Ark (1970) written and directed by Rolf Forsberg. I saw this short environmental film in grade school. It left an indelible impression on me. It was set in the near future (our present day, most likely) This old man had a greenhouse and the Earth was very polluted. The greenhouse was full of life, animals and pants. Eventually, the neighbors destroyed it. Very dystopian. It was the first film to make me ecologically aware and has been with me ever since.
The other film that made a great impression on me was The Snow Goose (1971) It starred Richard Harris and Jenny Agutter. It was a made for TV film off of the book of the same name. Sadly neither of these films are available on video tape or DVD. It was about a young girl who rescues a snow goose and the man nurses it back to health. Later he rescues soldiers from Dunkirk and is killed doing so.
I could probably write a great deal more about these movies. Both were very powerful and I remember them to this day. Ark was shown to us in grade school. It’s hard to say exactly when or how old I was, but it was sometime between 1971 and 1977. I certainly saw it before Star Wars. The Snow Goose was a Hallmark Hall of Fame film.