Ben Eckersley, Writer/Director 

Sloan Grant(s) Received: 2020, Production Award, Columbia University 

Project Type: Short Film 

Genre: Comedy, Drama 

Length: 13 minutes 

Field of Science: Ecology 

Stage: Post-Production 

Synopsis 

Leo is a forest ecologist studying the effect of erratic, warm winters on oak seedlings in the Northeastern US. It’s the end of winter, and he and his undergrad collaborator Daisy need to transport their samples back to the lab. He needs to borrow a car to do so and reluctantly asks his real estate developer father Jerome for help. Jerome only agrees to lend it if he can tag along. Anxious and neurotic about ecology and climate change, the added stress from the presence of his brash dad cause a scientific disaster of Leo’s own making.