Within the last twenty years, commercially successful films with an environmentalism theme have been released theatrically and made by the major Hollywood studios. The Annual Environmental Media Awards have been presented by the Environmental Media Association (EMA) since 1991 to the best television episode or film with an environmental message.[1]
| Title |
Theme(s) and subtheme(s) |
Author(s) |
Year(s) |
| The 11th Hour |
Various themes |
Nadia Conners, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Leila Conners Petersen |
2007 |
| Ashes to Honey |
Nuclear power: radiation |
|
2011 |
| Baraka |
Various themes |
Constantine Nicholas and Genevieve Nicholas |
1992 |
| Before Vanishing |
Water pollution: Barada (river) |
|
2005 |
| The Bell of Chernobyl |
Chernobyl nuclear disaster |
Rollan Sergienko |
1987 |
| Bhopal Express |
Air pollution: from a pesticide factory |
Prasoon Pandey and Piyush Pandey |
1999 |
| Biùtiful cauntri |
Pollution: toxic waste dumping in Southern Italy |
|
2007 |
| Black Hole |
Coal mining: Australia |
|
2015 |
| Blue Vinyl |
Pollution: production and disposal of polyvinyl chloride |
Daniel B. Gold and Judith Helfand |
2002 |
| Burning the Future: Coal in America |
Mining: mountaintop removal mining |
David Novack and Richard Hankin |
2008 |
| The Burning Season (1994) |
Forests: Amazon rainforest |
William Mastrosimone |
1994 |
| The Burning Season (2008) |
Forests: deforestation in Indonesia |
Cathy Henkel |
2008 |
| Butterfly |
Environmentalism: resisting clearcutting |
|
2000 |
| Cane Toads: The Conquest |
Introduced species: cane toads in Australia |
Mark Lewis |
2010 |
| Cane Toads: An Unnatural History |
Introduced species: cane toads in Australia |
Mark Lewis |
1988 |
| The Chances of the World Changing |
Endangered species: turtles |
|
2006 |
| Chernobyl Heart |
Chernobyl disaster: acute radiation syndrome |
|
2003 |
| Children of Tsunami: No More Tears |
Natural disasters: 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami |
|
2005 |
| The City Dark |
Light pollution |
|
2011 |
| Climate Refugees |
Climate change: effects on natural resources |
Michael P. Nash |
2010 |
| Clouds of Smoke |
Global warming |
|
|
| The Cove |
Hunting: dolphin drive hunting |
Mark Monroe |
2009 |
| Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret |
Animal husbandry: policies of environmental organizations |
|
2014 |
| Crude (2007) |
Petroleum industry: peak oil and climate change |
Richard Smith |
2007 |
| Crude (2009) |
Petroleum industry: pollution and class action |
Joe Berlinger |
2009 |
| A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash |
Peak oil |
|
2006 |
| Dead Ahead: The Exxon Valdez Disaster |
Petroleum industry: Exxon Valdez oil spill |
|
1992 |
| Deadly Deception: General Electric, Nuclear Weapons and Our Environment |
Energy: nuclear weapons |
|
1991 |
| A Delicate Balance – The Truth |
Diet: effects on health and the natural environment |
Adrianna Scheibner and Aaron Scheibner |
2008 |
| Demain (English: Tomorrow) |
Sustainable communities |
Cyril Dion and Mélanie Laurent |
2015 |
| Dreamland |
Dams: Kárahnjúkar Hydropower Plant in Iceland |
|
2009 |
| Dust to Dust: The Health Effects of 9/11 |
Air pollution: from September 11 attacks |
|
2006 |
| Earth |
Environmental change: effects on three particular species |
Alastair Fothergill, Mark Linfield, and Leslie Megahey |
2007 |
| Earth Days |
Environmentalism: environmental movement in the United States |
Robert Stone |
2009 |
| Eco-Pirate: The Story of Paul Watson |
Hunting: anti-whaling |
|
2011 |
| Elemental |
Water pollution: Ganges River |
|
2012 |
| The End of Eden |
Environmental degradation: cattle ranching |
Rick Lomba |
1986 |
| Fight for the Planet |
Global warming |
|
2009 |
| Flow: For Love of Water |
Water privatization: big business and the natural environment |
|
2008 |
| Food, Inc. |
Agriculture: corporate farming |
|
2009 |
| Forbidden Forest |
Forests: sustainable forest management |
|
2004 |
| Forests for the 21st Century |
Forests: reforestation |
|
2009 |
| The Forgotten District |
Forests: ecotourism in Belize |
|
2008 |
| The Fourth Revolution: Energy |
Energy: renewable energy |
Carl-A. Fechner |
2010 |
| Fractured Land |
Environmentalism: awareness of hydraulic fracturing |
|
2015 |
| The Future of Food |
