Saturday, April 18, 12:00 noon, this virtual event requires advance purchase of a ticket

Columbus International Film Festival (CIFF), the oldest ongoing film festival in the United States, has selected Invisible Hand for its 2020 virtual screening. This documentary, produced by Oscar-nominated actor Mark Ruffalo, unveils the global “Rights of Nature” movement featuring Grant Township, Pennsylvania. In 2014, that town passed a ban on fracking waste injection wells, prompting the state and industry to sue.

“Grant Township has proven against all odds that a community is capable of stronger protections for the environment than state or federal governments,” says the film’s co-director and Ohio native Joshua Pribanic. “By taking a stand and winning, they’ve set a new precedent worldwide on what the rights of nature can accomplish,” Pribanic told Rolling Stone.

The film features never-before-seen clips from Standing Rock, a story that pits the Seneca Nation of Indians against radioactive fracking waste, and key interviews from those involved in Ohio’s Lake Erie Bill of Rights (passed last year in Toledo). The stories share a common solution to confront the dangers brought on by fossil fuels, capitalism, and climate change.

“Recycling, electric cars, and planting trees will not solve the climate crisis because corporations still have more power than people, let alone Nature,” said Troutman and Pribanic. “We must change the fundamental structure of our laws to elevate natural law and communities above corporations.”

“The climate emergency is now and the science is clear,” added Pribanic. “We have less than eight years to change everything we know about our economy, our government, and our laws. This film is about the first step on that path to a livable future. The Rights of Nature are the next stage in the evolution of our democracy.”

Invisible Hand screens at 12pm on Saturday, April 18 in a virtual event. A question-and-answer period with the directors Troutman and Pribanic will follow the show.

For tickets, visit cif-af.designblaze.com/talks/invisible-hand/ and choose “Feature Presentation F” as the film block at checkout.

Hosted by Columbus International Film and Animation Festival.