The Wild & Scenic Film Festival: Environmental Film on Tour
A hallmark of the Berkeley Earth Day festivals was a programme of films from the Wild & Scenic Film Festival, one of the best-known environmental and adventure film festivals in the United States. If you have never been to a Wild & Scenic screening, here is what to expect.
Born on a river
The festival is produced by the South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL), a river conservation group in Nevada City, California. SYRCL formed in the 1980s to fight dams proposed on the South Yuba, and in 1999 a long stretch of the river was protected under California's Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. The film festival, first held in 2003, takes its name from that victory. The historic covered bridge at Bridgeport on the South Yuba, shown above, sits in the state park along the protected river.
The home festival takes place each January in Nevada City and neighbouring Grass Valley in the Sierra foothills. Over several days it shows more than a hundred films, with filmmakers, activists and workshops, and it doubles as a fundraiser for SYRCL's river work.
On Tour: the festival comes to you
After the home festival, a selection of films goes on the road. Local groups, from watershed councils and land trusts to climate organisations and outdoor clubs, host Wild & Scenic On Tour screenings in their own communities. SYRCL has described the tour as reaching well over a hundred communities a year. Each host picks films for its audience and uses the night to raise funds and recruit volunteers.
In Berkeley, the On Tour programme was hosted as part of Earth Day, with screenings at the David Brower Center. The festival site described it as a collection of films that "showcase frontline activism and stunning cinematography", sold with separate tickets. For 2020 the screening was moved to the autumn after the main festival was cancelled.
What the films are like
Past Berkeley programmes were organised into themed sessions:
- Family films: short, upbeat films about kids discovering nature, wildlife rescuers and outdoor adventures, with free or reduced entry for young people.
- California and the West: wolves returning to their old ranges, water conflicts, public lands and farming in a changing climate.
- Activism and recreation: climbers, skiers and mountain bikers building more inclusive outdoor communities, and Indigenous youth leading land and trail projects.
Films range from two-minute shorts to feature documentaries, and there is often a talk or Q&A afterwards. The mix of humour, adventure and hard-hitting environmental stories is what makes the format work for audiences who would never sit through a lecture.
Wild & Scenic Film Festival
- Founded
- 2003
- Producer
- South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL)
- Home festival
- Nevada City and Grass Valley, California, every January
- On Tour
- Screenings hosted by local groups across the U.S. and beyond
- Typical films
- Environmental, adventure and conservation shorts and documentaries
How to catch a screening
The festival's website lists On Tour dates by region. Bay Area screenings pop up throughout the year, often hosted by environmental groups. If you cannot find one nearby, some films are available to stream, and our list of environmental documentaries worth watching has more ideas for a film night at home.
Want to host one? Community groups can apply to SYRCL to become a tour host. It is a classic fundraising format alongside raffles and silent auctions, which we explore in environmental fundraising.