‘This year we are showing high-impact films that chronicle explorers and pioneers who take great risks to tell truths that need to be told,’ says Janet Cohen, the Festival’s coordinator. ‘It’s inspiring to see ordinary people doing extraordinary things to protect our planet. We’re particularly pleased to run a series of films featuring the famed Goldman Environmental Prize winners – brave people from all around the world, many of whom risk their lives on a daily basis to save the places they treasure,’ says Cohen.
Nevada City hosts the largest film festival of its kind in America, and this year the Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival includes multiple venues, events and the opportunity to mingle with filmmakers. Presented by Patagonia and produced by the South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL), attendees, speakers, and filmmakers will gather from all across the country to take part in this standing-room-only event, January 12 to 14, in downtown Nevada City. More than 4,000 event tickets were sold for last year’s event, with many venues selling out.Among the premieres being showcased this year is adventurer and writer journalist Jon Bowermaster’s recent works. Bowermaster has spent more than 20 years documenting adventures and the environment for publications ranging from Atlantic Monthly, Outside magazine and National Geographic. He will present the West Coast premiere of his film, Birthplace of the Winds, on Saturday, January 13. The movie tracks Bowermaster’s team as they attempt an ambitious goal: to kayak among five volcanic islands rising straight out of the seas, and climb their snowcapped peaks in one of the loneliest and least known spots on Earth (halfway between Russia and Alaska). Success was far from assured in a region where it is common for gales to exceed a hundred miles an hour.
Bowermaster will also be on hand for the West Coast Premiere of Borderland: Sea Kayaking Croatia, which documents his 400-mile kayaking trek through the islands off the coast of Croatia. The journey turned from calm and scenic to adventurous and educational when Bowermaster swam with 600-pound captive tuna and wrestled with the cultural implications of the Adriatic’s burgeoning offshore aquaculture industry.
Premiering many outstanding films is only part of the festival, as downtown Nevada City hosts a spirited welcome with gallery receptions, and opportunities to chat with filmmakers in local cafes and film venues. Like Park City, the home to the Sundance Film Festival, Nevada City offers a scenic and relaxed locale, with plenty of trendy restaurants and shops, adding atmosphere and extra cachet (is that the word you mean?) to the event.
The W&S will screen more than 110 films this year, with speakers in the historic Miners Foundry, Nevada Theatre, Oddfellows Hall, and Masons Hall. Chock-full of World and West Coast Premieres, come be enlightened, entertained and inspired while contributing to the environment.
‘Our theme, ‘Truth, Hope, Action’ sets the tone for the Festival this year. We selected films that not only expose environmental problems and issues, but also offer inspiration and hope for the audience. That’s really what we’re after: inspiring and encouraging further environmental activism’ says Kathy Dotson, Director of the Wild and Scenic Film Festival.
Visit wildandscenicfilmfestival.org for tickets and full schedule.
