Eco Reels – the Climate Charche edition

is a film festival on climate, environment and sustainability conceptualised and presented by the Bengaluru Sustainability Forum (BSF) and Kriti Film Club. This festival was organised under BSF’s Climate Charche series of engagements. The objective was to use films to communicate different experiences and perspectives related to climate change, sustainability and the environment and spark conversations and thoughts with diverse audiences in the city. 

The Film Festival sought to engage students, filmmakers, artists, activists, communities directly impacted by climate change, and a diverse audience passionate about climate justice films. It included film screenings across genres – fiction and documentary features, shorts & animation relevant to the themes of environment, climate change, sustainable development, farming, wildlife and aquatic conservation, and other related issues and concerns that affect the environment. The film screenings were accompanied by interactions and panel discussions with researchers and practitioners on related issues of climate and sustainable development.

We believe it is essential to engage students in these critical conversations, and we are also keeping the festival open to the general public, which would help broaden the reach of the discussions and connect these important issues with a wider audience. Together, Kriti Film Club and Bengaluru Sustainability Forum hope to create a dynamic platform for cultural exchange and education and impact cinema, thus nurturing a deeper appreciation for climate action among the residents of our city.

Scroll below to read more about the in-person and online editions and watch the recordings of the post-screening discussions

Recording of Post – screening discussions

Nature, People and Power

Bengaluru Sustainability Forum and Kriti Film Club, presented the EcoReels: the Climate Charche edition in an online avatar, from 28 Feb to 17 March 2025.

The curation included a mix of films screened at the in-person edition held in January 2025 in Bangalore, and some new ones selected specifically for the online edition. The thoughtful selection of national and international documentaries, animation and fiction cinema focused on climate change, environment and sustainable development issues.

The 4 themes were

• Nature, People & Power
• The Changing Planet
• Flora, Fauna & Habitats
• Community Resilience 

The online edition was also non-commercial, non-ticketed, with OPEN ACCESS FOR ALL.

In-person Festival 

• 4 Days • 23 Films • 4 venues

The Bengaluru Sustainability Forum, in collaboration with the Kriti Film Club, presented the film festival Eco-Reels – the Climate Charche edition; from January 10-13, 2025.

This public, in-person film festival included 23 films, screened over 4 days at 4 different venues across the city to enable wider access – one day at every venue with a mix of new films and a few films repeated across the days. The post-screening discussions saw attending filmmakers along with experts on climate justice issues, environmentalists, community representatives and members of citizen groups. The event was non-commercial, non-ticketed and open to all.

Dates & Venue:

• Friday, 10 January 2025 @Mount Carmel College 
• Saturday, 11 January 2025 @JAIN (deemed-to-be-University)
• Sunday, 12 January 2025 @Gandhi Bhavan
• Monday,13 January 2025 @CHRIST (deemed-to-be-University)

Collaborators

Kriti Film Club is an initiative of KRITI, a development praxis and communication team, a not-for-profit entity, based in New Delhi, with work across India. They have been screening documentary films at least once a month since the year 2000 on a range of issues connected with development, human rights and social attitudes/ trends.

Mount Carmel College, Bengaluru is the forerunner of holistic education envisioning the transformation of students to professionals. They focus on providing students with a conducive environment merged with state-of-the-art facilities and guidance from esteemed lecturers in the pursuit of humanising each student to participate in society as a responsible citizen, dynamic professional, and empathetic human.

JAIN (deemed to be University) is ranked among the top universities in India. Based in Bangalore, it offers a conducive environment for learning, be it academic or extracurricular activities. Known for its emphasis on education, entrepreneurship, research and sports, JAIN (Deemed-to-be University) has some of the best minds in the educational and research fields.

Karnataka Gandhi Smaraka Nidhi is an autonomous state body for furthering the objective of perpetuating the memory and message of Gandhiji to the coming generation. It has housed within its premises various Gandhian constructive institutions such as Karnataka Sarvodaya Mandal, the Sarvodaya Sahithya Samithi, the Harijan Sevak Sangh. This festival will be hosted in Gandhi Bhavan, Bangalore.

CHRIST (deemed to be University) is a multi-disciplinary University which focuses on teaching, research and service offers Bachelor, Master and Doctoral programmes in humanities, social sciences, sciences, commerce, management, engineering, architecture, education, and law  to about 30000+ students.