Wild & Scenic Film Festival On Tour 2018 Program
Here’s a list of films for The Wild & Scenic Film Festival On Tour 2018:
Wednesday, January 24, 2018
Growing Change
Sponsored by: 
Jim Cochran arrived at work before dawn. He walked out into the strawberry fields. As the sun rose and light hit the field, he began to smell chemicals. His eyes watered. His head spun. He started to shake. He had just walked into a field that had been sprayed with pesticides. From this experience, Jim Cochran helped invent the organic strawberry industry. After pioneering and profiting from a healthier crop, he turned his attention to the health of his workers. (USA, 2016, 4 min)
One Hundred Thousand Beating Hearts
Sponsored by:
Hayley Pallister and Lawrence Spence
Director Peter Byck’s short film One Hundred Thousand Beating Hearts tells the story of fourth generation cattleman Will Harris’s evolution from industrial, commodity cowboy to sustainable, humane food producer, whilst breathing new life into a community left behind and forgotten due to, as Will says, the industrialization of agriculture. (USA, 2016, 15 min)
Plastico
Sponsored by:
Beach communities around the world suffer from an abundance of plastic that tragically ends up in the oceans at an alarming rate – over 8 million metric tons per year. Join the founders of the Azulita Project, as they share information on how a small community is making a difference. (Mexico, 2016, 9 min)
Ace and the Desert Dog
Sponsored by:
For his 60th birthday, adventure photographer Ace Kvale and his dog, Genghis Khan, set out for a 60day backpacking trip in Utah’s canyon country. The pair tells the story of their trek, friendship, and Genghis records it on his Desert Dawg Adventure Blawg. (USA, 2015, 9 min)
Water Song
Máxima Acuña, a subsistence farmer in Peru’s northern highlands, stood up to the giant Newmont Mining Corporation over the development of a gold and copper mine on her property. Her work was recognized in 2016 when she received the Goldman Environmental Prize. This short film, narrated by Robert Redford, shows how an ordinary person can affect extraordinary change. (USA, Peru, 2016, 5 min)
A Ghost in the Making: Searching for the Rusty-Patched Bumble Bee
Sponsored by:
Everyone has heard about bee declines, but with so much attention focused on domesticated honeybees, someone has to speak up for the 4,000 species of native bees in North America. Natural history photographer Clay Bolt is on a multi-year quest to tell the stories of our native bees, and one elusive species – the Rusty-patched Bumble Bee – has become his white whale. (USA, 2016, 19 min)
Houston, at What Cost? (Local Film)
Sponsored by:
In Bianca Ibarra’s neighborhood on Houston’s eastside, the smokestacks are simply a given, part of the landscape. This three-minute video details how air pollution damages hearts and lungs and offers ways for young people to help solve the problem. (2017, 3 min)
Native Waters – Rio Grande (Avanyu)
The Wild & Scenic Rio Grande River is the lifeblood of New Mexico. But for Tesuque Pueblo member Louie Hena and his family, the river is more than an office, more than a provider, it is home. In celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act, happening in 2018, Louie urges us all to protect more wild rivers. (USA, 2016, 8 min)
Mindful Vineyards
Amelia Ceja emigrated from Mexico when she was 12 years old to work in Napa Valley as a grape picker. The daughter of agricultural workers, Amelia met and befriended farmworker union founder Cesar Chavez as a child and honors his legacy today by operating a vineyard that prioritizes people and the planet. From farm-to-table she calls for justice in agriculture to protect some of the most vulnerable workers in the nation. (USA, 2016, 4 min)
My Haggan Dream
On the island of Saipan, a young girl’s mysterious dream about a haggan, or green sea turtle, leads her to investigate the sea turtles that live around her home. Join her adventure to find turtles, which leads to a birthday wish. (Northern Mariana Islands, USA, 2016, 8 min)
Thursday, January 25, 2018
Pale Blue Dot
Set to the words of Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot situates human history against the tapestry of the cosmos through an eclectic combination of art styles woven seamlessly together through music and visuals, seeking to remind us that regardless of our differences, we are one species living on Earth. (Singapore, 2014, 4 min)
Think Like a Scientist: Boundaries
Humans construct boundaries — around our homes, our neighborhoods, and our nations — to bring order to a chaotic world. But we rarely consider how these boundaries affect other creatures. Meet conservation photographer Krista Schlyer, who has spent the last seven years documenting the environmental effects of the U.S./Mexico border wall, and biologist Jon Beckmann, who studies how man-made barriers influence the movement of wildlife. Schlyer and Beckmann have seen damaging impacts of the border wall firsthand, but they remain optimistic. Humans probably won’t stop constructing walls and fences any time soon, but planning our boundaries with wildlife in mind can help prevent these structures from causing environmental harm. (USA, 2016, 7 min)
Douglas Tompkins: Wild Legacy
Sponsored by:
Douglas Tompkins was a world-renowned adventurer, entrepreneur, and conservationist. In the early 1990s, Doug sold his part of Esprit and turned his entrepreneurial energies to land and wildlife conservation projects in South America. Over the last 25 years, Tompkins’ efforts have helped secure 4.75 million acres in new protected areas in Chile and Argentina including five new national parks. (USA, 2016, 16 min)
The Last Resort
Sponsored by:
Be inspired by Luis Jorge Rivera Herrera; he led a successful campaign to establish a nature reserve in Puerto Rico’s Northeast Ecological Corridor, a critical nesting ground for the endangered leatherback sea turtle and won the Goldman Environmental Prize for his work in 2016. (USA, 2016, 5 min)
Coral Reef Rescue
Sponsored by:
An upbeat look at a downbeat topic, this film explores coral reefs, which are home to 25% of all marine species and protect the coastlines of more than 100 countries and provide 500 million people with jobs. Their efforts create hope for the future of sustainable coral reefs around the globe. (USA, 2016, 17 min)
Selah: Water from Stone
Sponsored by:
Fifty years ago David Bamberger devoted his life to restoring a neglected and overgrazed ranch in the Texas Hill Country. The result? Water from Stone. By restoring natural ecological functions, David filled hillside aquifers, brought springs back to life, created riparian habitat, and inspired a landscape movement. (USA, 2016, 8 min)
Urban Pocket Prairies (Local Film)
Sponsored by:
Urbanization has reduced the once 600,000 acre Katy Prairie near Houston, Texas to just 200,000 acres affecting many species of wildlife. Now the Katy Prairie Conservancy has partnered with nearly a dozen schools to create pocket prairies. These small urban prairies are helping wildlife as well as children to become healthier, happier and smarter. (2016, 7 min)
Forget Shorter Showers
Would any sane person think dumpster diving would have stopped Hitler, or that composting would have ended slavery or brought about the eight-hour workday; or that dancing around a fire would have helped put in place the Voting Rights Act of 1957 or the Civil Rights Act of 1964? Then why now, with all the world at stake, do so many people retreat into these entirely personal “solutions� (Australia, 2015, 11 min)
Destiny’s Bay
Sponsored by:
Destiny Watford organized her community to prevent construction of the nation’s largest incinerator in a Baltimore neighborhood less than one mile from her high school–and won the Goldman Environmental Prize for her work in 2016. (USA, 2016, 5 min)
The Wild President
Sponsored by:
President Jimmy Carter, an unsung environmental hero, grew up in awe of nature’s wonder. But it wasn’t until he first paddled the Chattooga River’s Bull Sluice did he understand the power of a wild river. In celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act, happening in 2018, President Carter urges all Americans to protect more wild rivers. (USA, 2016, 6 min)
Thank you to our festival sponsor:
