Silver City, NM: Join the Gila Conservation Coalition for the Wild and Scenic Film Festival On Tour at the Silco Theater on Saturday, February 2 at 6:30 pm.
The Wild & Scenic Film Festival, now in its 10th year, is a collection of films from the annual festival held the third week of January in Nevada City, CA. Wild & Scenic focuses on films that speak to the environmental concerns and celebrations of our planet. "Films featured at Wild & Scenic give people a sense of place," says Tour Manager, Lori Van Laanen. "In our busy lives, it’s easy to get disconnected from our role in the global ecosystem. When we realize that the change we need in this world begins with us we can start making a difference. Come watch and see!"
Featured at the tour venue in Silver City are films that highlight the beauty and importance of water, wild rivers and watersheds and the community efforts to protect these critical resources. Always funny and entertaining, Charris Ford, star of the film French Fries to Go, will emcee the film festival again this year. Along with local guests, he also will be raffling off lots of cool items from festival national partners and local sponsors. The raffle is free as part of admission. Items to be raffled include a Patagonia messenger bag courtesy of Gila Hike and Bike, Patagonia t-shirts, reusable shopping bags from Sierra Nevada, Osprey day pack, discount subscriptions to Mother Jones, and lots more!
The Wild & Scenic Film Fest On Tour includes a great variety of films. In Chasing Water, photographer Pete McBride follows the Colorado River source to sea and takes an intimate look at the watershed as he attempts to follow the irrigation water that sustains his family’s Colorado ranch, down river to the sea. Traversing 1500 miles and draining seven states, the Colorado River supports over 30 million people across the southwest. It is not the longest or largest U.S. river, but it is one of the most loved and litigated in the world. Today, this resource is depleted and stressed. Follow its path with an artistic, aerial view on a personal journey to understand this national treasure. McBride teamed up with his bush-pilot father to capture unique footage and also shadowed the adventure of Jon Waterman who became the first to paddle the entire length of the river.
"Rivers are Life" is the unifying theme motivating activists in the global movement to protect rivers from the ravages of big dams. A River Runs Through Us offers a personal and hopeful introduction to one of the biggest threats facing many rivers today, as told by the people at the forefront of the global dam-fighting movement. The documentary describes how climate change will affect rivers and dams; what happens to communities affected by large dams, and what kinds of solutions exist that preserve our life-giving waterways while meeting our needs for energy and water.
Mono Lake is one of the most beautiful and productive lakes on the planet, yet excessive water diversions by the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power threatened its ecosystem. A passionate grassroots campaign came to Mono Lake’s defense and through a monumental struggle, won its protection. The course of this historic effort transformed water law in California and forever changed water use in Los Angeles. The Mono Lake Story is a rare environmental success that can inspire and inform the environmental challenges of our time.
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 watershed. Events such as GCC’s annual Gila River Festival are an opportunity for people to appreciate and understand the importance of New Mexico’s last free flowing river and to encourage them to work to preserve this incredible resource. The Wild & Scenic Film Festival shows us through film how communities like ours are working to protect their watersheds and unique landscapes.
The Wild & Scenic Film Festival was started by the watershed advocacy group, the South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL) in 2003. The festival’s namesake is in celebration of SYRCL’s landmark victory to receive “Wild & Scenic” status for 39 miles of the South Yuba River in 1999. The 3-day event features over 100 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 the national tour to over 100 communities nationwide allowing SYRCL to share their success as an environmental group with others organizations. It is building a network of grassroots organizations connected by a common goal of using film to inspire activism.
With the support of their National Partners: Patagonia, CLIF Bar, Osprey Packs, Sierra Nevada Brewing and Mother Jones, the festival can reach an even larger audience in tour venues coast to coast.
Local sponsors of the Silver City Wild & Scenic Film Festival include: Gila Hike and Bike, Gila Resources Information Project, Guadalupe’s, Javalina Coffee House, www.jeffgoinhypnotherapy.com, Leyba & Ingalls Arts, Mary Hotvedt and Bob Garrett, New Mexico Wilderness Alliance, O’Keefe’s Bookshop, Silver City Food Co-op, Stream Dynamics, TheraSpeech, Tom and Martha Cooper, Upper Gila Watershed Alliance, Yada Yada Yarn.
EVENT DETAILS:
Date and Time: February 2, 2013 at 6:30 pm. Doors open at 6:00 pm and shows start at 6:30 pm.
Location Address: Silco Theater, 311 N. Bullard St., Silver City
Ticket Prices: $8/person; $5 for GCC members, $15 for admission plus GCC membership. Tickets can be purchased at the door or in advance at the Gila Conservation Coalition.
Free Raffle: Join in the free raffle for your chance to win a wide variety of cool items, such as a Patagonia messenger bag courtesy of Gila Hike and Bike, t-shirts from Patagonia, a day pack from Osprey, and much more!
Snacks & Refreshments: Provided by Javalina Coffee House, Silver City Food Co-op, and CLIF Bar.
Contact: Allyson Siwik, info@gilaconservation.org, 575.538.8078; www.gilaconservation.org