Between earth & sky

25 MINUTES

An ecologist finds an apt metaphor for healing in the rainforests she studies

A towering figure in rainforest biology, the US ecologist Nalini Nadkarni made a name for herself via pioneering studies born of treetop climbs. These achievements, combined with her effervescent personality and community activism, have also made her a celebrated science communicator – indeed, the only ecologist to have a Barbie doll created in their likeness. However, as Between Earth & Sky documents, her achievements have been hard-earned, with roots in a traumatic childhood.

In his rich character study, the US director Andrew Nadkarni, who is Nalini Nadkarni’s nephew, combines archival and contemporary footage to explore his aunt’s past, present and future as her potential retirement looms. With the narrative framed around a 2015 climbing accident in which Nadkarni nearly died, the film finds her still recovering seven years later. Feeling stuck between incarnations of herself, she revisits her past in an attempt to better understand her life’s path, and perhaps even heal. Pairing sweeping shots with intimate storytelling, the film finds an apt metaphor for Nadkarni in the lifeforms she studies, which, appearing indestructible at first glance, must be ceaselessly adaptive to survive.

Director: Andrew Nadkarni

Producer: Swetha Regunathan, Katie Schiller

Website: Between Earth & Sky

Explore more

Two women sitting on a log outdoors, each holding a child, with greenery in the background.

An activist weaves motherhood into her world in this gentle short

Directed by Flavien Kressmann and Sarah Des Rosiers

A blue bowl with quinoa, chickpeas, chopped onions, greens and a wooden spoon on a dark background.

How to adventure beyond the same old foods

Most of us develop comfort zones with food. Expand your palate and discover new flavours, techniques and connections

by Nina Mukerjee Furstenau

Photo of an elderly man speaking at a podium with a microphone onstage, wearing a dark suit and glasses.

James Earl Jones reads Kurt Vonnegut on why art is central to a meaningful life

Video by Letters Live

Photo of two women in a kitchen, one peeling a potato while smiling the other focused on cooking, with a mortar in view.

We’re naturally bad at predicting what will make us happy. Here’s how to adjust

Video by The Well

Black and white close-up photo of a person’s arm showing skin texture and pigment and shadows; protruding ribs are visible behind the arm.

A ghost in limbo

Two decades of anorexia obscured who I was beneath my sickness. Then a stranger saw me

by Miranda Gold

People in a small, well-lit Japanese restaurant or bar, with a menu on the wall and beverages on the counter.

A little Japanese trick for saying ‘no’

If an outright refusal feels rude but you don’t want to have to explain, here’s how to say ‘no’ the Japanese way

by Richard Fisher

Two people lying on a snowy road in winter clothing with a forested landscape in the background.
GRIEF

Frøydis faces an impossible problem – how to grieve a father she hated and loved

Directed by Frøydis Fossli Moe

A Miami Beach police car with flashing lights surrounded by people and photographers at night.

Gun world

Is it possible to feel grief and survivor’s guilt after a mass shooting that didn’t occur?

by Jess Keefe