The Wild & Scenic Film Festival line-up challenges, inspires, educates and provokes conversation. The selection of films for the 3rd annual event in Montgomery covers a variety of topics including local activism and community engagement, wildlife appreciation, family adventures and inspiration, drinking water protection, exploration of unique characters in the environmental movement and so much more. Take a look at the selected film synopsis below. Click here for more information.

 

FILM NAME	FILM SYNOPSIS
A New View of the Moon	Become reacquainted with awe alongside strangers interacting with a telescope trained on the moon. Watch as Wylie Overstreet takes a telescope around the streets of Los Angeles to give passersby an up-close look at a familiar object: a new view of the moon.
Big World sponsored by our friends at Rojo	As parents, how do we teach our kids that there is a world beyond social media, standardized tests, and soccer practice? Join Eddie Bauer athlete David Morton and his seven-year-old son Thorne on a week-long stand up paddle boarding journey down the Karnali and Bheri Rivers in Western Nepal. "There's a basic paradox to parenting", says David. "You have to keep your kids safe, but you have to teach them to take risks and follow curiosity. Life is undeniably richer with a little bit of daring."
Blue Carbon	"Blue carbon" is carbon that's captured and stored by coastal wetlands, helping to mitigate climate change. This film is about mud and the multiple benefits that estuaries provide for us. "You never go into a wetland and just restore one benefit," says wetlands ecologist John Rybczyk. It improves water quality, provides salmon habitat, protects our shorelines, and also benefits our climate.
Clay Bolt	Clay Bolt is a natural history and conservation photographer for World Wildlife Fund and has been featured in prominent magazines such as National Geographic. Affectionately referred to as the bug guy, Clay explains how and why he focuses on 99% of life on earth that is smaller than your finger.
Climbing out of Disaster	In the immediate aftermath of Puerto Rico's Hurricane Maria, a group of local climbers bands together to use their skills and knowledge for the greater good of the community.
Conviction	After a high-profile bribery scandal led to the convictions of the three powerful conspirators, the community they targeted is left in the dust to find relief from decades of toxic air and soil pollution. Community members in the North Birmingham neighborhoods of Collegeville, Harriman Park and Fairmont tell their personal stories and share their struggles, as they seek a healthier life for the generations of the future.
Creek Sessions	Nature has a rhythm – it just takes one to tune into it. Jess Kilroy – musician, climber, and conservationist – travels to wilderness areas around the West creating music from the natural sounds she finds there, with the goal of sparking people’s love for these wild lands. Creek Sessions follows Jess on a sensory journey to create music in Utah’s Indian Creek, reminding us that wild places are worth protecting not simply for their landscapes, but for their soundscapes too.
Downstream	Following years of intensive fertilizer use on farms, more than half of Iowa's waterways do not meet federal quality standards. Now, an unlikely coalition is calling for stricter controls to clean up the drinking water sources for millions of the state's residents.
Fire Followers - Yosemite Nature Notes	Yosemite botanists search for fire-following flowers that germinate and bloom after a fire, covering the landscape in a beautiful but brief wildflower display that may not return until the next fire.
Flipping the Switch	LeeAnne Walters led a citizens’ movement that tested the tap water in Flint, Michigan, and exposed the Flint water crisis. The results showed that one in six homes had lead levels in water that exceeded the EPA’s safety threshold. Walters’ persistence compelled the local, state, and federal governments to take action and ensure that residents of Flint have access to clean water. Narrated by Robert Redford, Flipping the Switch is part of The New Environmentalists, which illustrates how ordinary people are effecting extraordinary change.
For the Love of Mary	First-time 97-year-old runner, George Etzweiler, completed the race up the northeast's tallest peak, Mount Washington, when he was 69 years old. Despite having a pacemaker, the State College, Pennsylvania resident competes in the grueling 7.6-mile race up nearly 4,700 feet of paved road, breaking his own record each year for the oldest finisher. In addition to his ancient, lucky, green running shorts, Etzweiler carries something else special with him: The memory of his late wife of 68 years, Mary.
