June 3, 2026
At the Samuel Goldwyn Theater
10:00 AM
APOCALYPSE TO ADAPTATION
Storytelling for What Comes Next
Speakers
Lisa Joy (EP, Fallout, Westworld)
Alison Tatlock (EP/Writer, Pluribus)
Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson (Climate Scientist, Author What If We Get It Right?)
Steph Speirs (Founder, EP, Future in Bloom)
For the last decade, some of the most influential films and shows have helped define how culture emotionally processes instability, uncertainty, and systemic change. From the retro-futurist collapse of Fallout to the civic imagination and systems-driven world building of Pluribus, today’s most resonant near-future stories are less centered on apocalypse and more focused on adaptation: how people rebuild relationships, institutions, communities, and meaning amid a changing world.
This conversation brings together leading showrunners and creators to explore why audiences are increasingly drawn to speculative worlds and how their future visions speak to the very same dilemmas we are dealing with today, including climate change. Is speculative storytelling a form of cultural prototyping? A way to test emotional, ethical, and societal responses before they happen at scale, reflecting the moral and societal decisions our world will have to continue to make moving forward.
These stories reveal the human capacities that endure during periods of disruption: cooperation, humor, reinvention, mutual care, moral clarity, and the ability to imagine new systems when old ones fail. Featuring Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, we will broach: what if these new systems not only helped model adaptation, but helped us “get it right?”
11:00 AM
THE OVERVIEW EFFECT
Speakers
Bill Wolkoff (Writer, Co-EP, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds)
Melissa Navia (Actor, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds)
Manju Bangalore (Astronaut-In-Training & Founder, Operation Period)
Garrett Reisman (Engineer, Former NASA Astronaut)
Antonio Peronace (Executive Director, Space for Humanity)
From the awe-inspiring "Earthrise" photo to iconic sci-fi franchises like Star Trek, the way humanity views the Earth has the power to shift perspectives and forge a blueprint for shared purpose. In this session, space storytellers and experts explore how science and collaboration in storytelling can ignite public imagination and expand ideas of what is possible here on Earth.
12:00 PM
SEEKING COMMON GROUND
Stories to Shape A New Era of Conservation
Speakers
Charles Loi (Host, A Fighting Chance and Climate California)
Benji Backer (Founder, Nature is Nonpartisan)
Scott Shigeoka (Author, SEEK, Creator, Curiosity Mobile)
Nadia Gill (Director/Producer, Encompass Films)
Sacha Spector (Director of Environmental Programs, Doris Duke Foundation)
A new wave of creators is rewriting who belongs in the environmental story, reaching people who care deeply about the places their families call home but who've felt left out or caricatured by the mainstream conversation. They have real stakes in what happens next. Durable environmental action requires nuance and consensus. We'll explore which creators are breaking through authentically, how fuller stories are pulling in the audiences the mainstream is missing, and how this movement can grow the widespread coalition of common ground it needs.
Sponsored by Doris Duke Foundation
2:00 PM
THE ENDGAME
A Live Playthrough of Climate Storylines in Games
Speakers
Erika Ishii (Actor, Host)
Marina Psaros (Founder, Earthworks)
Alan Gershenfeld (President, Co-Founder, E-Line Media)
Taryn Kiekow Heimer (Director, Ocean Energy, Nature, NRDC)
Esteban Gast (Comedian)
A live gameplay experience where storytelling, environmental expertise, and video games collide. Notable gamers and experts come together to demonstrate how some of the world's best games have already seamlessly integrated climate themes, from tone and setting to character design, mechanics, and storylines.
Sponsored by NRDC Rewrite the Future
3:00 PM
GREEN SHIFT: TECHNOLOGIES FOR GOOD
Speakers
JC Bond (Academy Film Editors Branch)
Doug Roland (Academy Short Films Branch)
Meredith Shea (Chief of Membership, Impact and Industry Officer at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences)
The most exciting creative opportunities in film today are happening at the intersection of craft and technology, and many of them are also quietly solving some of the industry's biggest environmental problems. In this panel, Members from various Academy Branches will discuss how they apply these advancements to their craft throughout the production pipeline.
