This Saturday, Dec. 11, the Border Film Festival—including a panel discussion—takes place at the Loft, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. (3233 E. Speedway Blvd).

This festival is free and sponsored by Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, Coalicion de Derechos Humanos, Sky Island Alliance, Defenders of Wildlife, and No More Deaths.

From the festival press release:

The three films and panel discussion will highlight the perspectives of environmental and human rights organizations, public land managers and private landowners living and working in the border region.

"The Fence," award-winning filmmaker Rory Kennedy's HBO documentary, features candid interviews with Border Patrol agents, ranchers, environmentalists and voices from both sides of the border security debate. Kennedy uses humor to highlight contradictions and politically-driven misinformation, as well as the ineffectiveness and costliness of the controversial border barrier.

Sierra Club's "Wild vs. Wall," produced by local filmmaker Steev Hise, is an overview of the environmental effects of current border policies, including insightful interviews and impressive footage demonstrating the long-term ecological effects of border infrastructure.

Cornell Lab of Ornithology's "Fencing the Border and its Birds" gives an inside perspective on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's concerns about the wall's possible effects on wildlife and protected refuges in south Texas.