ECO FILM FEST

100 students, faculty and community members gathered at USC's first ever Eco Film & Media Arts Festival to watch student's environmentally themed films and engage in an inspiring panel about climate storytelling and activism.

Our panelists were Courtnee Zambrano, a screenwriter and producer who recently worked with Scott Z Burns' in an upcoming climate themed Apple TV show, and Jay Ponti, a grassroots political organizer who has participated in some of the most important movements of the last decade from Occupy Wall Street to Standing Rock.

The panel was moderated by myself, the lead student organizer. We discussed the panelists' career journeys, big need for hopeful and informed climate stories, the challenges of being a young filmmaker and climate emotions while organizing.