Idaho Sierra Club's 2022 Virtual Wild & Scenic Film Festival
Live Program: Fri, Jan 21, 7-9pm MT/6-8pm PT
On-Demand (view anytime at your leisure!): through Fri, Jan 28
Film Program:
- River Looters (4 min)
- Common Ground (10 min)
- The Other Side of the River (14 min)
- Becoming Ruby (19 min)
- It's Me, Landon (4 min)
- Return of River clip (River Newe) (7 min)
- Why Salmon Matter (5 min)
- Sierra Club salmon volunteers clip (2 min)
Intermission (10 min)
- Journey of the Salmon preview (Idaho Dance Theatre) (1 min)
- A Mother's Love (3 min)
- Matagi Mālohi: Strong Winds (3 min)
- Here We Stand (11 min)
- The Great Divide (19 min)
- Water Flows Together (11 min)
Film Descriptions:
Water Flows Together: Through the voice of Colleen Cooley, one of the few female Diné (Navajo) river guides on the San Juan River, Water Flows Together elevates the importance of acknowledging Indigenous land in outdoor recreation. The film is a meditation on the challenges Colleen and her community have faced, the kinship she has with the San Juan River, and the unique opportunities her role as a river guide affords as she seeks to create positive change. Filmmaker Contact
River of Return (clip): "I think when you include native communities who have managed these lands, since time immemorial, you're going to come across systems that have been proven to be successful. There was a time where we were living with the salmon as equals and even more so where we considered them to be more important than human beings. I think just having that space and even making some elbow space for native communities to speak and let you know what is important to them, is really a good way to start moving toward meaningful change.” - Jessica Matsaw, Shoshone-Bannock Tribe, River Newe Filmmaker Contact
Becoming Ruby: This is a film about inclusion, identity, and hand-drawn heroes. Becoming Ruby shows that if you can’t find a hero, you can create your own. For mountain biker, skier, and artist Brooklyn Bell, that hand-drawn hero was a comic character named Ruby J. Using Ruby as a role model, Brooklyn set out to “live like her, breathe like her, be unapologetically Black like her,” finding her own identity in a mix of dirt, snow, art, and inclusion. Filmmaker Contact
The Great Divide: In the tiny hamlet of Tooleville, California, a small cadre of Latinx water warriors – regular people living without access to clean water – fight for their right to safe, clean drinking water, despite the unbelievable odds and a system stacked against them. Filmmaker Contact
The Other Side of the River: Homelessness along the Santa Ana River has drastically increased over the past decade near Riverside, California, causing frustration among community members and health concerns for both the people living along the river as well as the river itself. This short documentary explores life along the river and tells the complicated story of activism to save the river. Filmmaker Contact
Matagi Mālohi: Strong Winds: The Pacific Climate Warriors, born out of the low-lying Pacific Islands, are an indigenous and youth lead movement who now have been on the front lines of climate change for decades -- their rally cry is “we are not drowning, we are fighting." In their own words "Matagi Mālohi tells the story of our journey to uplift our people and shape a narrative that paints us not as victims of the climate crisis but as the leaders, the healers, the nurturers, the artists, the gardeners, the growers, the seafarers, and the navigators we are." Filmmaker Contact
Here We Stand: For generations, conservation has been about keeping people from places. Now, Save the Redwoods League and Teresa Baker ask what it would look like for conservation to include all people, even those that normally are in the margins. Filmmaker Contact
Common Ground: Conservation isn't always the common thread between the tribes, ranchers, and government. This film shows how water can bring opposing interests towards finding a Common Ground. Filmmaker Contact
Why Salmon Matter: Learn more about how you can help restore Northwest salmon and support all the people and wildlife who depend on them. Our Northwest Opportunity campaign. Filmmaker Contact
It's me, Landon: Eight-year-old Landon Moise shows us around his favourite forested spots in his home community, Clearwater River Dene Nation. He explains why the environment is important. Filmmaker Contact
River Looters: Three river surfers turned obsessed free divers hunt for lost belongings in the Deschutes River. When not on a quest to reunite people with their lost belongings, they dive for trash. River Looters introduces us to most water logged and shreddy good samaritans in Oregon. Filmmaker Contact
A Mother's Love: In 2020, life came to a grinding halt. Hopefully, in the resultant silence we are able to hear that our planet's whispers have become screams. A Mother's Love, a spoken word piece by actor and activist Lena Georgas and brought to life with the help of director Greg Yaitanes and the musical creations of Bill Barclay, gives voice to those hopes. Filmmaker Contact