Mini Versions of Wild and Scenic Set for WorldFest
Mini-versions of the Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival tour the country, including a stop very close to home. Consider the ticklers below playing at the “Welcome Stage,” an air conditioned indoor venue at WorldFest (www.WorldFest.net) in Grass Valley:
Friday, July 16, 6 to 7:30 p.m.
“The Edge of the Sea”: Is the edge where the water meets development money? Is there still time for the edge to be where the water meets respect for people – all people? Fishermen and residents act to retain the public access promised to them by law.
“Fun Theory”: (“Piano Staircase” and “Bottle Bank Arcade”): Can people's behavior be changed by injecting fun into the choices they make? Two quick films suggest that fun can make a difference.
“Living Lightly”: Can life worked simply be poetry? A man makes his own scythes. He and his family cut their fields with them and clear yet another example of commitment.
“What is That?”: Can tension arise too easily – about a bird, of all things? An aging father sits outside, next to his adult son. The scene curls into a sigh-provoking, loving circle.
“Flathead Wild”: What does it take to preserve a grand wilderness corridor? A team of photographers play their part, capturing images of a wildlife haven rich in sweeping beauty.
Saturday, July 17, 6 to 7:30 p.m.
The Saturday program weaves more around children, including “V for Volunteers” made by a Nevada City pre-teen and “Young Voices on Climate Change” with its three segments about kids in action.
“A Simple Question” (Activism Award winner, 2010 Wild & Scenic Film Festival): A fourth grader asked what he and his classmates could do to save endangered species. His teacher relentlessly expanded her students' motivation and learning environment.
Hands on, they improved the Stemple Creek watershed. Including the trees they planted, vegetation, birds and other animals thrived, as did a sense of win-win community with landowners. It seems that the endangered California freshwater shrimp has been brought back from the brink of extinction.
Without the zazz and weight that other issue pictures leverage, it's effective storytelling. It's an example that deserves attention. It's about answers that, perhaps, are best heard and implemented when we keep children in the loop.
“Ladybug Swarm” is also part of the Saturday program. This brief video appreciation of nature and the next generation is just plain oh-how-cute. A toddler expands his world with one, two, ten thousand ladybugs.