For its 2025-26 series, the Intersections film program is returning with a theme of “What Else Is Possible?”

In times of such rapid change—politically, economically, climatically—uncertainty can be paralyzing, robbing us of the ability to make plans or to envision any kind of future, let alone a hopeful one. For the 2025-26 schoolyear, Sustain Penn State’s public programming offers a welcoming space for students, faculty/staff, alumni, and the community to be able to come together and collectively imagine. Our programming is an invitation to ask: What else is possible? Come join us as we build a community focused on collectively visioning a positive shared future that builds from our strengths and creates a better planet for us all.

To kick off this series, we are offering a collection of short stories about “Connecting to Nature” and what happens when people push beyond their limits and social conventions, get outside, and discover the best versions of themselves. Final selections of films are subject to change, but currently we plan to screen:

• Soundscape, Timmy O’Neal (2023, U.S., 21 min.) — Erik Weihenmayer is a global adventure athlete and author, who has climbed all 7 of the highest continental peaks and rafted the Grand Canyon, among many other feats. He happens to have done all these adventures while blind. Come hear how he has navigated these challenges–literally. Weinhenmayer uses sounds like a human version of bat echolocation to help him perceive the world around him in new ways.
• About Damn Time, Dana Romanoff (2025, U.S., 24 min.) — Rafting the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon is an exciting, rugged feat, filled with Class 5 rapids and requiring an intimate knowledge of the river. For years, it was a man’s world. But a whole generation of women have changed that. Meet the trailblazing oarswomen who navigated wooden dory boats through the Grand Canyon and are passing on their legacy to new generations of women leaders.
• Planetwalker, Dominic Gill, Nadia Gill (2023, U.S.,  31 min.) — John Francis was angry–at humans for bespoiling the environment with oil spills and at himself for being so angry that he wasn’t listening to other people any more. So he made a choice. He stopped using any form of motorized transport and he stopped talking. John became the “Planetwalker,” walking from California to Oregon to Montana to Wisconsin to Washington, D.C. and earning a B.A., master’s, and Ph.D. along the way, while building community and transforming America’s oil spill response policy — all by walking and listening to the world around him.

Following the film there will be a post-film discussion featuring Penn State faculty, students, and alumni. As always, all screenings are free and open to all. Pre-registration is required at this link.