Some Must-See Films at this Year’s Wild & Scenic Film Festival

by film critic Jason Sacks

It’s easy to feel like our world today is falling apart all around us. But politics is only one small aspect of our larger world. This year’s Wild & Scenic Film Festival offers about 125 films which offer perspective on the eternal majesty of nature and its complex relationship with mankind’s collapsing world. Attendees, whether in person between February 19 and 23, or online between February 19 and 28, are sure to find experiences which will sometimes leave them intrigued, sometimes angry, and nearly always fascinated.

Many of this year’s films directly address the difficult moment nature-lovers are experiencing in 2026. The second Trump administration has shown a frequent disregard – or outright contempt — for public lands and our National Parks. It feels like the world is slowly transforming in ways that feel like a scene from a horror movie. Several films at SYRCL’s Wild & Scenic Film Festival directly talk about the importance and majesty of our most beautiful natural wonders, offering a counterweight to the news. These films offer the hope we need so desperately.

Yosemite is one of our most beautiful and spectacular Parks. The short film Valley Under Fire is a profile of avid climber and longtime National Park Service employee Nate Vince. Vince was stationed at Yosemite when he received an email that changed his life. He learned that Elon Musk’s DOGE had fired him – from his dream job. In fact, thousands of NPS employees all around the country suddenly got laid off in impersonal email messages. This purge deeply imperiled America’s great natural heritage.

But Vince has an evangelistic enthusiasm for the National Parks. His job is his passion. His dream was to be a park ranger. Nate Vince channeled his anger into a mission. Vince helped lead massive protests at Yosemite to reverse the layoffs. In Valley Under Fire, we get to watch how the protests succeeded. The film does a wonderful job of showing the struggle and triumph.

Just as importantly, Valley Under Fire shows the strong community around rock climbing at Yosemite. The film delivers a wonderful portrait of a diverse group of avid adventurers. I’m not a climber, but this film made me want to buy gear and hit the rocks.

The Grand Canyon, of course, is another one of our natural wonders. Like many of our natural wonders, the Canyon was inhabited long before European settlers came to America. The film Monumental Moment tells the story of the Havasupai tribe, who live along a tributary of the Colorado River, deep inside the Canyon. The tribe has been fighting for decades to prevent the expansion of a uranium mine located just outside the boundaries of Grand Canyon National Park.

Monumental Moment tells the story of the efforts to prevent that expansion. That description might sound like a bit of a dutiful exploration of a complex subject matter. But what makes Monumental Moment stand out is its focus on just one of the young activists against expansion. 16-year-old Maya Tilousi-Lyttle is that focus. A proud tribe member, whose family is equally committed, Tilousi-Lyttle is a person viewers can completely identify with: we get to see her shaking off youthful insecurities to become a true activist.

As viewers, we get excited to watch our young protagonist succeed in her goal. The film climaxes with President Biden coming to Arizona to sign a proclamation protecting this precious land. Tilousi-Lyttle met and shook hands with the President, a moment that captures both her growth and the importance of this achievement.

In fact, this year’s films introduced me to many interesting nature-lovers. One of them is Roman Dial, the fascinating protagonist of Arctic Alchemy. Dial is the kind of man who climbs mountains and tall trees, races canoes, and becomes the best at his preferred pursuits, then drops those pursuits for the next thing.

One of Dial’s longtime passions has been his love of the vast Brooks Range in northern Alaska. I’ve long dreamed of hiking and canoeing through Alaska, and Arctic Alchemy sparks that passion. The film features unbelievably gorgeous images of Dial and his crew of scientists as they work to figure out why Alaskan rivers are becoming deadly for fish. The filmmakers intertwine Dial’s personal and professional lives as we watch him wind through long Arctic rivers. That split profile gives Dial’s story a fascinating depth. We want to be on his side as he works, not just because we care about this important cause but because we come to care about Dial as we watch him traverse this beautiful land, attempting to solve mysteries. The personality helps to personalize the struggle.

We also come to care about George McKenzie Jr., the focus of the film The Book of George. McKenzie traded the hard streets and violence of 1990s Brooklyn for a life abroad photographing some of the most elusive animals of the Florida wetlands for National Geographic. This wonderful short shows us the rough world of his youth, where running drugs and the gang life offered a limited range of options for the budding young man. But a chance meeting with a professional photographer changed the trajectory of McKenzie’s whole life and offered him a career in which he’s thrived.

In The Book of George, we get to see McKenzie at work as a National Geographic Explorer, one of the few Black men who hold that title. As part of his work, McKenzie takes astounding photos of Florida wildlife as they live in their natural habitats – a rare and unique view at precious creatures rarely seen in the wild. As McKenzie says, the chance to tell the story to everyone of how the world is awesome. Nature truly changed McKenzie’s life. The Book of George devotes much of its runtime to showing us how McKenzie passes his lessons on to the next generation. Exposure to nature can transform your life – it certainly did transform the life of George McKenzie.

And it certainly transformed the life of David Allen, profiled in The Birds, another fascinating short film you can watch at SYRCL’s Wild & Scenic Film Festival.

Anyone who’s ever looked up at the skies to watch birds in flight has been amazed at their amazing choreography. I’m constantly taken aback at the almost supernatural way birds seem to fly as groups, taking on repeated shapes as they fly in formations across the sky.

Acclaimed photographer David Allen is also fascinated by that same natural mystery. In The Birds, he sets out to study the massive groups of birds attracted each year by the coastal estuary in The Wash, Norfolk, England. Through patient observation, Allen begins to see patterns of how the birds react. As we view his gorgeous photography, we hear descriptions of the shapes and transformations the birds go through – and we also hear descriptions of the shapes and transformations Allen’s life has taken as he watches the birds.

This will be a spectacular film to see on a big screen: Allen and his crew chronicle the beauty and complexity of the wetlands and birds in a way that truly inspires awe. I found the dreamlike grace of The Birds to be deeply moving.

Have I tempted you enough to attend this wonderful film festival? What I’ve shared is just the tip of an (Arctic) iceberg. There are over 125 films playing at this year’s Wild & Scenic Fest.

Let me leave you with two more recommendations.

Mama’s Sundry tells the inspiring story of a group of Memphis urban farmers and musicians. The film reminds the viewer that no matter where we live, we should all be able to eat delicious natural foods and treat our bodies as the temples they are. Farming is truly the root that connects everyone in this community together. Farming is also truly the root that connects our modern life to our ancestors. In this busy, stressful world, we all need a reminder how important eternal truths still are.

But what better eternal truth is there than the bond between a father and a young child? A Little Story About Forever is a delightful little film that shows a father and son as they attempt to write a book about the meaning of the word forever: forever as in family; forever as in the permanence of the natural world; forever as in the corrosive power of forever chemicals.. The father feels overwhelmed by all the threats to forever, and calls an unlikely hero – Mark Ruffalo – to ask for help seeing the big picture.

That big picture has profound power in its simplicity – and so does this whole festival.

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Jason Sacks is a film and pop culture critic of many years standing, as well as an inveterate hiker, biker, runner and traveler. Jason has written for numerous publications including Amazing Heroes, Comics Bulletin and SOLRAD. Jason has also published several books on the history of American comic books. If he’s not on the hiking trail, you can find Jason at a local film festival or movie theatre.