River Relief

December 8, 2016

Wild & Scenic Film Festival 2017

Thanks to a generous donation from the Blue Note, we were back in our favorite venue for the 7th Annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival. 

We usually count on horrible February weather to drive our nature loving friends inside to enjoy an afternoon of films with friends, but this year the weather was beautiful. But almost 500 people still showed up and packed the Blue Note! 

Thanks to all of those great attendees, the generosity of our sponsors (check out the list on the right), the fantastic donations of silent auction items from the community, unbelievable homemade treats, our amazing Alpine Shop "box office" and the hard work of our volunteers and the Blue Note staff, the whole event raised $5000 beyond expenses for Missouri River Relief! 

Plus we got to enjoy three hours of fantastic films and the truly wonderful music of Ruth Acuff and Jeff Mueller in the historic Blue Note. What a day! Scroll down for links to watch most of the films. 

Thanks to all of you that made it happen!

Sunday, Feb. 12

The Blue Note
17 N 9th St - Columbia, MO

About the Film Festival

The Wild & Scenic traveling film festival has over 100 venues across the country showing environmental and adventure films that illustrate the Earth's beauty, the challenges facing our planet, and the work communities are doing to protect the environment.

The festival is the brainchild of the South Yuba River Citizens League from Nevada City, CA.

The Missouri River Relief film committee spends a couple months screening and selecting the best films for you! We hope these films might inspire you to take action for the health and beauty of our community!
 

Music by Ruth Acuff

Local legend Ruth Acuff opened the afternoon's festivities. Come early to watch her weave a tapestry of song and strings on her pedal harp before the films begin, and during intermission. With Jeff Mueller. Watch some of Ruth's videos here. 

Film Lineup

Without intending to, we selected a batch of films sharing a general theme. We're calling it "The Power of People to Protect the Planet". It's about the importance of individuals and groups around the world stepping up and affecting change. It's about being the inspiration. It's about the power of images to change the way people think. The power of words to move the world. And the power of water to fundamentally shape our world. It's about you.

Enjoy - 

The World Beneath The Rims

(15 min)  James Q Martin, Meredith Meeks - 2015. Our first two films look at our relationship with the Grand Canyon. In this piece, three artists - photographer Amy S. Martin, writer Kevin Fedarko, and painter Bruce Aiken - share their personal stories of this place and how they are in a constant state of learning to see it.  Story by Kevin Fedarko on his Grand Canyon Thru-Hike in 2016  •  And an interview with him  •  Amy Martin's blog

• Watch the film here
  
  

62 Years

(9 min)  Logan Bockrath - 2015. Ken Brower, son of Sierra Club firebrand David Brower, examines his father's legacy on the Grand Canyon and the way we look at our public land and sacred spaces.  Read an interview with Ken Brower. 

• Watch the film here
  
  

The Forgotten Home of Coffee

(6 min)  Simon Waldron, Sophia Doe, Shaun Spark, Lonelyleap - 2013.  A look at Ethiopia, the source and fragile cradle of the world's coffee industry as climate change accelerates and researchers look for ways to build climate resilience into coffee cultivation and breeding.  Read an article on the subject  •  "Climate and Coffee"   •   "Saving Coffee from Extinction" - BBC

•  Watch the film here
  
  

Water is Life - The Stikine River

(10 min)  Alex Crook, Daven Hafey - 2015.  The Stikine River rises in the mountains of British Columbia and tumbles to the sea through southeast Alaska. This film collects stories from locals on how water forms the heart of the culture, economy and personal lives.  Inside Passage Waterkeeper   •   Story on mine in Stikine watershed

• Watch the film here
  
  

Mother of All Rivers

(9 min.)  Will Parrinello, Mill Valley Film Group - 2015.  Berta Cáceres rallied her indigenous Lenca people to wage a grassroots protest that successfully pressured the government of Honduras and the world’s largest Chinese dam builder, SinoHydro, to withdraw from building the Agua Zarca Dam. Berta was assassinated in her home in 2016. About Berta Cáceres   •   About her organization Copinh

• Watch the film here

 

Berta Cáceres

The Last Dragons

(10 min.)  Jeremy Monroe, David Herasimtschuk - 2015.  An intimate glimpse of the Eastern Hellbender, North America's largest salamander that is struggling to survive in our most pristine Ozark and Appalachian Rivers.  National Geographic article on hellbenders   •   St. Louis Public Radio story on the St. Louis Zoo's Ozark hellbender breeding program

• Watch the film here
  
  

The Accidental Environmentalist

(12 min.)  Kristine Stolakis, Southern Exposure Film Fellowship | 2014 |   John Wathen was just an average guy until coming into contact with toxic chemicals, stumbling upon a video camera, and discovering his passion for protecting Alabama’s waters.  Hurricane Creekkeeper    •   John Wathen's blog   •   John's journal from Standing Rock

• Watch the film here
  
  

Intermission

Defendant 5

(30 min.)  Heidi Lee Douglas , Dark Lake Productions - 2014.  Filmmaker Heidi Lee Douglas goes to Tasmania to make a documentary about the destruction of the island’s ancient forests. As anti-logging protests escalate, logging giant Gunns Ltd. reacts to public pressure by suing Heidi and 19 others for allegedly conspiring to destroy the company’s business. When Heidi discovers Gunns wants to use her footage as evidence to support its claims, she faces a crisis of conscience. Heidi’s response is to turn the camera on herself to document her personal struggle as she goes into battle against a corporation out of control.   TRAILER   •   Film website  •   Behind the scenes footage  •   Daily Mail story on Douglas

Plant for the Planet

(6 min.)  Lynne Cherry - 2015.   Eleven-year-old Felix Finkbeiner from Germany learned about climate change and how trees take up CO2. Inspired by Wangari Maathai, he founded Plant for the Planet which has now planted millions of trees.  Plant for the Planet website  •  Felix addresses the UN  •  Felix on Facebook   •   NASA article on Felix  •   Director Lynne Cherry's website (Lynne is also a children's book author)  Watch more films from the Young Voices for the Planet series of films about children environmental activists

• Watch this film here
  
   

Parker's Top 50 Favorite Things About Rivers

(3 min.)  Skip Armstrong  - 2015.   A kid's eye view of rivers. 

•  Watch this film here

 

Flying Doors Off Over Baja California

(8 min.)  Jeff Litton  - 2014.   Images have the power to save places. National Geographic photographer Ralph Lee Hopkins hops in a LightHawk plane to document the state of Baja California's coast in an effort to protect it.  Read pilot Wil Worthington's Log= Day 1  •  Day 2  •  Day 3  •  Day 4

•  Watch this film here
  
  

Denali

(8 min.)  Ben Knight, Ben Moon, Skip Armstrong, Moonhouse - 2015.  Friendship, loss and a beautiful fight for life.   Read an interview with Ben Moon.

•  Watch this film here
  
  
  

To Slow Down & Breathe

(3 min.)  Grant Thompson - 2014.   The beauty of slacklining is that is can be as introspective as it is explorative. When we’re not moving to run away from ourselves, going out into the wild places of this world can be a movement into our own souls.

•  Watch this film here
  
  
  

Spence Turner: A Life Well Cast

(14 min)   Jim Karpowicz, Tom Newcomb, The Documentary Group - 2016.  Mo. Dept. of Conservation biologist Spence Turner laid the groundwork for a new way to look at wild trout in Missouri. Film sponsored by Conservation Federation of Missouri.  Read "An Iron Man in Chest Waders" - Jim Low's tribute to Spence Turner

• Watch this film here

 

Spence Turner