Wild Virginia presents Wild and Scenic Film Festival in Staunton and Charlottesville

Wild Virginia is proud to be hosting the Patagonia's Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival “On Tour.” The festival spans two evenings and two venues in two cities: Wednesday, March 24 at the Vinegar Hill Theater in Charlottesville, and Thursday, March 25 at the Visulite Cinema in Staunton. Screenings will be at 7pm and tickets are $8. There will be 16 different films, with an entirely different slate of films at each venue.

Wild and Scenic On Tour brings together a selection of films that tell a story about our planet, our beautiful and precious wildlands, and the people of the communities who love and defend them. They open our eyes and hearts to fantastic experiences in remarkable places. They beckon us towards action, highlight issues, and provide solutions.
http://www.charlottesvillepeace.org/node/2133
The Charlottesville show will feature a series of short films, including the Wild and Scenic Festival’s 2009 People’s Choice Award winner, The Last Descent which documents a journey by a group of world-class whitewater kayakers to some of the world's most amazing rivers ... descending them possibly for the last time. The Marsyangdi River of Nepal, the Brahmaputra River in India and the White Nile River in Uganda are all threatened or are in the process of being destroyed by large scale hydroelectric projects. The Last Descent closes in California with the Tuolumne River and the growing movement to restore Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park.

Also showing will be Homegrown Revolution which tells the story of an urban homestead in downtown Pasadena whose1/10 acre garden which has produced 3 tons of organic food over 20 years while incorporating many back-to-basics practices, as well as solar energy and biodiesel. The guest Charlottesville emcee will be Paul Wagner, an Academy Award-winning independent filmmaker who has produced and directed over thirty films during a thirty-year career.

The Staunton show will feature Rita, winner of the 2008 Young Filmmakers Award at the Wild & Scenic Film Festival and Best Family Short from the Boulder Adventure Film Festival. Rita is the true story of a seven-year-old girl who, during one of her family’s expeditions high in the Himalayas of Nepal, befriends a seven-year-old Sherpa girl named Rita. Together they embark on a wild and touching adventure over an 18,000 ft. pass near the base of Mt. Everest. In addition to a variety of other short films, Wild Virginia will be showing Division Street which highlights a new generation of ecologists, engineers, city-planners, and everyday citizens who are transforming the future of the American roads and landscape from pristine roadless areas to concrete jungles. The Staunton films will be introduced by Bruce Dorries and Steve Grands from Mary Baldwin College.

There will be door prizes and a raffle. Admission is $8 each night and advance tickets are available at Blue Ridge Mountain Sports in Charlottesville and Mint Spring Frame Shop in Staunton. Wild Virginia will be offering $10 memberships at the door. This is an event the whole family will love. For more information, see the Wild Virginia website, www.wildvirginia.org or dhannah@wildvirginia.org, or 434-971-1553.

Wild Virginia is a grassroots nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving wild forest ecosystems in Virginia’s National Forests. Wild Virginia would like to thank our Wild and Scenic Film Festival Sponsors: Blue Ridge Mountain Sports, Whole Foods, Nutiva, Patagonia, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Osprey Packs, Tom’s of Maine, Cliff Bars, Integral Yoga Natural Foods, Albemarle Baking Company, Mint Spring Frame Shop and Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine.