Cognizant Productions presents Video Library

Jesse Locks sits down with “The Women and the Waves” producer Heather Hudson to hear more about her documentary surf film that explores the lives of female surfers who, through the decades, have chosen to paddle head first into the male dominated sport of surfing and found a place of their own. T...

John Franco – Spiritual Leader of Winnemem Wintu TribeMark Franco, Winnemem Wintu, is the Keeper of Ceremony for the Winnemem people. The Winnemem Wintu ("middle river people" or "middle water people") are a band of the Native American Wintu tribe originally located along the lower McCloud River, a...

Mark & Herb Terry – Antarctica ChallengeThe Antarctica Challenge: A Global Warning is a one-hour documentary that goes to the source of the climate change crisis: Antarctica. Brothers Mark and Herb Terry explore first-hand the environmental challenges facing that frozen continent and, by extension,...

Jon Bowermaster – Terra AntarticaJon Bowermaster, a noted oceans expert, award-winning journalist, author, filmmaker, adventurer and six-time grantee of the National Geographic Expeditions Council sits down with Suzanne Warren to talk about his latest film "Terra Antarctica” and share his unique ...

Jesse Locks and Elisa Parker discuss with author Colin Beavan his year-long project in which he, his wife, his two-year-old daughter went off the grid and attempted to live in the middle of New York City with as little environmental impact as possible. Beaven’s experiment with ways of living that m...

Tim DeChristopher made headlines in December 2008, when at the age of 27 he wrestled large parcels of land away from oil companies seeking to use them for mining purposes in Utah. Jesse Locks and Elisa Parker interview the young activist to learn more about the workshops he will lead during the Wild ...

Two feisty Western Shoshone sisters put up a heroic fight for their land rights -and their human rights in the award-winning documentary “American Outrage” by acclaimed filmmakers Beth and George Gage. Carrie and Mary Dann endure terrifying roundups by armed federal marshals in which thousands of...

Meet Shannon Biggs and Kevin Danaher from Global Exchange, an organization that for over twenty years has been working to transform the global economy from profit centered to people centered from currency to community. Jesse Locks learns more about building the Green Economy and the success stories f...

Deborah Lindsay is choosing to lead by example. Her campaign for Pacific Grove City Council was the first every “carbon neutral campaign” ever run by any candidate for any elected position in the US. Her election platform was “Economy, Environment and Equity,” using the permaculture principle...

With his first film, “Oil + Water,” Seth Warren found unexpected success at film festivals in 2008, winning the People’s Choice Award at the Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival and Best Picture at the Jules Verne Adventure Film Festival, where he met world-renowned actor Sir Patrick Stewa...

Filmmaker and journalist Denise Zmekvol was inspired by the Amazon during three documentative trips. She returned to film how the indigenous people were coping with the recent onslaught of forest devastation and industry. She is currently producing a video with Google Earth Outreach to train Indigeno...

Eco-pioneers, the Dervaes family is transforming an ordinary residential lot in Pasadena, California into a verdant oasis in the midst of the city. On their small fifth of an acre they are striving to be a self-sustaining urban homestead complete with bio diesel power, solar energy, and wastewater ma...

In May 2009, a small team of rock climbers including world-renowned writer and climber Majka Burhardt, departed for Namibia with two goals: to find a way up an unexplored face, and to find a way into a deeper understanding of southern Africa. At the heart of their trip lies the question: can adventur...

In 1988, filmmaker Kevin Tomlinson filmed and interviewed a group of back-to-the-land ”hippies”—living off-grid, insulated and isolated from mainstream culture. In 2006, he tracked down his subjects again to find out what had become of their families’ utopian plans and dreams. The film captur...

Is it possible to find fresh, seasonal and locally grown food in an industrialized city like Cleveland, OH? Absolutely! PolyCultures: Food Where We Live is a feature-length documentary movie that portrays the diverse communities around Northeast Ohio coming together to grow a more sustainable and loc...

From our California bubble where we think organic food is everywhere it is shocking to learn that organic only makes up 3.5% of food and beverage sales. WHAT’S ORGANIC ABOUT “ORGANIC?” rings the alarm for the need to develop an ecological consciousness. The film illustrates that the organic foo...

The National Parks: America’s Best Idea is a six-episode series directed by Ken Burns and written and co-produced by Dayton Duncan. Filmed over the course of more than six years at some of nature's most spectacular locales – from Acadia to Yosemite, Yellowstone to the Grand Canyon, the Everglades...

Former Wild & Scenic Film Festival volunteer Ryan Little is using film to bring awareness to the Drive 55 Conservation Project. Founded by Tim Castleman, the bumper sticker campaign encourages people to limit driving speeds to 55 MPH or less to reduce accidents, decrease oil demand and lower CO2 emis...

This documentary chronicles the story of STRAW from its beginning in 1992, when a fourth grade class taught by Laurette, asked what they could do to save endangered species. They decided to help save California Freshwater Shrimp by restoring creekside habitat in the local Stemple Creek watershed. Par...

Seasoned filmmaker Suzan Beraza whose credits also include American Outrage, Troubled Waters and Pick It Up directs BagIT. BagIT chronicles the global production, use, and disposal of plastic bags and other plastics. The film documents the environmental consequences of these products, including the e...

The Story of Cap & Trade is a fast-paced, fact-filled look at the leading climate solution being discussed at Copenhagen and on Capitol Hill. Host Annie Leonard introduces the energy traders and Wall Street financiers at the heart of this scheme and reveals the "devils in the details" in current cap ...

Forever Wild captures the glory of undeveloped, wild places through stunning images and the passionate tales of America’s modern wilderness heroes – volunteers from New Hampshire to California who work to preserve a legacy of wilderness for all of us to enjoy, forever. Director Chelsea Congdon an...

Lynne Cherry is the author and/or illustrator of over thirty award-winning books for children. Her best-selling books such as The Great Kapok Tree and A River Ran Wild teach children to respect the earth. Her books and the movie are inspired by her love of the natural world. Young Voices on Climate C...

Californians recognize the economic, cultural, and intrinsic value of our ocean resources, and support strong, science-based protections like those required by the Marine Life Protection Act.A Sheltered Sea - The Southern Passage highlights the activities taking place in the South Coast Region from P...

In this day and age, when everything is documented and even cell phones have cameras, there is one woman who has no souvenirs or photos of her beloved mother. Meet Elena Bautista, Filipino and 99 years young! In this experimental documentary, Elena reflects on her long life, her mother's death, and h...

River of Renewal tells the story of conflict over the resources of California and Oregon's Klamath Basin. Over the years, different dominant groups have extracted its minerals, trees, and water with disastrous consequences, including the collapse of industries and of wild salmon populations. The film...

Climate change activist May Boeve started young. When she was 4 years old, she dictated a letter to her mother, addressed to then-President George H.W. Bush, asking that he make cruelty to animals, "even bugs," illegal. Since then Boeve has helped her college and many other schools go carbon-neutral,...

Hero to conservationists and villain to hunters, marine environmentalist Paul Watson commits himself 100 percent to his cause. In A Pirate for the Sea, producer, director and narrator Ron Colby explores Watson's beliefs, blunders, and triumphs. Though Watson helped to found Greenpeace Canada, the org...