A beloved summer tradition, the Central Park Conservancy Film Festival has screened critically acclaimed films in Central Park each August since 2002. This year, it's all about documentaries and ecology.

Register online in advance.

Tuesday, August 16, 2022
The Territory  (PG)(Premiere)—The Territory provides an immersive on-the-ground look at the tireless fight of the Indigenous Uru-eu-wau-wau people against the encroaching deforestation brought by farmers and illegal settlers in the Brazilian Amazon. With awe-inspiring cinematography showcasing the titular landscape and richly textured sound design, the film takes audiences deep into the Uru-eu-wau-wau community and provides unprecedented access to the farmers and settlers illegally burning and clearing the protected Indigenous land. Partially shot by the Uru-eu-wau-wau people, the film relies on vérité footage captured over three years as the community risks their lives to set up their own news media team in the hopes of exposing the truth.

Wednesday, August 17, 2022
America's National Parks (PG)—National Geographic Channel turns its state-of-the-art cameras on America for a close-up of its national parks. More than three years in the making, the eight-part series goes beyond the homegrown beauty to allow viewers to witness moments full of drama, watch stories of life and death, and discover hidden gems in high-tech ways heretofore never presented on TV.

Thursday, August 18, 2022
Fire of Love (PG)—For two decades, a daring French volcanologist couple roamed the planet, chasing eruptions and documenting their discoveries. Ultimately, they lost their lives in a 1991 volcanic explosion, leaving a legacy that forever enriched our knowledge of the natural world.

Friday, August 19, 2022
Jane (PG)–Drawing from over 100 hours of never-before-seen footage that has been tucked away in the National Geographic archives for over 50 years, award-winning director Brett Morgen tells the story of Jane Goodall, a woman whose chimpanzee research challenged the male-dominated scientific consensus of her time and revolutionized our understanding of the natural world.

Gates open at 6:30pm, screenings take place around dusk at Central Park’s Frisbee Hill — the landscape north of Sheep Meadow (mid Park at 69th Street beside Le Pain Quotidien), which is accessible from the east and west sides of the Park at 72nd Street.

Check out our huge compendium of free outdoor movies around NYC!