a film about “what grows back”

NOW STREAMING ON POV.ORG

Nalini Nadkarni is a world-renowned ecologist who climbs trees in the rainforest canopy 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.

BETWEEN EARTH & SKY follows Nalini as she prepares for another research climb in Monteverde, Costa Rica, before considering retirement from the field. In the process, she unearths the roots of other disturbances she faced throughout her life, as the daughter of mixed Indian-Jewish immigrant parents who prized high achievement and contribution above all else.

As a child, trees provided a place of solace and safety to Nalini, so much so that she swore an oath to protect them. Now, Nalini is doing the work of untangling the roots of her past and bringing family secrets to light, in order to understand how each impacted her life's course. In an attempt to heal, she revisits the site of her fall on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington, where her past, present, and future converge.

“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, while she explores and revisits the emotional scars of her childhood, as well as the physical scars from a 2015 fall from a tree. Strength and fragility combine to create something new.”

– Eileen Arandiga, Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival

“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

"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

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1. Nalini Nadkarni preparing to climb in BETWEEN EARTH & SKY_Credit Andrew Nadkarni.jpg