Our mission
Stories can move communities toward change.
Sustainable Stories introduces communities to ideas, experiences, and creative work rooted in environmental and social sustainability. We build hopeful momentum for change while supporting filmmakers and artists whose work addresses today’s most pressing challenges.
Why we gather
Film and art make complex questions human.
The festival brings international perspectives, student voices, independent artists, educators, and local communities into shared spaces for viewing, listening, and conversation.
Founded as a university-based sustainability initiative in 2014 and developed into an annual festival beginning in 2021, Sustainable Stories has grown through partnerships with educational, cultural, and environmental organizations.
How it began
From a digital hub to a shared festival.
Michael Brims began developing Sustainable Stories soon after joining the University of Houston–Clear Lake in 2013. With students, he launched sustainable-stories.org in 2014 as a home for digital projects centered on environmental and social sustainability.
The idea for an in-person festival emerged during a kayak trip at Armand Bayou Nature Center with Eric Despard, then Director of Cultural Arts at UHCL. Claudia M. Trujillo-Vargas joined the project in 2014, helping transform the original concept into a sustained collaboration. After years of planning and partnership-building, the first annual Sustainable Stories Film & Arts Festival opened in 2021.
What we do
Create encounters that continue beyond the screen.
Share stories
Present films, video art, immersive media, and physical artworks that illuminate sustainability through lived experience.
Support artists
Provide a juried platform for local and international filmmakers and artists working across forms, cultures, and communities.
Build conversation
Connect audiences, students, artists, educators, and partner organizations through screenings, exhibitions, and dialogue.
How films are selected
A juried, community-focused process.
Open calls invite work across sustainability-related categories. Every submission moves through the same review stages, with mission, artistic strength, relevance, and audience experience guiding the final program.
- 01
Open call
Filmmakers submit through FilmFreeway in response to the published categories, theme, eligibility rules, and deadlines.
- 02
Eligibility review
Festival staff confirm technical requirements and alignment with the festival’s mission and featured topic.
- 03
Community jury
Eligible films are evaluated by a changing jury of community members, environmental professionals, educators, media specialists, artists, and filmmakers.
- 04
Curated program
Final selections balance quality, subject matter, perspectives, formats, available venues, and the experience of each screening program.
Selection does not imply endorsement of every viewpoint expressed in a work. It reflects the festival’s commitment to thoughtful artistic and public dialogue.
Festival commitments
Access, inclusion, and lower-impact events.
These commitments guide venue selection, programming, partnerships, communications, and future festival development.
Make participation possible
- Prioritize ADA-compliant venues for feature screenings and public programs.
- Seek captioned films and event content for Deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences.
- Publish clear venue and access information before events.
- Encourage diverse representation among jurors, volunteers, artists, and speakers.
Reduce the festival’s footprint
- Reduce disposable materials and reuse signage, displays, and promotional resources.
- Prioritize local vendors so festival spending circulates within host communities.
- Promote public transit and lower-impact transportation when practical.
- Build partnerships that connect storytelling with environmental learning and action.
Need an accommodation or access information for an upcoming event? Contact the festival.
Our reach
See how the festival has grown.
Explore six years of submissions, selections, participating countries, regions, and media types.
View festival statistics