The program.

Session One | The Giants (2023) - Festival Kick Off!
Friday 19:00 - 21:00

Kick start your Off Grid experience with the Bob Brown feature documentary The Giants (2023).

A poetic, cinematic portrait of environmentalist Bob Brown and the Forest, the film draws on emerging science about trees and Brown's experiences of activism to inspire a new chapter in our relationship with trees.

From a seedling to forest elder, draw on Bob’s 50 years of inspiring activism, from the Franklin campaign for Tasmania’s last wild river, to today’s battle for the Tarkine rainforest. Told in Bob’s own words, his story is interwoven with the extraordinary life cycle of Australia’s giant trees, brought to the screen with stunning award-winning cinematography and immersive animated forest landscapes.

One of Australia's most successful documentaries of 2023, the film inspired national rallies, put deforestation on the political agenda, and mobalised countless individuals and community groups to stand up for forests.

Session Two | Jacob, Mimmi & The Talking Dogs (2019)
Saturday 16:00 - 17:30

A family film screening by Environmental Films Australia at the Star Theatre, as part of the Off Grid Pop Up Cinema.

When the local park is threatened to be destroyed and replaced with skyscrapers by greedy city businessmen, young Mimmi is let down as the adults around her (including her retired-pirate father) refuse to stand in the way of progress to help her protect her favourite tree. 

Joining forces with her cousin Jacob, who may or may not have something to do with the skyscrapers’ creation, and a pack of talking (yes, talking!) dogs, Mimmi discovers that sometimes to make a change, standing up and taking action can make all the difference. 

Recommended for the young, the young at heart and anyone looking for something a little more wholesome, this beautifully animated film is the perfect tonic to climate anxieties – absurdly witty, joyously illustrated, and a delight to behold. 

If you’re looking for something to make you laugh, tug at the heartstrings, and rouse the young activist inside, Jacob, Mimmi & The Talking Dogs is for you.

Session Three |  Future Shorts
Saturday 18:30 - 19:45

As tomorrow rushes on at an unstoppable speed, Environmental Films Australia presents an exploration of speculative futures with a curated selection of sci fi and action short films.

Delve into how tomorrow’s stories respond to today’s emergencies with films showcasing future visions from the very near to very far future. 

The international program includes films from Italy, France, Ireland, and the US, and traverses from the very near to the very far future, with imagined possibilities that feel almost too real.

This shorts package is presented in celebration of Off Grid’s SolarPunk Art competition.

Session Four |  Yana Djamaga Ganji / Walk Good Fire
Saturday 20:15 - 21:30

Explore traditional methods of caring for country, land management and the healing benefits of walking good fire, in this Indigenous-led documentary that follows the Walbunja Rangers back out onto Yuin Country following the 2019 fires, as they work with cultural fire to heal both the coast and their people.

Walking alongside Elders and youngsters across luxury resorts to crown lands, this documentary follows the resurgence of cultural burning in Australia’s Southeast, addressing the ongoing mismanagement of Country and the misconceptions around cultural burning as an isolated practice.

As out-of-control fires begin to spark again across the Australian continent, this documentary offers a well-overdue look into the holistic approach of First Nations’ land management practices, ultimately encouraging others to understand, and help reclaim, the healing benefits of walking good fire for all Australians.

The screening will be preceded by the award winning short Outpicker, a sweet and inspiring documentary following a queer Chinese immigrant as she finds a sense of belonging in the Australian landscape through litter-picking.