Celebrate Earth Day With Films That Inspire
For Immediate Release
Media Contacts:
Melinda Booth, Film Festival Director |530.265.5961 x202 | Melinda@syrcl.org
Tim Little, Executive Director, Rose Foundation | 510.658.0702 | tlittle@rosefdn.org
CELEBRATE EARTH DAY WITH FILMS THAT INSPIRE
The Wild & Scenic Film Festival presents two evenings of environmental and adventure films that will change your world
San Francisco & Oakland, Calif. – (March 30, 2016) – The Wild & Scenic Film Festival presents two evenings of environmental and adventure films to celebrate Earth Day—one on April 22, 2016, at the Cowell Theater at Fort Mason in San Francisco and the other on April 30, 2016 at the Sweet’s Ballroom in Oakland, CA. Each event benefits a different non-profit organization.
These special one-night-only Wild & Scenic events will showcase films with two distinct themes selected from films originally screened at the annual multi-day festival held the third week of January in Nevada City, CA, now in its 14th year. “Films featured at Wild & Scenic inspire people to take action for our planet,” says Festival Director, Melinda Booth. “In today’s busy world, it is easy to disconnect from our role in the global ecosystem. When we realize that the change we need in this world begins with us, we start making a difference.”
The Friday April 22 event in San Francisco is a benefit for the South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL), a watershed advocacy group who founded the Wild & Scenic Film Festival in 2003. The festival’s namesake is in celebration of SYRCL’s landmark victory to designate “Wild & Scenic” status for 39 miles of the South Yuba River in 1999. Wild & Scenic raises funds and awareness for SYRCL’s initiatives to recover California’s wild salmon and to protect and restore the Yuba River Watershed. What began as a grassroots fundraising effort in 2003 has grown to become the largest environmental film festival in the United States. Thus, the theme running through this event is rivers and activism.
The Saturday April 30 event in Oakland benefits the Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment, a community foundation that supports grassroots initiatives to protect communities, the environment, consumers, and public health. Rose Foundation is a four-time host of the Wild & Scenic Film Festival On Tour. “Join us for a night of films about everyday heroes whose responsibility and courage drives them to stand up and do what is right for their communities and the environment,” says Rose Executive Director, Tim Little. This event is dedicated to recently slain Honduran environmental activist and indigenous leader, Berta Cáceres, and is themed around building a more diverse environmental constituency and creative activism that mobilizes people to care about the environment. In addition to Wild & Scenic films, the lineup also includes shorts from local filmmakers about food security, youth and climate justice activism.
The festival is building a network of grassroots organizations connected by a common goal of using film to inspire activism. With the support of National Partners: Patagonia, CLIF Bar, Sierra Nevada Brewing, Orion Magazine, Klean Kanteen, KEEN, Earthjustice, and Barefoot Wine & Bubbly, the festival can reach a tremendous audience by traveling to more than150 locations across the globe where more than 35,000 people annually are inspired by these films. These Earth Day events are featured On Tour stops and a great way to celebrate Mother Earth.
KNOW & GO:
FRIDAY APRIL 22, 2016: SAN FRANCISCO
TIME: Program begins at 7:30pm; doors and Bar open at 6:30pm.
LOCATION: Cowell Theater at Fort Mason. 2 Marina Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94109
TICKET & FILM INFO: $15 for general admission and $13 for active SYRCL members. Tickets can be purchased online at www.wildandscenicfilmfestival.org.
SATURDAY APRIL 30, 2016: OAKLAND
TIME: Program begins at 7pm; doors and environmental fair open at 6:00pm
LOCATION: Historic Sweet’s Ballroom, 1933 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94612
TICKET & FILM INFO: $15 for general admission, youth tickets + special package pricing available. Purchase tickets at /filmfest/