tooprecioustomineThe Havasupai of the Grand Canyon fight to protect their drinking water and way of life (Too Precious to Mine)Join the Gila Conservation Coalition for the 8th annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival at WNMU’s Light Hall on Friday, June 28 at 6:30 pm. Grant County Commissioner Harry Browne will be the Master of Ceremonies for an evening of 17 short films, guest speakers, and a free raffle. 

“The Wild & Scenic Film Festival is a natural extension of the Gila Conservation Coalition’s work to inspire people to act on behalf of the Gila River and its wilderness watershed,” says Allyson Siwik, Executive Director of the Gila Conservation Coalition. “The Wild & Scenic Film Festival shows us through film how communities like ours are working together to protect their watersheds, unique landscapes, and the environment, galvanizing us to do the same.”

rupununi2In Guyana, Macushi elders struggle to curb unchecked development of 3 million acres of unrivaled biodiversity (Rupununi: Fight for El Dorado)In keeping with this year’s national tour theme “Where Activism Gets Inspired,” the Silver City film festival will feature two films by local filmmakers. Finding Refuge by Aldo Leopold Charter School student Hawk Fugagli shows how climatic refugia can be used to protect the most resilient Gila landscapes through the worsening global climate change. Change by mother-son team Juniper and Escher Bowers demonstrates how the middle school students at Aldo Leopold Charter School could turn the climate crisis around. 

Other films also tell the stories of how young people are becoming more active to secure a livable environment for their future. In Water from the Mountain, young people in Puerto Rico learn how three small shrimp species high in the El Yunque National Forest clean the water in the river, the sole source of their city’s drinking water. In Think Like a Scientist: Renewal, we watch as a young indigenous woman learns how to scientifically evaluate the restoration of the Elwha River after the largest dam removal in history.

Some of the films showcase how indigenous peoples are coping with the current political turmoil and environmental threats. In Too Precious to Mine, the Havasupai, who have lived at the bottom of the Grand Canyon for centuries, are battling against uranium mines to protect their drinking water and their way of life.  The film Rupununi: Fight for El Dorado, shows how the indigenous Macushi people of Guyana are struggling to preserve 3 million acres of unrivaled biological diversity from unchecked development and habitat destruction.  

water from the mountain 2Students learn the importance of tiny creatures to their drinking water (Water from the Mountain)Local issues will also be reflected in some films, such as Meet the Real Wolf, Hear Our Olympics, and You Can’t Dam Your Way to Paradise. Other films are lighthearted, like March of the Newts, which follows one the funkiest creatures into a gangly gathering of amphibious affection. The 8th Annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival will have something for everyone!

Many thanks to our Sponsors: Center for Biological Diversity, Gila Native Plant Society, Gila Resources Information Project, Southwestern New Mexico Audubon Society, Upper Gila Watershed Alliance, Vicki Allen & Neal Apple, Western Institute for Lifelong Learning (WILL), and Western New Mexico University.

With thanks to the National Partners of the Wild & Scenic Film Festival: CLIF Bar, EarthJustice, Klean Kanteen, Peak Design, and Sierra Nevada Brewing Company.




EVENT DETAILS:

Date and Time: Friday, June 28, 2019.  Doors open at 6:00 pm and show starts at 6:30 pm

Venue Name and Address: WNMU’s Light Hall, 1000 West College Avenue, Silver City

Ticket Prices: $15 at the door; GCC members $12; Admission + GCC membership $20; Students FREE

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