Our In-Person Event has concluded, but you can still register to watch the virtual program below!

LINK TO THE DIGITAL PROGRAM

You’re Invited to this Free Community Event

Enjoy two hours of short, inspiring environmental films, meet your local community organizations and register to win fun raffle prizes!

Join Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST), Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, Santa Clara Open Space Authority, and Santa Clara County Parks as we co-host the Wild & Scenic Film Festival. Our in-person event will take place Sunday, April 23rd at the Smithwick Theater at Foothill College. The film program will also be available virtually to all who register for the event, available to watch from the comfort of your home anytime between Sunday, April 23rd, and Friday, April 28th.

The Wild & Scenic Film Festival is the largest film festival of its kind, showcasing the best and brightest in environmental and adventure films. Festival viewers can expect to see award-winning environmentally inspired short films, and have the opportunity to learn more about POST and our partner’s work here on the Peninsula and in the South Bay.

The event is free, but please register by ordering tickets below! Stay posted for great raffle prizes you may win by registering and attending the event!

Program

  • 1:00 – 2:00 P.M.  Outdoor Reception Begins – Arrive early to find parking and grab a seat, check out our raffle prizes, and visit the booths of our sponsors and local environmental groups.
  • 2:00 – 3:00 P.M.  First half of film program
  • 3:00 – 3:30  P.M.  Intermission: Participate in our free raffle, and learn about our event partners.
  • 3:30 – 4:30  P.M.  Second half of film program
  • 4:45 P.M.  Conclusion

Register for Virtual Ticket Below

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 will be organized such that the first half of the program is more appropriate for kids, with films created from the perspective of Youth, and films focused on animals. The second half will delve into a few topics in more depth with films that are slightly longer.

Film Line up and Descriptions

Bad Bugs

10-year-old Bryn made a claymation movie about the importance of using “natural solutions for your bug problems” – something she’s passionate about. The idea came after one of her “grub hunting” sessions (she loves gathering grubs for the birds and lizards).

Bryn loves the environment and all creatures, but also makes a point to clarify that “My movie is not violent… it’s just the circle of life.”

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.

The Rock Pool Waltz

The Rock Pool Waltz centres around a boys affinity with nature which helps to ease his worries and loneliness during the COVID lockdown. This leads him to an incredible friendship with an unlikely creature from the ocean. This inspiring film brings awareness to our connection with nature and the importance of caring for our environment and the amazing creatures we share this world with.

I am Salmon

Connecting humanity with salmon and the sea through the subtle art of poetry and Gyotaku (fish rubbing), Duncan Berry shares his experience as a longtime environmentalist and former captain of a salmon troller. In adopting the perspective of this transcendent fish, the beauty and power of the Oregon coast becomes the canvas through which the evolution of the salmon is illustrated.

Bring the Salmon Home

Bring the Salmon Home captures the emotions, courage, and determination of Klamath River tribal communities as they host a 300+ mile run from ocean to headwaters to cultivate support for the biggest river restoration project in history

A Valley Endures – A film by Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) and Colorfool Films

Between two ridges — the Santa Cruz Mountains and the Diablo Range — lies Coyote Valley, the last remaining, largely undeveloped link connecting 1.13 million acres of core habitat that is already severely fragmented by human development. If the wildlife who call these habitats home are to have a chance at adapting to our changing climate, or even surviving, Coyote Valley must be protected forever.

Big Basin Speaks

On August 16, 2020, a rare, dry lightning storm that produced over 11,000 bolts of lightning, ignited hundreds of fires across California. Some of these initially separate, scattered fires, began to merge and grow after a rapid change in wind conditions, and these mounting fires became known as the CZU Lightning Complex Fire. Of the areas touched by these devastating wildfires, was Big Basin Redwoods State Park, a place dearly loved by so many across the world for its lush beauty and impressive old growth forest. Inspired by the accounts of friends, neighbors, coworkers, and the natural and cultural resources that called the park home, Big Basin Speaks lends a feeling of hope to all those who have despaired at the hands of these fires by giving an artistic glimpse into the mind and heart of Big Basin itself.

Diverse We Run

A daughter of immigrant parents, Carolyn Su, gained confidence through running. But she noticed runners like her were rarely represented. She asked herself, why? To combat racism, Su amplifies BIPOC voices to show the next generation what is possible on her platform “Diverse We Run”. This short film is part of the Limitless series with Outside.

