Renowned ecologist Nalini Nadkarni studies “what grows back” after a disturbance in the rainforest canopy. In 2015, her rope snapped on a research climb, and she fell fifty feet from a tree and nearly died. After making a miraculous recovery, Nalini begins to explore a new research subject – herself.

BETWEEN EARTH & SKY follows Nalini as she prepares for another research climb in Monteverde, Costa Rica, before considering retirement from the field. In the process, she unearths the roots of other disturbances she faced throughout her life, as the daughter of mixed Indian-Jewish immigrant parents who prized high achievement and contribution above all else.

As a child, trees provided a place of solace and safety to Nalini, so much so that she swore an oath to protect them. Now, Nalini is doing the work of untangling the roots of her past and bringing family secrets to light, in order to understand how each impacted her life’s course. In an attempt to heal, she revisits the site of her fall on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington, where her past, present, and future converge.

Running time: 25 minutes

a film by
ANDREW NADKARNI

featuring
NALINI NADKARNI

produced by
SWETHA REGUNATHAN
KATIE SCHILLER

executive producers
CAITLIN MAE BURKE
SU KIM