3:30 PM
GLOBAL SPOTLIGHT
India’s Creative Economy, Climate Reality, & Reach
Speakers
Richa Moorjani (Actor, Activist)
Tamseel Hussain (Founder & CEO, PLUC)
Veerabhadran Ramanathan (Climate Scientist, Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego)
India has spent decades developing climate solutions at scale, with a creativity that matches the ambition of its people, adapting, innovating, and building responses to a crisis already reshaping lives across 1.4 billion residents. The Climate Scriptwriting Lab, launched by Pluc.tv and Netflix India, is bringing those solutions to the screen. This conversation explores why India's storytelling tradition is uniquely equipped to carry that weight, what makes Indian stories distinct, why global demand for them is growing, and why the intersection of one of the world's great creative economies with one of its most urgent climate realities is a moment the rest of the world should be paying attention to.
4:00 PM
STORY SOVEREIGNTY
Filmmaker Spotlight
Speakers
Otilia Portillo Padua (Director, Daughters of the Forest)
Quannah ChasingHorse (Land Protector, Fashion Model)
Leah Thomas (Author, The Intersectional Environmentalist)
Meet two filmmakers who are innovating Indigenous cinema: Otilla Portillo Padua, Director of Daughters of the Forest, blends sci-fi and fiction with reality in a format and Quannah ChasingHorse, co-director of a new documentary, Beautiful Resistance, is redefining what climate narratives look like in a race to protect sacred land from extraction. This program frames the critical role Indigenous creatives and climate play in the stories shaping our collective future.
4:30 PM
Leadership Recognition Ceremony
Honorees
Amplifier Award
Quannah ChasingHorse (Land Protector, Fashion Model)
Compass Award
Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, climate expert and author of What If We Get It Right?: Visions of Climate Futures
Institutional Leader Award
Meredith Shea, Chief of Membership, Impact and Industry Officer at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Industry Catalyst Award
Universal Entertainment’s GreenerLight Program
Honoring a company or initiative whose innovative approach to sustainability has sparked industry-wide change.
5:00 PM
ON THE STAND
The People v. Big Meat & Dairy
Performers & Experts
Esteban Gast (Comedian)
Joanna Hausmann (Writer, Comedian)
Milana Vayntrub (Actor, Comedian)
Joey Bragg (Actor, Comedian)
Anna Garcia (Comedian)
Suzie Hicks (Educator, Filmmaker)
Kasaun Wilson (Stand-Up Comedian/Writer)
Rev Dr. Christopher Carter (Associate Professor of Theology, Ecology, and Race at the Methodist Theological School)
Jennifer Jacquet (Professor, University of Miami)
The summit’s comedian lawyers are back for the second edition of the On the Stand mock trial. This time, the meat and dairy industries' messaging tactics are on trial: from the "Got Milk" celebrity campaign that permeated the collective psyche to the current misconceptions clouding public understanding of food and health.
Presented Partnership With Better Food Foundation, Re:wild, & Context Collaborative
6:00 PM
Happy Hour
June 4, 2026
At The Ebell of Los Angeles
9:30 AM
VIRTUAL: WHO SHAPES OUR FUTURE?
Rewriting the narrative of climate, Big Tech and Power
Speakers
Lucy Stone, Founder and Executive Director, Climate Spring
Mad Max. Blade Runner. Black Mirror. What if we stopped seeing dystopian stories as the dominant visions of our future? Climate Spring invites you to challenge these narratives - and the idea that Big Tech's vision of the future is inevitable. Join us for a session exploring how storytelling can connect big ideas about technology and climate to human experience, illuminate solutions, and expand our imagination of what a healthier, fairer future could look and feel like.
Hosted by Climate Spring
1:00 PM
THE COLLIDER: CREATIVES X CLIMATE CAMPAIGNS
Organizations
Earthjustice, Protect The Artic, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
A Collider between Creatives x Climate Campaigns
Urgent climate issues. Expert organizations. One room of creatives ready to build what comes next. The topics on the table: Public Transit/Car Culture, Arctic Oil Leasing, and Support For Science through the lens of the 'Doomsday Glacier'
The session will begin with three organizations presenting short, high-impact updates on what's happening, what's at stake, and what they need.
Following the presentations, attendees will join roundtable discussions led by each organization.
Part One: Ask Me Anything. Open Q&A from participants.
Part Two: Creative Incubator. Creatives work together to develop communication and awareness strategies that can focus people’s attention and get them activated. Leave with new collaborators, a sharper read on urgent climate fights that need creative firepower.
