diego Zoo Global and member of the SDiFF Environmental Advisory Board shared “Environmental and conservation advocacy have long been concerns of mine in the work that I do with San Diego Zoo Global, a recognized leader in saving animals from the brink of extinction. I welcome the opportunity to continue to examine and share these concerns by turning the world’s eye towards some of the fascinating topics being presented this year through the SDiFF’s Environmental Film Track

Ashley Stone, President and Founder of the Bonobo Project and member of the SDiFF Environmental Advisory Board shared “I devote much of my time to environmental and wildlife protection In my ongoing work at the Bonobo Project. There are so many people that passionately work to protect our environment, ecosystems and wildlife and educate others along the way. The SDiFF’s Environmental Film Track offers a unique opportunity to share that vital work with the community.”

Films being screened in the Environmental Track of the 2017 San Diego International Film Festival
Poisoning Paradise
Wasted! The Story of Food Waste Riverblue: Can Fashion Save the Planet
The Last Animals
Spirit of Discovery