Agriculture: genetically modified food |
Deborah Koons Garcia |
2004 |
| Global Warming: The Signs and The Science |
Global warming |
|
2005 |
| GMO OMG |
Genetically modified organisms |
|
2013 |
| The Great Global Warming Swindle |
Global warming: climate change denial |
|
2007 |
| The Great Warming |
Global warming: politics of global warming |
|
2006 |
| Haida Gwaii: On the Edge of the World |
General environment of Haida Gwaii |
|
2015 |
| Hinterland Who's Who |
Wildlife |
Environment Canada Wildlife Service and the National Film Board of Canada |
1960s, 1970s, 2000s |
| How to Change the World |
Environmentalism: Greenpeace |
Jerry Rothwell |
2015 |
| Ice and the Sky |
Global warming: Antarctic |
Luc Jacquet |
2015 |
| The Idiot Cycle |
Chemical industry: genetically modified organisms |
Emmanuelle Schick Garcia |
2009 |
| If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front |
Forests: eco-terrorism |
Marshall Curry and Matthew Hamacheck |
2011 |
| If You Love This Planet |
Energy: nuclear weapons |
|
1982 |
| An Inconvenient Truth |
Global warming |
Al Gore |
2006 |
| An Inconvenient Truth...Or Convenient Fiction? |
Global warming |
Steven F. Hayward |
2007 |
| Journey to the Safest Place on Earth |
Radioactive waste |
Edgar Hagen |
2013 |
| Koyaanisqatsi |
Various themes |
|
1982 |
| The Last Paradises: On the Track of Rare Animals |
Endangered species |
Eugen Schuhmacher |
1967 |
| Material Of The Future |
Plastic |
|
2014 |
| The Messenger |
Songbirds: bird conservation |
Su Rynard |
2015 |
| Millennium: Tribal Wisdom and the Modern World (series of videos) |
Various themes |
|
1992 |
| Minamata: The Victims and Their World |
Water pollution: mercury poisoning |
Noriaki Tsuchimoto |
1971 |
| Mountaintop Removal |
Mining: mountaintop removal mining |
|
2007 |
| No Impact Man |
Sustainability: sustainable living |
|
2009 |
| No Pressure |
Climate change mitigation |
Richard Curtis and Franny Armstrong |
2010 |
| Oil on Ice |
Petroleum industry: Arctic Refuge drilling controversy |
Stephen Most |
2004 |
| Oil Sands Karaoke |
Petroleum industry: oil sands of Alberta |
|
2013 |
| On the Line |
Petroleum industry: Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines |
Frank Wolf |
2011 |
| Pandora's Promise |
Nuclear power and climate change |
Robert Stone |
2013 |
| Polluting Paradise |
Waste management: in Turkey |
|
2012 |
| The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil |
Peak oil: anti-consumerism |
|
2006 |
| Powerful: Energy for Everyone |
Energy: renewable energy |
David Chernushenko |
2010 |
| The Redwoods |
Forests: protection of redwoods |
|
1967 |
| Renewal |
Environmentalism: environmental movement in the United States |
|
2008 |
| The Return of Navajo Boy |
Uranium mining in the United States |
|
2000 |
| Revenge of the Electric Car |
Sustainable design: electric cars |
Chris Paine and P.G. Morgan |
2011 |
| Revolution |
Various themes |
Rob Stewart |
2012 |
| Rokkasho Rhapsody |
Nuclear power: radiation |
|
2006 |
| Semper Fi: Always Faithful |
Water pollution: Camp Lejeune water contamination |
|
2011 |
| Sharkwater |
Endangered species: sharks |
Rob Stewart |
2007 |
| The Shiranui Sea |
Water pollution: mercury poisoning |
Noriaki Tsuchimoto |
1975 |
| Shored Up |
Weather: Hurricane Sandy: rising sea level |
|
2013 |
| Silent Storm |
Nuclear weapons testing: radioactive contamination |
Peter Butt |
2003 |
| Spoiled the Movie |
Energy: environmental impact of the energy industry, problems with alternative energy, etc. |
Kevin Miller |
2011 |
| The Story of Stuff |
Product lifecycle management: anti-consumerism |
Annie Leonard |
2007 |
| The Superior Human? |
Speciesism |
Samuel McAnallen |
2012 |
| Surviving the Tsunami - My Atomic Aunt |
Nuclear power: Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster |
|
2013 |
| The Toxic Clouds of 9/11: A Looming Disaster |
Air pollution: from September 11 attacks |
|
2006 |
| Toxic Legacy |
Air pollution: from September 11 attacks |
|
2006 |
| Trash Inc: The Secret Life of Garbage |
Waste management: landfills |
|
2010 |
| The True Cost |
Various themes |
|
2015 |
| Ultimate Tornado |
Tornadoes in the United States |
|
2006 |
| Unacceptable Levels |
Environmental toxicology |
Edward Brown |
2013 |
| Under the Dome |
Air pollution in China |