La Voz del Mar: Hope for Hawksbill Turtles

Hawksbill turtles are critically endangered globally, and for many years it was believed they had disappeared from El Salvador. Today, grassroots conservation is delivering renewed hope for hawksbills. Each year, tens of thousands of hatchlings now begin their amazing life journey.

Motus Avium: A Mission to Save California’s Last Wetlands

California’s wetlands have all but disappeared. But not all hope is lost. A coalition of scientists, farmers, conservationists and public agencies have come together to help restore vital wetlands throughout the state’s central valley. Motus Avium: A Mission to Save California’s Last Wetlands reveals how this group is finding unique ways to help support native and migratory birds. What may surprise you is how this group is capturing and studying these wild birds while working with farmers to create new wetland habitat.

Endangered Migration: A Monarch Butterfly Story

The annual monarch butterfly migration to Mexico is at risk, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed monarchs as an endangered species. Together, local communities and World Wildlife Fund have made significant progress toward protecting monarch butterflies’ habitat in the alpine forests that the butterflies migrate to each winter. People living in the U.S. and Canada have the opportunity to help support monarch butterflies throughout the other stages of the insects’ life cycles by preserving habitats and food sources like milkweed here in our own countries. Find out how you can help WWF save the monarch butterfly at worldwildlife.org/monarchs

Wood Hood

Wood Hood features DeVaughn, a 15-year-old kid from New York City who loves skateboarding and craves a “quiet place” to escape the chaos of his home, the city, and kids that steal from him. The film follows DeVaughn on a weekend-long group camping trip with Camping to Connect, a BIPOC-led mentorship program that teaches leadership, brotherhood, and inclusion in the outdoors. “These kinds of conversations are rare for men that look like us,” one leader states, and as the film weaves between the city and the woods, a space that is unfamiliar and historically inaccessible to these kids, we witness the joy and growth that is possible when kids have an opportunity to find that “quiet place.”

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 86,000 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 70,000 acres of public land and manages 26 open space preserves.

Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority works to conserve the natural environment, support agriculture, and connect people to nature, by protecting open spaces, natural areas, and working farms and ranches for future generations. 

Santa Clara County Parks is a regional park district in the South Bay whose mission is to provide, protect, and preserve regional parklands for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. SCCP manages 28 regional parks encompassing over 52,000 acres of land.

Peninsula Open Space Trust Logo

Thank you to our partners:

We are grateful to our additional community partners participating in this event. We encourage you to learn about and get involved in these organizations. Attendees of our in-person event will have a chance to meet representatives of each organization during a resource fair we will be hosting before the film program and during intermission.

 

 

 

 

 

Our Sponsors

 

Directions to the Smithwick Theatre

The Smithwick Theatre is located at Foothill College, 12345 El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills, CA 94022. Free parking. From the parking lot, you will need to climb about 100 feet or roughly 8 flights of stairs up through the campus to the theater.

Accessibility

  • Those who do not wish to walk up to the venue can take an ADA shuttle with wheelchair accessibility that will transport guests from Parking Lot 1 to the theater. The shuttle stop is located in the Northeast corner of the parking lot.
  • Wheelchair Accessible Parking is available in Parking Lot 5.
  • Bathrooms are available near the theatre.
  • Unfortunately, we’re unable to provide closed captioning on the films.

From San Francisco:

  • Travel south on Interstate 280; exit El Monte Road; travel west to campus entrance
  • OR Travel south on U.S. Route 101; exit San Antonio Road; left turn on Foothill Expressway; right on El Monte Road; travel west to campus entrance.

From San Jose

  • Travel north on Interstate 280; exit El Monte Road; travel west to campus entrance
  • OR Travel north on U.S. Route 101; exit San Antonio Road; left turn on Foothill Expressway; right on El Monte Road; travel west to campus entrance.

Directions, Parking & Accessibility
The Smithwick Theatre is located at Foothill College, 12345 El Monte Rd., Los Altos Hills, 94022. Parking is in Parking Lot 1. Parking is free. From the parking lot, you will need to climb about 100 feet or roughly 8 flights of stairs up through the campus to the theater.

Those who do not wish to walk up to the venue can take an ADA shuttle with wheelchair accessibility that will transport guests from Parking Lot 1 to the theater. The shuttle stop is located in the Northeast corner of the parking lot.
Wheelchair Accessible Parking is available in Parking Lot 5.
Bathrooms are available near the theatre.
Unfortunately, we’re unable to provide closed captioning on the films.

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