Thanks to everyone who attended the 2024 Wild & Scenic Film Festival, in-person for the first time since 2019! We held our first screening at Main Street Landing in Burlington on April 18, 2024, and our second screening at Woodstock Town Hall Theatre in Woodstock on May 2, 2024. We were pleased to see so many familiar faces – and a lot of new ones too! – join us for an inspiring program featuring stories about stewardship, resourcefulness, and the resilience of our communities and natural areas. We look forward to seeing you again in 2025!

2024 Film Lineup

Ni Wapiten: “Ni Wapiten” (I see) is a plea to better respect Mother Earth. This poetic film follows a child’s journey through the woods to his community’s local dump. Playfully, he reuses the waste to build a bear, symbolizing nature.

Between Earth & Sky: Renowned ecologist Nalini Nadkarni studies “what grows back” after a disturbance in the rainforest canopy. After surviving a life-threatening fall from a tree, she must turn her research question onto herself to explore the effects of disturbance and recovery throughout her own life.

Bridging Fragments: Urbanization and deforestation are fracturing the wildlife corridors that preserve biodiversity in tropical rainforests, putting many species at risk, including the world’s slowest mammal – the sloth. “Bridging Fragments” explores these stressors in a tropical rainforest community off the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, where the Sloth Conservation Foundation is helping the local wildlife navigate a disconnected world.

Abundance: The Farmlink Story: During the largest food crisis in a century, a group of college students catalyze a national movement to end hunger in the United States. Within months, the project scales larger than anyone could have imagined and the students find themselves on the front lines of fighting hunger. As food bank lines grow across the country and college finals approach, do the students have what it takes to create a long term solution?

Paddle Tribal Waters: When the largest dam removal project in history begins, a group of indigenous youth learns to whitewater kayak, hoping to become the first people to paddle the restored river from source to sea.

Toxic Art: On a mission to clean up Ohio’s leaking, abandoned coal mines, Ohio University Art Professor John Sabrah teamed up with an engineer to develop a process that turns the toxic runoff pollution into paint. John’s artwork has been shown worldwide, and proceeds have helped numerous environmental organizations and projects, including a new water treatment plant on the Sunday Creek Watershed.

KELP!: Under the looming shadow of ecological breakdown, a young filmmaker searches for a surprising super-solution that can help build a better future for humans and the planet. On an epic adventure aboard the good ship Gleaner through Britain’s rugged coastline, they discover the power of kelp to regenerate our coasts, empower communities, and even replace plastic.

You Are Not Small: Lucy Hawking, award-winning children’s book author and daughter of scientist Stephen Hawking, makes science accessible and engaging through her numerous books. Her latest book series, Princess Olivia Investigates, is about a young girl who would rather be a scientist than a princess. “You Are Not Small” was inspired by Olivia.

Testimonials from the Burlington screening

“Look forward to this event every year!”

“I love all the movies you chose and go home with so much love for our planet and the people who inhabit it”

“Great, hopeful movie selection.”

“Thanks for having this in person again.”

Made possible with support from our sponsors:

2024 Silent Auction

Andrew Pearce ⋆ Anna Yakubovskaya ⋆ Bee’s Wrap ⋆ Ben & Jerry’s ⋆ Billings Farm & Museum ⋆ Blake Hill Preserves ⋆ Caledonia Spirits ⋆ Catamount Outdoor Family Center ⋆ City Market ⋆ Danforth Pewter ⋆ Farmhouse Pottery ⋆ Flynn Center for the Performing Arts ⋆ Folino’s ⋆ Foxblossom ⋆ Frost Brewing Company ⋆ Gretchen Alexander ⋆ Hen of the Wood ⋆ Jennifer McCandless ⋆ Jerome Milks Johannes Otter ⋆ John Snell ⋆ Karen Schaefer ⋆ Kestrel Coffee Roasters ⋆ King Arthur Baking Company ⋆ Lake Champlain Chocolates ⋆ Leonardo’s Pizza ⋆ Montshire Museum of Science ⋆ Onion River Outdoors Patagonia ⋆ Peak Design ⋆ Petra Cliffs ⋆ Phoenix Books ⋆ Runamok Maple ⋆ ShackletonThomas Shelburne Farms ⋆ Shelburne Museum ⋆ Skida ⋆ Skinny Pancake ⋆ Spirit of Ethan Allen ⋆ Stowe Cider Sugarbush ⋆ Sunset Lake CBD ⋆ Switchback Brewing Company ⋆ Turtle Fur ⋆ Vermont Comedy Club Vermont Green FC ⋆ Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS) ⋆ Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG) ⋆ Vermont Smoke and Cure ⋆ Vermont Teddy Bear Company ⋆ Woodstock Inn & Resort

Thanks to all of our generous donors!