GIANTS RISING

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Awarding-Winning Giants Rising
Directed by the acclaimed Lisa Landers
Monday January 27, 2025

IMBd: Journey into the heart of America’s most iconic forests. GIANTS RISING reveals the secrets and the saga of the coast redwoods—the tallest and among the oldest living beings on Earth.

It’s an epic tale that explores the wonders of these silent giants and our dramatic, ever-evolving relationship with them. Living links to the past, redwoods also hold powers that may play a role in our future, including their ability to withstand fire and capture carbon, to offer clues about longevity, and even to enhance our own well-being.

How do they do it—and how will redwoods keep working their magic as they’re pushed to their limits?

Through the voices of biologists, artists, Native peoples and others racing to understand and safeguard these trees, GIANTS RISING reveals the scientific wonders of redwoods, our deep cultural ties to them, and efforts to help these iconic forests overcome the legacy of logging that nearly wiped them out. It’s a story that offers lessons about resilience and connection, and the promise of solutions that will help us ALL rise up from the past and face the challenges that lay ahead.

LISA LANDERS: For more than two decades, Lisa has been developing and creating award-winning programs for television and museums such as the Smithsonian Channel, PBS/KQED, National Geographic Television, Discovery, the American Museum of Natural History, and Mexico City’s Papalote Museo del Niño. We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to showcase Lisa’s work through our Monthly Film Festival.

SPECIAL GUEST Opening Remarks: SUPERVISOR JAMES WALKINSHAW is a lifelong resident of northern Virginia with over 15 years of public sector experience. He began his second term on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in January 2024 and serves as Chairman of the Environmental Committee and the Legislative Committee. During his first term, he advocated for the Fairfax County Plastic Bag Tax and initiatives to phase out gas-powered lawn equipment. He continues to focus on aligning transportation plans with climate change efforts and improving energy efficiency and natural resources in the County.

OUR AWESOME PANEL:

• BRIAN KEIGHTLEY has served as the Director of the Urban Forest Management Division for Fairfax County since 2018.
• JIM MCGLONE  is retired from 17 years as an Urban Forest Conservationist with the Virginia Department of Forestry in Northern Virginia.
• INES NEDELCOVIC is a Virginia Master Naturalist, who specializes in invasive removal.
• MADDIE BRIGHT, Executive Director, Earth Sangha.

MODERATOR:

ELISA SOLOMON is the Project Coordinator at the Fairfax Food Council. She holds a Master of Public Health degree with a concentration in food security and nutrition.

EVENT SPONSOR: Climate Action NOW (CAN) 501c3. EVENT PARTNERS: Network NOVA, Trace – The Zero Waste Store, Climate & Clean Energy Working Group, and Go Electric DMV.

BOOK SEATS NOW before theater reaches capacity!