Testimonials
“Wild and Scenic was already the best environmental festival out there and it just keeps getting better! A terrific selection of films, put together by the friendliest crew of staff and volunteers you could ever find, and ample chance to chat with fellow film-makers and activists makes me want to keep coming back year after year!”
John de Graaf, filmmaker
“As a filmmaker, I felt a warm welcome at Wild & Scenic unlike I’ve experienced at any other festival. Your films & TLC made all the difference – I’ll be back.”
Bo Boudart, filmmaker
“We fell in love with the Wild and Scenic Film Festival! How refreshing to be part of an event that not only entertains but actually inspires participants to make this world a better place!”
Daryl Hannah, actress and Charris Ford, activist
Patrick Stewart
“I think it should be called the Wild, Scenic & Inspirational Film Festival. This festival is extraordinary and commendable and I’m not going to stop talking about it for a very, very long time.”
Patrick Stewart, actor and activist
“Nature is a beautiful thing and we all have to take part in what we believe will help the environment. Thanks to the film festival I feel more educated about our environment and I want to help!”
Amanda Moylan, 11 years old
“Thank you all so much for a beautiful festival. We had wonderful receptions at our film and people were very interested in and enthusiastic about its subject. The audiences seemed truly dedicated and committed to environmental and human rights change.”
Beth & George Gage, filmmakers
“Wild & Scenic is the best festival on the circuit. I have been to many small and large, environmental and general genre festivals. W&S tops them all, because it is truly a community of festival organizers, filmmakers, film goers, merchants and residents. It showed off the special quality of Nevada City and its people. And it allowed for easy interaction between people. At the heart of filmmaking, especially doc filmmaking, is people and festivals frequently forget that.”
David Novack, filmmaker
“It was for us an inspiring and also humbling experience. We came up there and inspired a few hundred more people to be the change and live the solution. It’s truly amazing to see the impact such a short film has and we are grateful that we had a chance to share it with many others.”
Anais Dervaes, farmer, urban homesteader and filmmaker
“Wild & Scenic is the next Sundance.”
Christopher Beaver, filmmaker
“The Nevada City community was so supportive of the film festival that our screenings were packed, with a line out the door. We were thrilled with the response. After our screenings, we kept meeting people around town who had seen our films and wanted to know more…we even had a father and his two kids wave at us while we were driving down Broad Street, looking for a place to park. And then one parent liked our movie so much (she saw it with her child), that she invited us over to her restaurant for dinner. So welcoming. So supportive of environmental issues…it was really a special weekend.”
Laura Sams, filmmaker
“At first it was so challenging, emotionally, to be hit by so many issues of struggle around the globe with compelling documentary after documentary. And then I felt this burst of inspiration realizing that everyone at Wild and Scenic believes, despite all the challenges, that we still can make a difference. That it’s not too late. It was such a wonderful experience to meet so many passionate people and to learn more about the common issues we are all facing on every continent. We have all poured ourselves into documentaries, but documentaries to tell the critical stories to direct some massive changes in our patterns of living, of development, of being with the environment. I woke up this morning, filled a glass of clear water in Alaska, and thought about the children in Papua New Guinea who are waiting to pay for their water at a spout from Flow or One Water. I thank Wild and Scenic for opening my eyes again, and I hope to see you all again in the future. I think the many people attending Wild and Scenic will act in ways we cannot measure to continue on this path of change.”
Lauren Oakes, Trout Unlimited
“I was so impressed with every moment of the festival: the selection of films, the honoring of filmmakers – both with awards and generally making them feel appreciated, the sense of community, the friendly and helpful volunteers, the fabulous town, engaged audiences and the dedication apparent in the entire SYRCL and fest team. I’ve attended and been a part of other film fests in the past, but none like Wild & Scenic.”
Valerie Landes, PBS producer, Natural Heroes
“I felt welcomed and honored while attending the festival. I was blown away by the intelligent questions asked of the speakers. Seems like the citizens of Nevada City are ‘living to be part of the solution.’ I came out of the festival a little less apt to stop for a burger and a little more prone to pay extra for organic.”
Hans Florine, speed climber
“I had the most eye-, mind- and heart-opening experience at the film festival, a wonderful time had by all.”
Bill Kreutzmann, drummer, Grateful Dead
“I have been to over thirty film festivals in the last two years and the Wild & Scenic Film Festival was one of the most well organized. It paid off with full or almost full houses for screenings at all five venues. Very impressive. Thank you again for the wonderful experience. Keep up the great work.”
Jed Riffe, filmmaker
“What an honor to be a part of your festival. I can truly say that it is now on my ‘must attend’ festival lists. I can’t wait for next year! Whether I have a film or not, we plan on being there. We all so appreciated the Saturday morning films for kids (and the kids at heart)!”
Joy Tessman, filmmaker
“These type of community events are the glue that pulls all of us together.”
Carlos Buhler, mountaineer
“The festival to end all festivals! There are so many film festivals – one begins to think maybe too many. But the Wild and Scenic Film Festival really brought home why it is so important to have these events. It was great to see the positive impact on and involvement of the community at your festival. It was great to have unique, special and important films exposed to a broader audience and to realize how much the audience appreciated the effort. Kudos to you and your gang.”
Kristi Denton Cohen, filmmaker
“The Wild and Scenic Film Festival is a small bio-regional treasure from the Yuba River watershed. A delightful blend of culture, cuisine, eco-consciousness and plain old fun. I’m glad that I could inaugurate the first one and look forward to what I hope will be an enduring tradition.”
Peter Coyote, writer, actor and activist
“The Wild and Scenic Film Festival is a natural extension of Chattahoochee Riverkeeper’s efforts to encourage people to act on behalf of the environment. The event serves as our the biggest fundraiser of the year for our Headwaters office and allows us to show current and potential members the true power of our work and the environmental movement as a whole. The films evoke emotions that cannot be conveyed elsewhere. They show raw, emotional, and sometimes scary realities about the state of our planet. But they also give us hope, showing that there are people everywhere fighting and working to make a difference. It gives every person a renewed sense of responsibility.” – Hannah Warner (Chattahoochee Riverkeeper)
“The Wild and Scenic Film Festival is a great way to gather likeminded people, passionate about protecting our environment. It’s a great opportunity to uplift and inspire while increasing membership.”-Sandra Messner (Indiana Forest Alliance)
“The Wild & Scenic Film Festival is the perfect fit for our organization, allowing us to meld in films for an evening catered to our organization’s mission through beautiful imagery and storytelling.” – Jon Nicolodi (Middle Colorado Watershed Council)
“The audience is enthusiastic, the town is the right size, the festival team dynamite and the hospitality perfect. Now that I have been once, Wild & Scenic is in my calendar for all future years.”
Michael Brown, filmmaker and owner, Serac Films
“Some of the films made laugh me and some made me cry. They all left indelible prints on my memory. As a teacher, I was motivated by the films to work with my students in making more positive changes in the world.”
Sarah Hitchcock, 5th grade teacher, Santa Cruz
