Wild & Scenic FilmFestival begins Friday
The Mendocino Land Trust is proud to again host the Wild & Scenic Film Festival on Friday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. The festival, now in its 18th year, features a collection of films which speak to environmental concerns and celebrate our planet and its natural resources.
Due to the ongoing pandemic, this year’s festival will be entirely virtual, with an online presentation of all films and an interactive chatroom on Oct. 16. All 14 films will also be available to ticket- buyers for online viewing at any time through Oct. 20.
For those living near Fort Bragg and Mendocino, there will be a dinner-anda- movie option that includes two meals prepared by Cucina Verona, a bottle of wine, and admission to the event. Tickets can be purchased online at www. qudio.com/event/mlt.
The Wild & Scenic Film Festival was started by a watershed advocacy group, the South Yuba River Citizens League, in 2003. It is
held the third week of January in Nevada City, Calif. The five- day event features more than 150 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 international tour to communities around the globe, allowing the Yuba River group to share it with other organizations.
The Mendocino Land Trust’s event will feature a curated selection of 14 of the top short films from this year’s festival, which are together titled Saving Places. The selections ex
plore the need to preserve our wild places — from the coast and mountains to the desert and alpine meadows — and offer solutions for making that happen. The festival will also include several shorts produced by the Mendocino Land Trust, highlighting projects and individuals that exemplify the mission of the organization.
Among MLT’s video offerings will be a never-before- seen film spotlighting the much- anticipated Noyo River Redwoods project. The total run time for the festival is around two hours. During the Oct. 16 live event, there will be an interactive chat session with Conrad Kramer, newly hired executive director of the Land Trust.
The festival is a natural extension of Mendocino Land Trust’s work to inspire people to act on behalf of the environment. Formed in 1976, the Land Trust is dedicated to providing public access to the coast and protecting the Mendocino County region’s farmlands and forests, wildlife habitat, open space, scenic vistas and water sheds.
A huge thank you goes out to all the sponsors of this year’s festival. Local business sponsors include the Skunk Train, Fetzer Winery, the Wildflower Inn, Unbeaten Path Tours & Yoga, Mendocino Solar Service, Kopia Business Images and Mendo Litho.
Individual sponsors include Chuck Greenberg, Masha Grohman, Claire Ellis, Diana Wiedemann, Terry N. Gross, Lorrie Lagasse, Chet Anderson and Richard Strom. National sponsors include Peak Design, Klean Kanteen, Earthjustice, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company and Hipcamp.