PHILADELPHIA, March 12, 2026— The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University (the Academy) is excited to announce the lineup for its third annual Confluence Film Festival showcasing environmentally focused films. The festival will take place throughout Earth Month (April) in partnership with BlackStar Projects, cinéSPEAK, Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival (PAAFF) and Philadelphia Latino Arts and Film Festival (PHLAFF). This year's festival, supported by the Arcadia Foundation, focuses on the theme, “Seeding the Future” with films that encourage viewers to actively shape a more just and sustainable future.

“Each year of the Confluence film festival, our community and audience expand and the festival’s roots sink deeper into our partnerships and our purpose. The festival brings together filmmakers, artists, organizers, scientists and audiences under one roof to share a vision for a sustainable future, and we couldn’t imagine a more fulfilling way to recognize Earth Month,” said Molly Gross, Public Programs Manager at the Academy.

Confluence takes place each Thursday in April from 5:30–8:30 p.m., with Opening Night beginning at 5 p.m. Tickets are $10 per evening. Each program begins with a pre-screening gathering in Dinosaur Hall featuring local community partners, food vendors, and environmental organizations, followed by a curated lineup of feature-length, short, and documentary films. The evening also offers opportunities to hear directly from filmmakers, community-based leaders, and advocates—and to learn how you can support and advance the next generation of climate resilience.

The 2026 Confluence Film Festival line-up will include:

5 – 6:30 p.m. Opening Night Celebration with vibraphonist Hudson River, live painting by Manuela Guillén (who also contributed the poster artwork for this year’s festival), light refreshments, cash bar and advocacy organizations in Dinosaur Hall.

6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Screening and Q & A “Botany of Nations” (2026, 10 min.) a short documentary by dir. Cass Gardiner, Botany of Nations reframes the plants collected on the Lewis and Clark expedition to reveal a hidden history of the United States rooted in Indigenous stewardship, native food sovereignty and a radical rethinking of botany and nationhood. The film is in connection with the Academy’s Botany of Nations exhibition, opening March 28.

“MUNDURUKUYÜ – The Forest Of The Fish Women” (2025, 75 min.) a documentary feature film by dirs. Aldira Akay, Beka Munduruku and Rilcélia Akay. On the banks of the Tapajós River in the Amazon, the forest of fish women reflects Munduruku mythology, where humans, at the origin of the world, transformed into forest, plants and animals. In the daily life of the Sawre Muybu village, the spirits of the forest are not only ancestral spiritual forces, but part of the family.

Post-Screening Q&A with Gabriella Watson-Burkett (Filmmaker & Founder of Inti Media) and Cass Gardiner

"We are thrilled to collaborate with the Confluence Film Festival for the third year. We are especially excited to open the festival with two films that illuminate Indigeneity, land sovereignty, and anti-colonial resistance. These stories are vital in this political moment," said Sarah Mueller, Founder & Executive Director of cinéSPEAK.

Thursday, April 9: Presented by PAAFF (the Philadelphia Asian American Film Foundation)

5:30–6:30 p.m. Meet Up in Dinosaur Hall 6:30–8:30 p.m. Screening and Q & A

“Conference of the Moths” (2024, 8 min.) a short animation directed and animated by Samhita Sunya. The film is a 2-D paper cut-out stop-motion silhouette-animation film that is both a gentle parody and an homage to the 12th-century Persian epic poem “The Conference of the Birds.” Drawing out classical Indo-Persian motifs of light and darkness, of the moth and the flame, the original epic’s Wise Hoopoe returns to once again impart lessons on love, care, and connection for our current day and age.

“Nocturnes” (2024, 83 min.) a feature documentary by directors Anupama Srinivasan and Anirban Dutta. In the dark of night, two curious observers shine a light on this secret universe. Together, they are on an expedition to decode these nocturnal creatures in a remote ecological “hot spot” on the border of India and Bhutan. The result is a deeply immersive film that transports audiences to a rarely seen place and urges us all to look more closely at the hidden interconnections of the natural world.

Q&A with Samhita Sunya, director of Conference of the Moths and Academy Entomologist Greg Cowper, moderated by Arzhang Zafar, PAAFF’s Festival & Programming Director

“PAAFF is honored to be invited to curate another year of programming at Confluence. The main feature in this year’s program highlights the efforts being taken by researchers outside the West to better understand our place in and impact on the natural world, and both films shine a light on the vital significance of creatures we might otherwise ignore. Insect lovers, this one’s for you,” said Zafar.

Thursday, April 16: Presented by BlackStar Projects

5:30–6:30 p.m. Meet Up in Dinosaur Hall
6:30–8:30 p.m. Screening

“Seeds” (2025, 123 min.) a documentary feature film by dir. Brittany Shyne. Seeds is a portrait of centennial farmers in the American South. Using lyrical black and white imagery, this meditative film examines the decline of generational Black farmers and the significance of owning land.

Thursday, April 23: Presented by PHLAFF

5:30–6:30 p.m. Meet Up in Dinosaur Hall
6:30–8:30 p.m. Screening and Q & A

“Hasta la Raíz” (2024, 15 min.) a short historic fiction film by dir. Nuria Schettino González. In 1856, at a Mexican rancho in Los Angeles, a Tongva woman fights for her land and daughter when the ranchero's wife leaves to defend her own land grant.

“El Tren y la Península” (2023, 88 min.) a documentary feature by dirs. Sky Richards and Andreas Kruger Foncerrada. The Train and the Peninsula is an intimate portrait of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula as the controversial railroad megaproject known as the "Maya Train" is being built. A cinematic journey along the projected route of the train takes us on an immersive and epic journey across the peninsula, exposing the environmental and social consequences of the development model imposed in the region.

“PHLAFF is thrilled to return to Confluence for our third year. This year’s festival is especially meaningful as it coincides with the15th season of PHLAFF. We’re proud to present these two films with Confluence, both of which reflect the deep significance of land and the profound ways sociopolitical forces impact our relationship to it. At this moment in time, stories like these feel particularly urgent—just as vital as the many powerful voices being showcased across this year’s Confluence program,” said Kirsten Senske, Senior Programmer for PHLAFF.

For more information or to purchase tickets to the Confluence Film Festival, please visit the festival's web page. To set up interviews with the festival organizers and filmmakers or request press tickets to any night of the festival, contact Kaitlyn Foti Kalosy at the email address below.