2024 Wild & Scenic Film Fest
The evening will feature a showing of about 90 minutes of inspirational, environmental-themed short films from the Wild and Scenic Film Festival. There will be local organizations present, a raffle, and refreshments available.
More information coming soon. To learn more about the festival, visit www.wildandscenicfilmfestival.org. Proceeds from the event fund our work stewarding and monitoring Worcester's wild places. SELECTED FILMS
FILM PROGRAM 1.Brave Girl Mark Pedri (Director), Carrie McCarthy (Producer) | 2022 | 8 min Brave Girl is a strong young adventurer, who with the help of her grandpa is beginning her journey of finding out what it takes to climb mountains. Even though she’s only 6, she has an unwavering ambition to climb the biggest mountains in the world, starting with the ones in her backyard in Wyoming. 2. Flowing Christine Sonvilla (Producer, Director, Videographer), Marc Graf (Producer, Director, Videographer) | 2022 | 4 min The river itself speaks about its dream of flowing wilder and freer again. Dams, weirs and other obstacles disrupt the natural functioning of rivers and are detrimental to migrating fish, other river wildlife, and ultimately us humans. The good news: We can change this. Obsolete stone and concrete barriers can be removed, thereby helping river ecosystems to bounce back to full vibrating life! 3. Biopixels Kristina Dutton (Director, Producer, Composer, Imaging), Arnaud Martin (Producer, Scientific Advisor, Imaging), Brandon McFarland (Animator, Editor), Nate Kinsella (Composer), Nipam Patel (Scientific Advisor, Imaging) | 2022 | 3 min Biopixels explores the world of evolutionary biology on the microscopic scale. Using the latest light microscope technology, butterfly wings become micro-mosaics. Butterflies and moths comprise 12% of all species known to man (180,000 species!), and their seemingly endless biodiversity is visually translated on their wings through color and pattern variation. The images in this film have not been altered but were animated to demonstrate both subtle and dramatic evolutionary development and variation. 4. Chicas al Agua Liz McGregor (Producer/Director), Ashley Peel (Executive Producer), Josiah Roe & Felipe Zanotti (Directors of Photography), Felipe Zanotti (Editor), Melanie Kurtz (Co-Producer), Stacie Wunsch (Co-Producer) | 2022 | 18 min You can count the number of female paddlers in Futaleufú, Chile on one hand… and they want to change that. After many riverside matés and floating conversations, the idea to create a kayak course for local teenage girls was hatched. Thanks to a committed group of women, what started as a dream is now an inspirational contribution to the community. 5. The Tundra Christopher Paetkau (Executive Producer & Cinematographer), Trevor Gill (Producer & Cinematographer), Adam Gualtieri (Writer & Editor) | 2023 | 3 min Canada has the second-most wilderness on the planet. We grew up in between the city and backcountry influenced by what we love – downtowns, outdoor hockey, polar bears, the cabin, hip hop, skate culture, and outside misadventures. But, our creative inspiration always connects back to a simple source: the wild. Antoni Gaudi, architect of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona said: “Nothing is art if it does not come from nature.” Desert. Forest. Ocean. Mountain. Each offers a different opportunity for inspiration. But, our first love is The Tundra. This is our ode to it. 6. Soundscape Timmy ONeill (Director), Sarah Steele (Producer), Dane Henry (Editor), Mikey Schaeffer (Cinematography) | 2023 | 14 min Soundscape features Erik Weihenmayer, a global adventure athlete and author who is fully blind, as he ascends a massive alpine rock face deep in the Sierra Nevada. Using expert camera work and emotive, novel animation to bring to life a concept by adaptive climbing pioneer Timmy ONeill, the film is a surprising and soulful adventure. 7. Driving the Sweep Gregory Cairns (Dirctor, Producer) Katie Veteto (Actor) | 2023 | 10 min Few river guides ever get the chance to drive Idaho’s Iconic sweep boat. Driving Sweep follows Katie Veteto as she learns how to “drive sweep” down the Middle Fork of the Salmon River. She’s known the rapids and the river. Now, she is learning to drive a 4,000-lb sweep down steep, rocky rapids. 8. Bad Bugs Bryn Wright | 2021 | 2 min 10-year-old Bryn made a claymation movie about the importance of using “natural solutions for your bug problems” – something she’s passionate about. The idea came after one of her “grub hunting” sessions (she loves gathering grubs for the birds and lizards). Bryn loves the environment and all creatures, but also makes a point to clarify that “My movie is not violent… it’s just the circle of life.” 9. On in and Under the Sava Rok Rozman (Director and Script Writer) Rožle Bregar (Director, Filmer, Editor) Balkan River Defence (Producer) and Leeway Collective (Producer) | 2022 | 5 min Armed with a raft, snorkels and flippers, four friends drift down Slovenia’s Sava River with one mission: find the elusive finned-monsters that dwell in the deep in order to help protect the river from dams. 10. I am the Nature Taliesin Black-Brown (Director), Ramiro Vargas Chumpí Washikiat (Producer), Helena Sardinha (Producer), Rafael Thomaseto (Producer) | 2023 | 5 min I AM THE NATURE is a poetic documentary honoring the philosophy and cultural expression of the Achuar people from the Amazon rainforest in Ecuador. Narrated by Chumpí Washikiat, a local leader, the movie dives into the insights of a man who has walked between worlds, echoing ideas of unity, empathy and harmony. 11. The Bear Coast Andrew Ackerman (Director), Nick Grossman (Producer), Tim Kaminski (Editor) | 2023 | 17 min Tucked among towering mountains and pristine rivers on the Alaska Peninsula is a unique stretch of habitat: Alaska’s Bear Coast, home to the greatest density of wild brown bears in the world. The fractured, disconnected landscape of the national and state park systems exposes these bears to many threats, like mining, logging, hunting, oil and gas extraction, and climate change. This film centers on a diverse cast of characters to explore contentious environmental issues that have real, lived impacts for Alaska Peninsula residents and bear populations alike. 12. Rock Pool Waltz Marlon Denning | 2021 | 8 min The Rock Pool Waltz centres around a boys affinity with nature which helps to ease his worries and loneliness during the COVID lockdown. This leads him to an incredible friendship with an unlikely creature from the ocean. This inspiring film brings awareness to our connection with nature and the importance of caring for our environment and the amazing creatures we share this world with. |
LOCATION
Ghosh Science & Technology Building Worcester State University 486 Chandler Street Worcester, MA 01602, USA Click for Directions ADMISSION Adults: $10, Children: $5. Admission includes 1 FREE Raffle Ticket (Additional tickets sold on site) SPONSORED BY:
O'Hara-Buthray Associates
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