Our Team

Hi! I am a German-American urbanist and environmentalist. Because, yes - cities and nature can be compatible! You can read more about my academic background as an urban planner and environmental advocate here. I am also currently the Director of the Environmental Studies concentration at Soka. I loved putting this Ecocinema Learning Cluster together because I believe that films and other new media are crucial for raising awareness about the many environmental challenges we face. On a personal level, reconnecting with nature is a daily necessity for me. So when I am not stuck in front of my laptop writing, watching, researching, prepping for class, or zooming away, you will likely find me out biking, hiking or running somewhere along the LA coastline or in the local mountains.

I am a third-year humanities student focusing on Japanese film and literature. Born in Phoenix, Arizona, I’m an amateur poet just beginning to come in contact with the Arizona art scene. One of the hardest parts about doing classes online is how hard it is for students to share their artistic voices amongst each other. For now, I hope to move onto graduate school and eventually get a PhD (just don’t ask me what in…) after my time at Soka. Although this is my first major foray into the world of ecocinema, I believe that films are one of the best tools we have to not only teach us about ourselves but the world around us. This Learning Cluster has taught me about the struggles to be eco-conscious not just in the United States but around the world. Ultimately, I have realized that the fight for an equitable, ecofriendly world is not just an environmental issue but one that involves social hierarchies, international relations, and ethics. The conversation on the natural world and its place in film has only just begun.

Hello! My name is Alex, and I am a first year planning on concentrating in Social and Behavioral Sciences but have a passion for environmental studies. Growing up in Southern California and having family members who live in Puerto Rico, I have been exposed to nature. In third grade, I had the opportunity to go to the LA Arboretum every other week. There I was exposed to various aspects of nature on land. In Puerto Rico, I have had the opportunity to go scuba diving and explore life under the ocean. This is why I chose to take this cluster; I enjoyed watching films and want to do better to lessen my environmental impact on this planet. On a lighter note, I have a dog and a cat; I enjoy playing soccer and going to amusement parks.

Hello! My name is Ran Watarai. Growing up in Tokyo, I actually had neither enough opportunity to get in touch with nature nor much understanding about environmental issues. I wanted to learn about a field of study that I was not familiar with and like watching films, so this learning cluster’s contents were perfect for me. Looking back at the three weeks, I really enjoyed this learning cluster, and now I can feel a strong connection with nature and increased my interest in the environment. From such my experience, I thought that the role of environmental documentaries is crucial in changing many people’s environmental awareness.

Hi, everyone! I am Taehyeong Kim from South Korea. I experienced nature a lot when I was a child. When I was in elementary school, my grandmother and I visited the mountain behind our village and picked some sweet wildflowers. After we came back home, she cooked me delicious food made from the flowers we collected. At that time, it was okay to eat flowers in the mountain because the environment was not dramatically polluted. However, nowadays, I cannot even imagine making food with mountain wildflowers. By experiencing diverse things related to nature, I naturally become interested in the environment. Moreover, Since I was young, I’ve loved watching nature documentaries. Whenever I watched scary lions, running cheetahs, dramatic survival from predators, and the great apes who act like human beings in documentaries, I became more excited. Thus, this learning cluster, Green Screenings, was perfect for me. I’m so happy that I was able to watch a lot of awesome documentaries and films through this LC. I hope you can also have a wonderful experience with our fancy site. Thank you!