SDH Captioned
Grades 10-12, College, Adults
Directed by Andrew Nadkarni
Produced by Swetha Regunathan, Katie Schiller
DVD Purchase $225, Rent $9
Rent $85
US Release Date: 2025
Copyright Date: 2023
DVD ISBN: 1-961192-40-3
Subjects
Biodiversity
Biology
Central America/The Caribbean
Conservation
Earth Science
Ecology
Environment
Environmental Ethics
Forests and Rainforests
Geography
Habitat
Women's Studies
Awards and Festivals
Shortlist, Best Documentary Short Film, Academy Awards®
Grand Jury Prize, Best Short, Big Sky Documentary Film Festival
Audience Award, Best Short, DC Environmental Film Fest
Grand Jury Prize, Best Short, Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival
Best Short, Connecting with Nature Award, NatureTrack Film Festival
Best Storytelling Award, Gorge Impact Film Festival
Best Short, New York Wild Film Festival
Best Short, Monteverde Conservation Film Fest
Best Doc Short, Greenpoint Film Festival
Hot Docs Film Festival
Mountainfilm Festival
Sheffield DocFest
DOC NYC: Short List Shorts
Philadelphia Film Festival
Mill Valley Film Festival
Calgary International Film Festival
Byron Bay International Film Festival
Chagrin Documentary Film Festival
Adelaide Film Festival
Wild & Scenic Film Festival
Lebanese International Film Festival
Sedona International Film Festival
The Martha's Vineyard Film Festival
Rocky Mountain Women's Film Festival
Nantucket Film Festival
Bainbridge Island Film Festival
Port Townsend Film Festival
Sidewalk Film Festival
Santiago Wild Film Festival
CAAMFest
Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival
Indy Shorts International Film Festival
Cervino Cinemountain Festival
Stories Worth Telling Festival
International South Asian Film Festival Canada
Tasveer South Asian Film Festival
Cinema Eye Honors Vidiots Screening
Indie Memphis Film Festival
Cinema Eye Honors DCTV Shortlist Showcase
San Francisco Short Film Showcase
Los Angeles Short Film Showcase
All Living Things Environmental Film Fest
NYC Short Film Showcase
Thomas Edison Film Festival
Academia Film Olomouc
Roving Eye Film Festival
Kriterion Monrovia Film Festival
Bloomberg Green Festival
HollyShorts Film Festival
Wasatch Mountain Film Festival
Hobnobben Film Fest
Nalini Nadkarni pioneered the study of rainforest canopies and shares with us the gift of what she sees. She fell 50 ft and nearly died but continues her devotion to helping us appreciate the wonder of trees.
 |
"Remarkably beautiful, insightful, and powerful" David Foster, Dir. Emeritus, Harvard Forest |
Nalini Nadkarni is a world-renowned forest ecologist and science communicator. She pioneered the study of rainforest canopies as well as the means of reaching them by adapting the techniques of mountain climbing. Her goal was to discover how there could be such an abundance and variety of plant life in the canopy despite the forest's nutrient poor soil. She also wanted to study "what grows back" after an ecological disturbance.
In 2015, her rope snapped on a research climb, and she fell fifty feet from a tree and nearly died. After making a miraculous recovery, Nalini begins to explore a new research subject - herself. In the process, she unearths the roots of other disturbances she faced throughout her life.
More than ever Nalini is deeply committed to public engagement with science. She creates innovative activities and programs to further her passion: raising awareness of the critical importance of trees to life on earth.
Reviews
"Remarkably beautiful, insightful, and powerful, Between Earth and Sky an engaging and personal story of a renowned scientist who seeks to understand nature in the world's treetops and found herself in the process."
David Foster, Director Emeritus of Harvard Forest, Harvard University, Author, Wildlands in New England and Hemlock: A Forest Giant on the Edge
"In Between Earth and Sky we learn not only about Nalini the scientist but about Nalini the woman and her reflections on facing challenges in her life. Her enthusiasm for trees and life is contagious and provides inspiration in these difficult times."
Karen Holl, Professor of Environmental Studies, University of California - Santa Cruz
"There is so much passion, drive, humor, and gorgeous photography packed in this short film that I didn't want it to end."
Joey Moser, Awards Daily
"This is a powerful and beautiful film. Between Earth and Sky is a touching and personal documentary about a remarkable scientist and the unofficial Queen of tree canopy biology. For forty years Nalini Nadkarni has carried out adventurous field work and made stunning discoveries about how trees and their epiphyte communities communicate and share water and nutrients. She is courageously honest about how childhood trauma and a serious injury have shaped the inspiring scientist and human being she is."
Janet Franklin, Professor of Geography, San Diego State University
"Between Earth and Sky takes us on TNC Utah trustee's Nalini Nadkarni's remarkable journey as a pioneering canopy researcher confronting her own resilience after a life-threatening fall. Her exploration of both forest regeneration and personal roots offers a powerful reminder that understanding nature deepens our understanding of ourselves."
Elizabeth Kitchens, Utah State Director, The Nature Conservancy
"Through breathtaking cinematography and dynamic editing, this film sublimely captures the inspirational resilience and bravery of forest ecologist Nalini Nadkarni. The filmmaker weaves Nalini's unyielding quest to heal the planet through the trees of the forest with her own journey: to face and overcome her own deeply personal trauma."
Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Jury
"'The trees were there as my witness,' states world-renowned ecologist Nalini Nadkarni as she reflects on her past, present and future...Strength and fragility combine to create something new."
Eileen Arandiga, Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival
"Nalini Nadkarni is a pioneer in canopy biology as well as a kindhearted, thoughtful, passionate and dedicated educator and mentor. This beautiful film succeeds in transporting the viewer to the majestic and relatively unexplored frontier of the rain forest, the canopy, while also provoking inner reflection as Nalini asks the question - Once all the of elements of my identity associated with achievements, abilities, work and hobbies are removed, who am I, really?"
Sybil Gotsch, Associate Research Professor of Forest Ecophysiology, University of Kentucky
"An intimate portrait of one of our arboreal heroines, Between Earth and Sky reminds us of how a life spent studying trees can be joyful and rewarding. But the film explores a deeper dimension as well: how a life with trees can help us heal from any personal obstacles we might face - from sexual abuse to physical pain."
Joan Maloof, Founder, Old-Growth Forest Network, Author, Nature's Temples: A Natural History of Old-Growth Forests
"A charming film that will get you to fall in love with life and trees and the wonder of the world."
Steve Kopian, Unseen Films
"Amazing and inspiring! Nalini has been a hero of mine throughout my career for her pioneering ecology, but I had no idea just how much of a hero she is until I saw this film!"
Gregory H. Aplet, Senior Forest Scientist, The Wilderness Society
"The challenges that Nalini Nadkarni has faced, recovered from, and stepped beyond are inspirational. Getting to enjoy conversation with and observe her in action is a highly influential opportunity. This is a wonderful story that introduces students to some of the possibilities of the natural resource professions as well as the ultimate adventures available."
Pat Stephens Williams, Professor of Human Dimensions in Natural Resources, Stephen F. Austin State University