UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State Sustainability and Penn State’s Water Council will relaunch their "Soundings" water film series for 2023-24 at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 15, with an online screening of "Flood Bound," a film focused on community resilience in the face of flash flooding in the Appalachian region, followed by a post-film panel featuring Penn State faculty and emergency management experts from Vermont.

Launched in 2021 under Penn State Sustainability’s "Intersections" film program banner, "Soundings" explores the many different ways human society interacts with water and helps to highlight Penn State’s leadership in a breadth of water-related fields. To date more than 1,400 attendees have participated in the films and post-film conversations with Penn State faculty experts, government officials, storytellers, and leaders of water nonprofits from around the world.

Marion Abrams’ "Flood Bound" shines a light on the humanity that is required as climate change continues to increase the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. A first-person narrative, the film features the residents of Pittsfield, Vermont, as they band together, neighbor helping neighbor, rebuilding their community in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, a devastating, supposedly “once-in-a-generation,” flooding event in 2011.

The question of how to make Appalachian communities more resilient to floods like the one caused by Hurricane Irene arose again this past summer when Vermont was again struck by devastating flooding, inundating communities with months’ worth of rain in a single day, and when several places in Pennsylvania — including Scranton and Washington’s Crossing — experienced similar climate catastrophes. To address these issues, following the film the Penn State Water Council will host an online expert panel discussion about emergency preparedness, infrastructure resilience, and climate adaptation featuring:

• Andrew Warner, director of Penn State’s Water Initiative/Council in the Institute of Energy and the Environment at Penn State (moderator).
• Kristina Brant, assistant professor of rural sociology at Penn State.
• Andrew L’Roe, planner for the Addison County (Vermont) Regional Planning Commission and volunteer for the Middlebury Fire Department and Municipal Conservation Commission.
• Robert Nicholas, director of the Center for Climate Risk Management, associate research professor of meteorology and atmospheric science, and assistant director and associate research professor in the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute at Penn State.

Since spring 2019, the "Intersections" film program has transformed into a vibrant, community-building series that encourages people and organizations to come together while highlighting how different sustainability challenges and solutions intersect and promoting engagement with the 17 U.N. Sustainable Development Goals as a blueprint for sustainability action. To date, more than 6,000 attendees have joined Penn State Sustainability for more than 45 film screenings highlighting critical sustainability issues. At the same time, Penn State Sustainability has featured more than 100 speakers/post-film panelists, including Oscar-winning filmmakers, global activists, and leading scholars.

Both "Flood Bound" and the post-film panel will screen online via Zoom and are free and open to all, including Penn State's Commonwealth Campuses, alumni, and Pennsylvania communities. Pre-registration is required. Use this link to register for this film as well as upcoming films in the "Intersections" program.

For more information or additional questions, contact Grant Rowe at ger5277@psu.edu.