Join Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) and Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (Midpen) as we co-host the Wild & Scenic Film Festival — virtually! Those who register will enjoy a two-hour film program that will air live at 7 p.m., Friday, May 21st, and can be watched at any time, on demand through midnight Friday, May 28th. Festival viewers can expect to see award-winning environmentally inspired short films, and have the opportunity to learn more about POST and Midpen’s work here on the Peninsula and in the South Bay.
The Wild & Scenic Film Festival is the largest film festival of its kind, showcasing the best and brightest in environmental and adventure films, and inspiring a love of nature. The event is free and it’s easy to participate — just register below! After you’ve signed up, POST will send you an email in the days before the event with a link and password to watch at 7pm Friday, May 21. You will then have until midnight, Friday, May 28th to view the film program.
This is part of POST’s community event series. These events are open to the general public and POST donors alike, and we hope you will join us! We also curate a separate series of private events for our donor community. Find out more about how you can support POST.
About the Film Festival
Considered one of the nation’s premier environmental and adventure film festivals, Wild & Scenic features award-winning short films about nature, community activism, adventure, conservation, water, energy and climate change, wildlife, environmental justice, agriculture, Native American and indigenous cultures.
The Films
In the Land of My Ancestors
To watch the trailer click HERE.
Beloved Ohlone elder, Ann Marie Sayers, has devoted her life to preserve the stories and culture of her indigenous ancestors. ‘In the Land of My Ancestors’ shines light on the perilous impact of colonization and settler colonialism on Ohlone people in the San Francisco Bay Area. Sayers created a refuge for many indigenous peoples in her ancestral land called the Indian Canyon to reclaim their culture, spirituality, and indigeneity. This film celebrates Sayers’s resiliency and living legacy, and is produced by South Asian photojournalist, Rucha Chitnis.
Pedal Through
To watch the trailer click HERE.
Director-lead Analise Cleopatra had never camped or ridden a bike off the pavement when she decided to plan a week-long mountain biking adventure with an all black female team. Together, they traverse the Oregon backcountry on an adventure full of exploration, curiosity, waterfalls, old growth forest, sparkling starscapes, and deep healing. With raw authenticity, Analise shares all the intimate foibles, fear, fun, and beauty of discovering her place in the outdoors as she leans into uncertainty, accepts support, and trusts herself on this wild ride.
Life of Pie
To watch the trailer click HERE.
In 2002, mountain bikers and entrepreneurs Jen Zeuner and Anne Keller moved to Fruita, Colorado, in search of cheap rent, world-class single track, and free time to ride. Over 15 years later, the two unconventional women have helped reshape one of the state’s most conservative towns, uniting the community through advocacy, inclusivity, and damn good pizza.
Iniskim
To watch the trailer click HERE.
Shot on the real-life Blackfeet buffalo drive and inspired by a true story, ‘Iniskim’ follows a young girl’s journey from trauma to recovery. By reconnecting with the ancient power of the buffalo, the timeless landscape of her ancestors, and the wisdom of her culture, her life is changed forever.
See Animals
This short, animated film shows unwelcome changes in an uncertain future.
24 Leeches
One part family adventure, one part environmental film, 24 Leeches is a tribute to a father’s best friend and adventure partner, his 10-year-old son. This film documents a family canoe adventure to the Slate Islands of Ontario, Canada and more importantly a way of life.
Baked Fish
To watch the trailer click HERE.
What happens if there is so much plastic waste floating in the oceans that the fish disappear? Baked Fish – Peix al forn is an ironic vision of the future.
The Church Forests of Ethiopia
To watch the trailer click HERE.
Over the past century, farming and the needs of a growing population have replaced nearly all of Ethiopia’s old- growth forests with agricultural fields. This film tells the story of the country’s Church Forests–pockets of lush biodiversity that are protected by hundreds of churches “scattered like emerald pearls across the brown sea of farm fields.”
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.
Puri
To watch the trailer click HERE.
With water as the central focus, Puri explores human development and shows the gradual distancing away from Nature and its life cycles. Native leaders, avant-garde scientists, thinkers, and well-known ecologists are interviewed in order to understand their cosmovision and relationship with this vital element. What is more valuable than water? Can we live without it? Puri invites us to reflect and to take charge of our individual actions in order to generate real change and lead us to a new development paradigm.
Uncle Elephant
To watch the trailer click HERE.
This is the story of Tuy Sereivathana (Vathana), Cambodia Program Director of Wild Earth Allies, and his dream to work in the forest and protect elephants. Vathana is internationally recognized for his community-based Asian elephant conservation efforts – he is a Goldman Environmental Prize recipient and a National Geographic Explorer. His work over two decades has improved community well-being and reduced threats to Asian elephants and other wildlife.
(Re)Connecting Wild
To watch the trailer click HERE.
This is the remarkable story of the decade-long effort by the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) and its partners to improve human safety by re-connecting a historic mule deer migration that crosses over both US-93 and I-80 in rural Elko County, Nevada. Witness the wildlife crossing structures along I-80 from construction to the restoration of safe passage for migratory mule deer to more than 1.5 million acres of summer and winter habitat.
Fighting Fire with Fire
In an effort to restore the role of Native people as land stewards and mitigate the threat of wildfires, UC-Davis professor Beth Rose Middleton Manning fires up a hands-on lesson in cultural burning. Tribal Chairman Ron Goode leads students in an immersive experience preparing the land, igniting the fire, and carrying out indigenous traditions that have restored California landscapes for centuries.
Immolation
Wildfire is the end and beginning of a process that has been occurring for millennia. Immolation is a cinematic journey through time that bears witness to this cycle as the land is scorched by flame, then begins the long period of regrowth and recovery. Filmed over the course of several years throughout numerous fire zones in California, this unique short film utilizes several special camera techniques to tell the story of this distinct process of destruction and rebirth.
About the Co-Hosts
Peninsula Open Space Trust protects open space on the Peninsula and in the South Bay for the benefit of all. Since 1977, POST has protected over 80,000 acres in San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz Counties.
Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District is an independent special district in the San Francisco Bay Area that has preserved a regional greenbelt system of over 63,000 acres of public land and manages 26 open space preserves.
