AUDIENCE AWARD, BEST SHORT DOC - Hot Docs, Palm Springs Film Festival, and InterFilm Berlin | JACKSON WILD
Conservation • Technology • Endangered Species • The Environment • Ecosystems • Climate Change
Date of Completion: 2022 | Run Time: 16 minutes | Language: English | Captions: Yes | Includes: Transcript | Directed & Produced: Josh Izenberg & Brett Marty | Edited: Jen Bradwell | Director of Photography: Phil Briggs
Biologist Tim Shields has watched desert tortoise populations in the Mojave Desert plummet since the 1990s. The latest threat? Ballooning populations of ravens, thanks to increased human activity in the desert. Tired of "taking notes on a quiet catastrophe," Tim quits traditional observational biology in exchange for direct intervention. Building specialized drones, desert rovers, laser cannons, and fake exploding tortoise shells, Tim is waging a technological war on ravens in a last ditch effort to save the species, and prove that innovation, technology, and imagination may be the last hope for saving the planet.
One Film Fan
"Nature documentary filmmaking gets a facelift in a most uniquely entertaining, thought-provoking, and ultimately inspirational way via this wonderfully executed sixteen and a half minute Oscar qualifying short film from the...duo of Josh Izenberg and Brett Marty".
UK Film Review | Chris Buick, Staff Writer
"Nothing short of an inspiring film of ingenuity, tenacity and belief in making a difference."
Bain's Film Reviews | Kyle Bain, Staff Writer
"Eco-Hack is truly brilliant, and I’ve honestly never seen anything like it before."
Take 2 Indie Review | Alexis Grusby, Staff Writer
"Eco-Hack! took on a little-known story that could one day inspire. . . change in our world."
Film Threat | Josiah Teal, Staff Writer
"Eco-Hack! uses sublime wildlife footage...to drive home the need for change, resulting in a powerful emotional appeal throughout. Eco-Hack! is well made. Izenberg and Marty have a clear vision, and the film will raise awareness of the challenges facing the desert tortoise population."
AWARDS
AUDIENCE AWARD, BEST SHORT DOC | Hot Docs
AUDIENCE AWARD for BEST SHORT DOC | Palm Springs International Film Festival ShortFest
AUDIENCE AWARD for BEST SHORT DOC | InterFilm Berlin
2022 Media Awards for Short Form | Jackson Wild
FILM FESTIVALS
Mountainfilm Festival
Crested Butte Film Festival
Edmonton
Mill Valley Film Festival
San Francisco Short Film Festival
Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival
Planet in Focus International Environmental Film Festival
San Diego Film Festival
Chicago International Children's Film Festival
DOC NYC
Borrego Springs Film Festival
Frozen River Film Festival
Wild and Scenic Film Festival
New York WILD Film Festival
Boulder International Film Festival
American Conservation Film Festival
Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital (DCEFF)
Fargo Film Festival
Festival REGARD
Surfrider Film Festival
Cleveland International Film Festival’s FilmSlam®
Les Bois Film Fest
Salute Your Shorts Film Festival
Atlanta Film Festival
International Wildlife Film Festival
All Living Things Environmental Film Festival (ALT EFF)
Swede Fest™ Palm Beach
Virginia Film Festival
Interfilm Berlin Children's Environmental Program
City of Lights Film Festival
Salt Springs Film Festival
Positive Planet Kino at the Zero Waste Berlin Festival
ReFrame Film Festival
Southside Film Festival
SCREENINGS
Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity
Walla Walla Movie Crush
Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema