Category - Environmental Sustainability

Winner:
Spirits of Orchid Island 53:00 (Taiwan)
Over a thousand kinds of fish and numerous sea snakes populate Orchid Island’s coral reefs, while Lanyu Sops Owls, Whistling Green Pigeons and Birdwing butterflies thrive in forests that teem with life. The Tao people came here from the Philippines nearly a thousand years ago and their guardianship of both forest and ocean has preserved the island’s wild nature. They still harvest the sea from hand-made boats, and many spiritual beliefs and links with nature survive, despite the modernizing influence of nearby Taiwan.

Syaman Rapongan, a highly respected Tao writer, reveals the traditions of his tribe and how he follows the old taboos, respecting nature and the spirits that watch over it. He acts as a passionate and thoughtful guide to the colorful ceremonies and ancient beliefs of the Tao. His insights into this unique culture have much to tell a modern world whose values have lost touch with nature.
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Katherine Knight Awards:
The Recyclergy 33:00 (U.S.A. San Francisco)
For decades the San Francisco Bay Area has been a hub for the recycling movement. Even the garbage companies have a long history of recycling practices. After the first Earth Day celebration in 1970, community, non-profit recycling centers began to pop up in schools, garages, and neighborhood centers all sharing the goal of bringing recycling to their cities. Now in 2006, only two non-profit recycling organizations remain in San Francisco. Here we meet the Recyclergy who have made it their life-long mission to reduce, reuse and recycle.
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Category - Endangered Species and Habitats

Winner:
River Ways 85:00 (U.S.A. Washington)
“River Ways” explores the lives of regular working people affected by the issue of whether to remove four dams on the Snake River in Eastern Washington. Environmental groups and fishing interests criticize the dams for their negative impact on salmon populations, but agricultural communities dependent on the dams oppose efforts to remove them. Combining interviews with careful everyday observation, and set against the scenic backdrop of the Pacific Northwest, “River Ways” takes us into the world of tribal and commercial fishermen, wheat farmers, salmon advocates and more. What emerges is a complex portrait of an issue that reaches to the heart of the ideological differences that characterize and divide the Pacific Northwest.
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Katherine Knight Awards:
Unfettering the Falcons 07:15 (U.S.A. Atlanta)
Part road movie, part nature documentary, Unfettering the Falcons questions the false gender identity of the Atlanta Falcons football team via identical twin bird of prey experts who spark a quirky courtship between an American Kestrel (falcon) and a has-been 1991 Toyota Tercel (the “falcon” is a female bird a third stronger and larger than its male counterpart, the “tercel”).
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Wildlifeless 07:00 (U.S.A.)
Haunted by the end of the big game era, Winston Skinner sets out for one final hunt. In search of the dangerous and elusive Bengal Tiger, Winston attempts to recreate the adventure that once was. Yet when violence erupts in the jungle, Winston is faced with the mysterious presence of the creature, which he seeks.
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Fish and Cow 16:15 (U.S.A. Montana)
The Big Hole Valley lies in the southwest corner of Montana. High, cold, and remote, it is home to one of the last surviving populations of a unique and sensitive species of fish, the fluvial Arctic grayling. This film is a story about a group of dedicated ranchers and biologists finding common ground, not only to try and save this fish, but also to try and preserve the ecological health of the Big Hole Valley itself.
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