FILM FESTIVALS
Each year, Wild & Scenic draws top filmmakers, celebrities, leading activists, social innovators, and well-known world adventurers to the historic downtown areas of Nevada City and Grass Valley, California. Considered one of the nation’s premier environmental and adventure film festivals, this year’s films combine stellar filmmaking, beautiful cinematography, and first-rate storytelling to inform, inspire and ignite solutions and possibilities to restore the earth and human communities while creating a positive future for the next generation.
Every year since 2005 after the flagship Wild & Scenic Film Festival ends, and the films hit the road where the On Tour program begins! On Tour enters its 21st season of bringing the inspiration of Wild & Scenic films to communities all over the country. With 125+ Wild & Scenic events a year, our programming now reaches over 40,000 people annually—and now Rogers, Arkansas is on the map!
The Human Side of Plastic: On Deer Isle, Maine, home to one of the world’s most productive lobster ports, warming waters and invisible microplastic pollution threaten a centuries-old way of life. As veteran lobsterman Joel Billings and his daughter Hannah reckon with the possible end of their family’s tradition, neighbor and microplastics researcher Abby Barrows offers a vision for a more sustainable future through plastic-free aquaculture.
Arctic Alchemy: “Arctic Alchemy” follows renowned Alaskan adventurer and climate scientist Roman Dial on a research expedition to find the source of a mysterious phenomenon poisoning watersheds. Along the journey, Roman reckons with fatherhood, personal tragedy, and the power of wilderness to both break us andbring us alive.
Thank You Bees: Asante Nyuki (Thank You, Bees) is a short documentary that follows Jason, a dedicated Kenyan beekeeper, as he travels to Nepal to meet the Gurung honey hunters and witness their ancient tradition of harvesting wild honey from 300-foot cliffs using hanging bamboo ladders. Experiencing this unique cultural practice, he reflects on the vital connection that must exist between bees and humans, whether it be in his apiary in Kenya or in Nepal. Set against the stunning Kenyan and Nepalese landscapes, Asante Nyuki urges viewers to respect and celebrate the essential role bees play in sustaining life across diverse communities and ecosystems.
A Home In The Grass: Since 1970, North America has lost 3 billion birds. As grassland bird populations continue to decline, one conservationist's act of devotion represents hope in a world where natural habitats are disappearing every day.
A Little Story About Forever: This short film about forever unfolds from the POVs of father (Max) and son (Kip) as they attempt to write a book about what forever means. The father feels overwhelmed by all of the threats to forever, and calls an unlikely hero – Mark Ruffalo – to ask for help seeing the big picture.
Beyond Beliefs: A young woman from Cleveland, Ohio earns a scholarship to attend a 4-day river trip through the wild Green River's Gates of Lodore Canyon. The only catch… she doesn't know how to swim and is terrified of water. Join Danielle and her peers on this wonderful journey, and bear witness to her inspiring first-hand account of what it took to go beyond her beliefs about water, and how that expanded the vision for her future.
Forgotten Flavors: Our ancestors knew every edible plant, every healing herb—knowledge we’ve almost entirely lost. Forager Pascal Baudar moves through Southern California’s woodlands and desert with ancestral eyes, gathering what most would overlook. He teaches others to awaken senses dulled by modern life—to taste, smell, and touch their way back to an ancient knowing. He forages wild plants for food and fermentation, hand-harvests clay to craft vessels, creating an extraordinary feast that exists nowhere else. This intimate portrait reveals what we gain when we slow down enough to remember who we once were.
Guardians of the Earth: In Kenya’s wild heart, rangers, Maasai lion guardians, and Samburu women reveal how ancient wisdom and modern conservation unite. Through their courage and traditions, the film shows that protecting wildlife is also protecting culture, land, and the sacred bond between people and the living world.
The Leap Beneath: A lighthearted and entertaining short film about the epic quest of a tiny globular springtail navigating through the soil to find food. Narrated by the one and only Coyote Peterson of Brave Wilderness. This film is a collaboration with Venus Laowa.
Walking The Fringe: Walking the Fringe explores the ecotone of the Sierra Foothills through the senses of three land stewards. In California, 90% of the open space is made up of natural and working landscapes, tended mostly by farmers and ranchers. Influencing how those lands are conserved and restored can have a huge impact. Can blending Western and Indigenous knowledges be the answer?