2:00 PM
HOW FOOD TELLS OUR STORIES
Speakers
Tiny Chef (Star, The Tiny Chef Show)
Rachel Larsen (Co-Creator, The Tiny Chef Show)
Jason Kolowski (Co-Creator, The Tiny Chef Show)
Maggie Baird (Actor, Activist)
Carmen Santillan (Founder, Cena Vegan)
Alex Blue Davis (Actor, Grey's Anatomy, Station 19)
Isaias Hernandez (Educator, Founder Queer Brown Vegan)
The food on our plates and the stories we tell are two of the most powerful levers we have for the planet. But how do we connect the two in a way that actually moves people? This conversation brings together plant-based chefs, storytellers, and advocates to explore how transmedia food messaging is shifting culture and, from the internet's tiniest herbivore chef to the frontlines of plant-based food advocacy, and what it looks like when the kitchen and creativity become catalysts for climate action.
Sponsored by Rebel Cheese
3:00 PM
THE PLASTIC DETOX
Speakers
Lauren Bash (Creator, ReLauren)
Josh Murphy (Co-Director, The Plastic Detox)
Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr. (President & CEO, Hip Hop Caucus)
Dr. Jasmine McDonald (Associate Professor of Epidemiology, Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health)
Plastic is everywhere, even inside our bodies. It's harming our health and our communities, making this crisis deeply personal. How can we break up with plastic and reclaim our health? This session spotlights the new Netflix documentary, The Plastic Detox, in an interactive conversation with storytellers, experts, and advocates.
Sponsored by Minderoo Pictures
3:45 PM
GREENLIGHT CALIFORNIA
Why Hollywood's Future Depends on CA's Infrastructure
Speakers
Colleen Bell (Director, CA Film Commission)
Bill Wolkoff (Writer, Co-EP, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds)
Carter Lavin (Co-Founder, Transbay Coalition and Author: If You Want to Win, You've Got to Fight: A Guide to Effective Transportation Advocacy)
Alexandra Pechman (Co-Founder, Stay in LA)
Heather Fipps (Co-Founder, Hollywood Climate Summit)
From greenlighting High Speed Rail development projects to keeping film and TV production in LA, California stands at a pivotal crossroads for the future of its industries. LA's climate infrastructure is directly linked to Hollywood's long-term viability, and this session brings together cross-industry coalitions to imagine and shape what that future could look like.
Sponsored by US High Speed Rail
4:40 PM
FOOD SYSTEM MESSAGING, UNPACKED
Speakers
James Wilks (Producer, The Game Changers)
Kip Andersen (Director, What The Health, Cowspiracy)
Stephanie Soechtig (Director, Poisoned, Producer, Fed Up)
Got Milk, the food pyramid, free range labels, sustainability pledges… What do these all have in common? They were deliberate disinformation strategies backed by decades of Big Industry investment. This conversation with the filmmakers behind The Game Changers, Cowspiracy, What the Health, Fed Up, and Poisoned goes inside how those narratives were built, the backlash that comes with challenging them, and what it takes to make a documentary that actually changes minds in a world increasingly resistant to being changed.
5:00 PM
CHEW ON THIS
Live Documentary Pitch
Competition Judges
James Wilks (Producer, The Game Changers)
Kip Andersen (Director, What The Health, Cowspiracy)
Stephanie Soechtig (Director, Poisoned, Producer, Fed Up)
Maggie Baird (Founder & President, Support+Feed)
A live pitch show down for storytellers brave enough to tackle our broken food system. Take the stage in LA, win up to $50,000 and help us figure out what on earth we’re supposed to be eating.
Sponsored by Who Let the Docs Out
7:00 PM
SCORCHED: Comedy Show
Comedians & Actors
Reggie Watts (Comedian & Musician)
Esteban Gast (Comedian)
Rasheda Crockett (Actor, Comedian)
Andrew Zuber (Magician, TV Writer)
Brittany Bell Surratt (Comedian)
Brad Einstein (Comedian, Writer, Puppeteer)
Chloe Hull, Koyote Manske, Liam Connelly, & Sam Nelson (CU Boulder Performers)
An interactive comedy, sketch, and variety show to close out the 2026 Hollywood Climate Summit!!!
Sponsored by Hip Hop Caucus and Spike Center for Sustainability at CU Boulder
8:00 PM
CLOSING PARTY
HCS 2026 Closing Party!
Drinks, bites, the best vibes!