Chai Jing |
2015 |
| Vanishing of the Bees |
Honey bees: colony collapse disorder |
Maryam Henein, George Langworthy, and James Erskine |
2009 |
| Vanishing Point |
Climate change: Arctic sea ice decline |
Marina Endicott and others |
2012 |
| Virunga |
Wildlife conservation: Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Orlando von Einsiedel |
2014 |
| Voices of Transition |
Agriculture: energy and resource scarcity |
Nils Aguilar |
2012 |
| Walking Through A Minefield |
Uranium mining in Australia |
Cathy Henkel |
1999 |
| Watch |
Forests: clearcutting |
Briana Waters |
2001 |
| Watermark |
Water |
Jennifer Baichwal and Edward Burtynsky |
2013 |
| What a Way to Go: Life at the End of Empire |
Various themes: peak oil, climate change, overpopulation, and species extinction |
Timothy S. Bennett |
2007 |
| What Is the Electric Car? |
Sustainable design: electric cars |
|
2010 |
| White Light/Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki |
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: acute radiation syndrome |
Steven Okazaki |
2007 |
| Who Killed the Electric Car? |
Sustainable design: electric cars and roles of industries and governments |
Chris Paine |
2006 |
| Wind Over Water: The Cape Wind Story |
Energy: Cape Wind |
Ole Tangen Jr. |
2003 |
| Windfall |
Wind power: environmental impact of wind power |
|
2010 |
| The World According to Monsanto |
Agriculture: Monsanto |
Marie-Monique Robin |
2008 |
| Title |
Theme(s) and subtheme(s) |
Author(s) |
Year(s) |
| 2012 |
Natural disasters: 2012 phenomenon |
Harald Kloser and Roland Emmerich |
2009 |
| The Age of Stupid |
Climate change |
Franny Armstrong |
2009 |
| Aftermath |
Nuclear warfare |
Christian McDonald |
2012 |
| Avatar |
Natural resources |
James Cameron |
2009 |
| Birdemic: Shock and Terror |
Global warming |
James Nguyen |
2008 |
| Captain Planet, Ted Turner's animated television series |
Various themes |
|
|
| Carface |
Petroleum industry: car culture |
|
2015 |
| The China Syndrome |
Energy: nuclear meltdown |
Mike Gray, T.S. Cook, and James Bridges |
1979 |
| A Civil Action |
Water pollution: by trichloroethylene |
Steven Zaillian |
1998 |
| Climate Change Denial Disorder |
Climate change denial |
Nicol Paone |
2015 |
| The Day After Tomorrow |
Climate change |
Roland Emmerich and Jeffrey Nachmanoff |
2004 |
| Denmark |
Pollution: water pollution |
|
2010 |
| Earthquake |
Earthquake in Los Angeles |
George Fox and Mario Puzo |
1974 |
| Earthquake in Chile |
Earthquake in Chile |
Helma Sanders-Brahms |
1975 |
| Erin Brockovich |
Energy development: water pollution |
Susannah Grant |
2000 |
| FernGully: The Last Rainforest |
Forests: rainforests |
|
1992 |
| Fire Down Below |
Pollution: from mining |
|
1997 |
| Fly Away Home |
Wildlife: Canada goose |
Bill Lishman, Robert Rodat, and Vince McKewin |
1996 |
| H2O |
Water supply: Kaveri River water dispute in India |
Upendra |
2000 |
| The Happening |
Toxicology |
M. Night Shyamalan |
2008 |
| Happy Feet |
Environment of Antarctica |
Warren Coleman, John Collee, George Miller, and Judy Morris |
2006 |
| Hell and High Water |
Atomic bomb explosion in the Cold War |
Jesse L. Lasky, Jr., Samuel Fuller, and David Hempstead |
1954 |
| An Inconvenient Penguin |
Invasive species |
|
2008 |
| The Lorax |
Forests |
Dr. Seuss |
2012 |
| Muro Ami |
Fishing: illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing |
Marilou Diaz-Abaya |
1999 |
| On Deadly Ground |
Pollution: from petroleum industry |
Ed Horowitz and Robin U. Russin |
1994 |
| Once Upon a Forest |
Forests |
|
1993 |
| Plastic Bag |
Plastic bags |
Ramin Bahrani and Jenni Jenkins |
2009 |
| Safe |
Multiple chemical sensitivity |
Todd Haynes |
1995 |
| San Andreas |
Earthquake in California |
|
2015 |
| Sharknado |
Severe weather and sharks |
Thunder Levin |
2013 |
| Sizzle |
Global warming |
Randy Olson |
2009 |
| Soylent Green |
Natural resources |
Richard Fleischer |
1973 |
| Space Tourists |
Pollution: space debris |
|
2002 |
| Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home |
Wildlife: Humpback whale |
|
1986 |
| Super Comet: After The Impact |
Impact event |
|
2007 |
| Tentacles |
Wildlife: gigantic octopus |
Steven W. Carabatsos, Tito Carpi, Jerome Max, and Sonia Molteni |
1977 |
| WALL-E |
Waste management |
|
2008 |
