Wild and Scenic Film Festival

The Wild & Scenic Film Festival is coming to Surly Brewing Company in Minneapolis!

Hosted by the Wild Rivers Conservancy, this night of film aims to inspire outdoor recreation and a love for nature. This year’s film selection will encourage festival-goers to find their place outdoors and learn more about what they can do to save our threatened planet. Grab a brew and settle in for a night of fun and exploration!

Doors will open at 6PM and films will start at 6:30PM.

This event is made possible in part by Stantec, Royal Credit Union, and Surly Brewing Company.

Giveaway prizes sponsored by: Aqua Bound, Simms, Patagonia, St. Croix Rods, and Cafe Wren

So what’s the film line-up? We have fun night of nine curated films covering research, climate, and outdoor adventure. Films include the following:

• One Star Reviews – They say National Parks are America’s greatest idea. Some of the most beautiful and sacred places in all the world. Well, for some people…there’s still room for improvement!
• A Fly Fishing Refugee – A Polish dissident discovers the true reason rivers and salmon figure so prominently in his life.
• A Baffin Vacation – Erik Boomer and Sarah McNair-Landry set off on a bold multi-sport 45 day expedition traveling through the remote landscape of Baffin Island in search of stunning cliffs to climb and unexplored rivers to whitewater kayak.
• Song of the Hermit – The hermit thrush’s song has been a magical part of a visit to Big Basin Redwoods State Park. Researcher Allison R.P. Nelson and collaborators are working to better understand the subspecies that breeds along coastal California and identify impacts that the 2020 CZU Lightning Complex Fire had on the park’s population of thrushes.
• Like a River – Artist and climber Jeremy Collins has had a long and loving relationship with the desert canyons of the American southwest. In this short film, he describes his passion for three canyons in particular as he creates a new mural that combines them on paper. Captured with cutting edge robotic technology and featuring stunning timelapse imagery of Grand Canyon, Black Canyon, and Zion Canyon.
• Bear Witness: Subarctic – We see so many images every day. The question is, can an image still make people care? This film is about sea ice loss and its impact on polar bear populations in Canada. As sea ice shrinks to record lows and polar bears spend more time on land, a photographer sets out to document what increased interactions between bears and people mean for communities living in the North. In pursuit of an image that might still stir us to act, we all become witnesses to the consequences of a warming world.
• Kayak – On a peaceful summer day, a dad takes his baby son on a kayak day trip. Between the challenges of a first river outing and the baby’s whims the father will not have a relaxing day, especially when an eagle joins the adventure.
• Breaking Trail – Emily Ford sets out with Diggins, a borrowed sled dog, to become the first woman and person of color to thru-hike the 1,200-mile Ice Age Trail in winter. As the journey through subzero temperatures tests her physical and mental endurance, Emily and her canine protector develop an unbreakable bond as they embrace the unexpected kindness of strangers and discover they’ve become figureheads in the movement to make the outdoors more accessible for everyone.
• Yuba is Heart – Forty years ago, the South Yuba River Citizens League began caring for the South Yuba River by advocating for dam removal and gaining Wild and Scenic protection. Today, their work encompasses the entire Yuba River watershed – from the Sierra crest to the valley floor. As the organization looks towards the next forty years, community members reflect on the future of their work in the face of climate change and protecting the river for future generations. Posed as a love letter to the river and the community that surrounds it, Yuba is the Heart considers what it means to love and be loved by a river.

Cost: $15 / ticket

$25 / ticket with a drink included

Purchase Tickets

Interested in sponsorship? Contact Bethany Cox at bcox@wildriversconservancy.org or 715.483.3300 ex 22

Wild and Scenic Film Festival Trailer