A Lake in A Desert Finale  closing event will begin with a private screening of NAWI: Dear Future Me, Kenya’s 2025 submission for the Academy Award for Best International Feature. The movie tells the true story of a 13-year-old girl from Turkana who is forced into child marriage and escapes to pursue her education in Nairobi. The film explores themes of tradition and resilience, courage and empowerment. We are especially excited to be able to share this film with you, as this screening offers an exclusive opportunity to see it ahead of its theatrical release! The film is meant to provide the important cultural and environmental grounding for the audience ahead of the discussions to follow.

After the screening we will hear a short talk from the film’s director, Kevin Schmutzler, on the making of such a film, followed by a series of 10-minute talks from scientists and collaborators working in the Turkana Basin, including: Marine Frouin (Geochronologist at Stony Brook University (SBU) & Turkana Basin Institute (TBI)), Tara Smiley, (Evolutionary Ecologist at SBU & TBI), Bob Raynolds (Cartographer at Denver Museum of Nature & Science and International Advisory Board Member TBI), Weisen Shen (Geologist at SBU), and Desmond DeLanty (Design-builder and founder of EcoDepot). We will finish with a Panel Discussion that will include all the speakers as well as MICA faculty and students and explore opportunities of immediate and actionable collaboration, likely taking the form of internships, fellowships, co-authorships, and studios. We are genuinely excited to bring this group together, and specifically together in the context of the incredibly talented MICA community!