JOHNSON CITY – The Wild & Scenic Film Festival has been held in downtown Johnson City
for the past four years, but this year, things are different, and planners are taking
the festival to viewers, who can watch from the comfort and safety of their homes
live on Saturday, April 10, at 7 p.m.
Held each January in Nevada City, California, the Wild & Scenic Film Festival celebrates the beauty and wonder of the natural world and inspires audiences to protect it. A fundraiser for the South Yuba River Citizen’s League (SYRCL), the flagship festival provides support fostering the science, advocacy, activism and education that are crucial to keeping that river healthy and beautiful.
Concerned citizens worldwide know the urgency of many environmental crises facing the planet, but most do not know how they can contribute to the fight. Locally, attendees can support their own environmental advocates by attending East Tennessee State University’s Wild & Scenic Film Festival On Tour event on Saturday.
The Festival was started by the SYRCL in 2003 in celebration of the organization’s landmark victory of receiving “Wild & Scenic” status for 39 miles of the South Yuba River in 1999. The five-day event in January features over 150 award-winning films and welcomes over 100 guest speakers, celebrities and activists who bring a human face to the environmental movement.
The home festival kicks off an international tour to communities around the globe, allowing SYRCL to share their success with other organizations. The festival is building a network of grassroots organizations connected by a common goal of using film to inspire activism. With the support of national partners like Peak Design, Hipcamp, EarthJustice, Klean Kanteen and Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., the festival can reach an even larger audience.
Featured in the virtual tour event in Johnson City will be two films by local filmmakers from the Radio, TV and Film division within the ETSU Department of Media and Communication.
“Work Sticks,” a film by Shara Lange, features the work of artist Patrick Dougherty and the volunteers who helped with construction of the stick houses at ETSU in 2013. Also featured will be the film “Redwoods and Daisies” by ETSU graduate Evan Cole Barnes.
The local film festival will take viewers on an adventure through wild outdoor spaces in backyards, through national parks, and into the jungles of Honduras and the Church Forests of Ethiopia.
The festival is an extension of ETSU’s work to inspire people to act on behalf of the environment. Ticket sales for the event will directly benefit the Appalachian Resource Conservation and Development Council, a regional non-profit whose mission is to conserve natural resources and improve rural economies through community leadership and enhanced educational opportunities.
The Wild & Scenic Film Festival for Johnson City is free for students and $5 for the public. Tickets are available at qudio.com/event/etsu. Virtual lobby “doors” open at 6:30 p.m.
For more information, email gogreen@etsu.edu.