The 2021 Wild & Scenic Film Fest At-A-Glance

The 2021 Wild and Scenic Film Festival has an incredible selection of films that will inspire you, take you to new places, and introduce you to new ways of seeing the world. Through films like River’s End that focus on the local California water crisis to The Church Forests of Ethiopia that takes viewers into some of the country’s last remaining forests to Pushed Up the Mountain that explores the rural reaches of China to follow the migrating rhododendron, festival goers are given access to places, habitats, and people from all over the world.  With over 100 films to choose from over the course of 11 days, the most difficult choice will be what to watch.

Below, we have listed a few films we would like to highlight that inspire and inform action and adventure. Please join us in exploring the world from the comfort of your living room.

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Explore the Films

Public Trust
96 minutes | United States | 2020

In a time of growing income inequality in America, there is one asset that remains in the hands of the American people: the 640 million acres of America’s Public Lands. Given its status as the last large-scale public asset on the planet, powerful forces have aligned to attempt the largest land grab in modern history, rob Americans of this unique birthright, and make modern day vassals of the American people.

https://youtu.be/jsKMTAaj_wQhttps://vimeo.com/377676805

Chehalis: A Watershed Moment
60 minutes | United States | 2020

Climate change and a legacy of human impact has reshaped Washington’s Chehalis River and the people living in the watershed. Told by the people grappling with the very decisions that steer the fate of this fragile river, its salmon, and their communities, this film explores the intersection of social, cultural, economic, and environmental values that are increasingly re-defined by new climate realities.

The Last Ice
83 minutes | United States | 2019

As the sea ice between Canada and Greenland melts, the outside world sees unprecedented opportunity. Oil and gas deposits, faster shipping routes, tourism, and fishing all provide financial incentive to exploit the newly opened waters. But for more than 100,000 Inuit who live in the Arctic, on and around the frozen ocean, an entire way of life is at stake. Development here threatens to upset the balance between their communities, land and wildlife, leaving the future of this region and their culture increasingly uncertain. 

Free as Can Be
31 minutes | United States | 2020

When Jordan Cannon, a young climber infatuated with climbing history, meets climbing legend Mark Hudon, a Yosemite big wall free-climbing pioneer, they form an unlikely partnership around a common goal. While Cannon wants to complete an all-free ascent Freerider on El Capitan in a day, Hudon hopes to free the route in as many days as it takes, becoming the oldest guy to free climb El Cap.

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Get Your Tickets or Passes

Hosted and produced by SYRCL, our flagship festival is our largest fundraising event of the year, helping to sustain integral programs such as River Water Monitoring and River Ambassadors. ​If you are a SYRCL member please keep your eyes out for another separate email with a special member-only discount code! Not a member? Click here to learn about the huge impact our members make in the Yuba River watershed and buy your membership to receive your pass discount.