The Normal Theater and Prairie Rivers Network are excited to bring one of the largest environmental film festivals to Illinois. Now in its second year, the Wild & Scenic Film Festival focuses on 11 films which speak to the environmental concerns and celebrations of our planet. Join us and get energized to work to protect clean water, wildlife habitat, and our rich natural landscapes!
WILD & SCENIC FILM FESTIVAL: The Films
A Letter to Congress: Wallace Stegner’s 1960 letter to Congress about the importance of wilderness is the framework for a new message, one in which our unified voice can help prevent the transfer of our most valuable heritage— our public lands— to private and corporate interests.
A Ghost in the Making: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.
During the Drought:A Kansas Farmer, Michael Thompson, regenerates his soils with no-till, cover-crops and Adaptive Multi-Paddock (AMP) grazing — giving his farm resilience during the severe 2011 and 2012 droughts.
Lost in Light:Lost in Light is a short film on how light pollution affects the view of the night skies. Shot mostly in California, this piece shows how the night sky view gets progressively better as you move away from the lights.
Irreparable Harm:The Tlingit people have called the vibrant coastline of Southeast Alaska home for over 10,000 years and continue to practice a way of life intimately tied to the ocean and the largest remaining temperate rainforest on earth. Now, contamination from industrial mining is threatening the safety of the wild food sources that make Alaska so unique. Irreparable Harm gives powerful voices to the Alaska Native communities and conservation groups standing up to protect the cultural and ecological values that make this magnificent marine ecosystem an irreplaceable treasure.
Great Lakes, Bad Lines:Two Michigan-born adventurers journey fossil-free for 500 miles across Michigans Upper Peninsula along the route of Enbridge Oils Line 5, a 63-year-old pipeline that threatens our inland waters and Great Lakes. Through the lens of adventure, personal stories, and natural beauty, this film highlights the ecosystems and livelihoods that are at risk and inspires all to take action within their own lives.
Wildlife and The Wall:Filmmaker Ben Masters (Unbranded) goes into the heart of the Big Bend, the last true wilderness in the state of Texas, to consider what effects building a border wall might have on wildlife dispersals, migratory corridors, and access to the Rio Grande, the only water source in a harsh desert environment.
Biomimicry:Biomimicry, the practice of looking deeply into nature for solutions to engineering, design and other challenges, has inspired a film about its ground-breaking vision for creating a long-term, sustainable world. This film covers how mimicking nature solves some of our most pressing problems, from reducing carbon emissions to saving water.
Wild Olympics:Follow paddlers Adam and Susan Elliott as they kayak, fish, packraft, and explore the wild rivers of the Olympic Peninsula. The peninsula’s wild rivers provide clean water, world-class recreation, and unmatched opportunities for inspiration and solitude. They bring jobs and economic benefits to local communities and provide critical habitat for salmon, steelhead, and a variety of other fish and wildlife. Wild and Scenic designation–the strongest protection a river can receive–ensures that the free-flowing character, water quality, and outstanding values of these rivers are protected for generations to come.
(unofficial) HISTORY OF THE NATIONAL PARKS:National Parks are hard.
(Films suitable for all ages — Recommended 11+)