Directed by Matthew Testa
USA | 2018 | Documentary | 76 min
Film Source: Filmmaker
Sponsors: Frank and Ducky Donath

During his four-decade career as a photographer and explorer, James Balog (Chasing Ice) has focused his lens on the complex relationship between humans and nature. Human activity has now surpassed all other forces shaping our world, and Balog’s work challenges us through breathtaking cinematography to contemplate our place in — and responsibility to — the natural world. The Human Element visits Tangier Island, a fishing community facing the imminent reality of sea level rise threatening their future. We meet Yadira Sanchez and her three children in Denver, Colorado, all of whom attend a special school for children struggling with respiratory issues. Balog embeds with a Cal Fire strike team on the frontlines of the most expensive wildfire in California history, and he ventures deep into Kentucky coal country, meeting unemployed miners finding hope froma new source. Balog argues that the fifth element — the human element — can bring the whole system back into balance. ~OY