To coincide with Earth Month this April, we’re programming three art house classics that shine a spotlight on humanity’s place in the conflict between nature and modern life. 

For over half a century, Earth Day has been held on April 22nd. Denoting a time to recognize the human impact on the environment, demonstrate support for environmental protection, and promote the future welfare of our planet. Since the early days of cinema, when motion picture pioneer Eadweard Muybridge focused his camera on a man riding a horse in the 1870s, artists have used film to help illuminate our relationship with nature. As the climate crisis continues to unfold and as environmental concerns have come to the forefront of our culture, filmmakers have responded in kind. 

On Fridays at 7:00 pm from April 1-15, FACETS will present three art house classics that take on environmentalism as a central theme and contemplate how modern life has become disconnected from nature. On April 1st, we present Peter Weir’s The Last Wave, a seminal work of the Australian New Wave that examines environmentalism and colonialism through the lens of a supernatural murder mystery. Followed by Ron Fricke’s Baraka on April 8, a wordless tone poem that links nature and global cultures in search of a universal spiritual truth. And finally on April 15th, we will screen Paul Schrader’s First Reformed, a prescient and powerful story of a lone soul struggling for meaning in the face of man-made apocalypse.