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Confluence Film Festival
Join the Academy of Natural Sciences for its third annual Confluence Film Festival.
A month-long environmental film series held each April in celebration of Earth Month, with screenings every Thursday evening. Presented in partnership with BlackStar Projects, cinéSPEAK, the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival and the Philadelphia Latino Arts & Film Festival, Confluence 2026 showcases films that speak to this year’s theme, “Seeding the Future.”
With feature-length films, shorts and documentaries appropriate for adults, the festival is both a call to action and a loving reminder that we don’t have to simply react to the climate crisis; we can actively shape a more just and sustainable future. Rooted in tradition, wonder and possibility, Confluence invites audiences to imagine what’s next. Experience this powerful film program, hear from filmmakers, community organizations and advocates, and learn how you can support and imagine climate resilience for the next seven generations.
Academy Members receive a free Confluence tote bag. Show your membership card at check in to claim yours!
Students can receive $6 tickets available onsite with a valid ID.
This program is supported by The Arcadia Foundation.
April 9
5:30–8:30 p.m.
Programmed by PAAFF (the Philadelphia Asian American Film Foundation)
Schedule of Events
5:30–6:30 p.m. Pre-screening gathering with organizational partners In Dino Hall that will include food, music, and advocacy organizations
6:30–8:30 p.m. Film Program: Screening followed by 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 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 documentary feature film by director Anupama Srinivasan
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