Great Old Broads for Wolves	Welcome to the southwest, where the land is wild and the women...might be even wilder. Introducing the Great Old Broads for Wilderness and their fight to keep southwestern Colorado's wilderness an intact and natural environment. These women have come together to find their voice, and now are using it to give these lands a fighting chance.
Hear Our Olympics	The wild Olympic Peninsula is like nowhere else. It has been recognized as a National Park, a wilderness area, an International Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site, and the quietest space in the lower 48. Yet, the park's rare and distinctive soundscape is threatened by new and unnatural noises: Navy electronic warfare training by jet in the skies over the park. Hear Our Olympics examines this threat and the challenges it poses to the park's soundscape as well as to U.S. military veterans.
Into the Black	Many of the ecosystems in Alabama and throughout the southeast evolved with fire. Human ignited “prescribed fire”, also known as controlled burns, are an essential technique to mimic this natural process to maintain and restore critical habitats. With an ever growing population and extensive efforts to restore large areas of native habitats such as longleaf pine, partnerships are critical to provide the capacity necessary to implement fire on the scale needed to accomplish these objectives.
Our National Parks Belong to Everyone. So Why Are They So White?	Only 20 percent of visitors to National Parks are people of color. As the broader conservation movement continues to struggle with diversity and inclusion, many worry that the Trump administration will only make things worse. Watch our video to learn about the troubling history of public lands and to meet the conservationists of color who are trying to change the parks' future.
Something About Little River	There's only one river in North America that flows entirely on top of a mountain -- the Little River in Northeast Alabama. For over 100 years, the Little River Canyon has attracted visitors with its geology, biodiversity, and breathtaking beauty. This film celebrates the Little River and explores how Wild & Scenic designation would benefit the communities along the river. Community members, citizens, artists, business owners, local storytellers, musicians and water protectors in the film all agree this beautiful area deserves protection and the special recognition that comes with it.
Too Precious to Mine	The Havasupai – people of the blue-green waters – have lived at the bottom of the Grand Canyon for centuries. But now, uranium mining on the canyon’s rims is putting the tribe’s drinking water and its way of life at risk. What would you do to protect your home from uranium contamination? “If the Supai water is contaminated, the future of my society, of my people, will disappear.”– Carletta Tilousi, Havasupai Tribal Council
Waters of the U.S.	The current administration is rolling back crucial protections for streams and wetlands across the country in a direct assault on the Clean Water Act. This incredibly beautiful film tells the story of the rivers, streams, and wetlands of Alabama to illustrate the dangers of the proposed regulation. By doing so, it shows the economic benefits, ecological health, and cultural way of life that hang in the balance. For more information, and to take action now, please visit www.ProtectSouthernWater.org
What Does It Take?	The New Environmentalists share a common goal, safeguarding the Earth's natural resources from exploitation and pollution. Narrated by Robert Redford, The New Environmentalists illustrates how ordinary people are effecting extraordinary change.
You Can't Dam Your Way to Paradise	The San Joaquin is one of the most over-allocated rivers in America, and yet plans remain to dam it further. The proposed Temperance Flat Dam threatens to destroy a pristine river gorge for a tiny drop in the bucket. The proposal has recently been denied, but the story lives on as a caution against reckless dams and a call to protect our scenic rivers.
Your Rivers Need You	"The Red River in Kentucky was slated to be dammed in the early 60s and young landowner Joe Bowen supported it. He even gave the speech in favor of the dam against Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas and the Sierra Club. Not anymore. “In 75 years of living, I’ve changed my attitude about this wild river. The river is ours. So if it’s ours, then it’s also our responsibility. I want my great-grandchildren to see what I have seen.” In 1993, the Red River received Wild & Scenic River Designation. "