The Wild & Scenic Film Festival Partners with the Tahoe Truckee Earth Day Festival

[Olympic Valley, Calif.] March 29, 2012 - Join the Tahoe Truckee Earth Day Festival as they host the Wild & Scenic Film Festival on April 19 and 20 at the Olympic Village Lodge at Squaw Valley. Sponsored in part by Project MANA and Slow Food Lake Tahoe, each screening offers a unique package of films. Screenings on both April 19 and April 20 will begin at 7 p.m.

The Wild & Scenic Film Festival held this April will feature a collection of films from the annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival that is held on the third week of January in Nevada City, Calif. The film festival focuses on films which speak to the environmental concerns and celebrations of our planet.

Featured at part of the festival at Squaw Valley on Thursday, April 19 is GROW! - an inspiring documentary that captures the energy and independence of a fresh crop of young farmers. The documentary shows that it is not just Old MacDonald on the farm anymore. All across the U.S. there is a growing movement of educated young people who are leaving the cities to take up an agrarian life. Armed with college degrees, some are unable to find jobs in the current economic slump. Fed up with corporate America and its influence on a broken food system, they aim to solve some of the current system’s inequities by growing clean, fair food. Mostly landless, they borrow, rent or manage farmland in order to fulfill their dreams of doing something meaningful with their lives. GROW! takes a look at this new generation of sustainable farmers through the eyes, hearts and minds of 20 passionate, idealistic and fiercely independent young growers. In the film they speak of both the joys and the challenges involved in tending the land. Filmed on 12 farms throughout the state of Georgia during an entire growing season, GROW! provides an honest and inspiring look at this next generation of farmers.

Dark Side of the Lens, to be featured on April 20, is the story of one man’s personal and heartfelt account of life as an ocean based photographer. This short film takes the audience on an eerie, stunning and moving journey amongst the oceanic grandeur of Ireland’s west coast. Renowned documentarian of the heavy salt, Mickey Smith, has succeeded in creating a visual poem of sorts that offers a humble glimpse into this strange and magical world – reflecting insights that ring true with many of our lives.

Also to be shown on April 20 is the film Kadoma. After more than a decade exploring Central Africa, Hendri Coetzee is a modern legend of African exploration. Solo on the Congo River in 2009, Hendri received an email from American expedition kayaker Ben Stookesberry. “It would be ludicrous to take an American who you don’t know, and who has never been to Africa into its very heart.” Hendi replied. But a year later, he did just that. Joined by Chris Korbulic, Ben’s longtime kayak partner, Hendi led the way from the Nile overland through Rwanda in order to kayak into the heart of the Congo on a previously unnavigated waterway, the Lukuga River. Seven weeks into the expedition, deep in the DRC, tragedy strikes. Kadoma tells the story.

The festival is a natural extension of the Tahoe Truckee Earth Day Festival’s premier educational event at The Village at Squaw Valley, held on April 21. The Tahoe Truckee Earth Day Festival is a volunteer-run, non-profit event to recognize, celebrate, and promote the region’s unique beauty.

EVENT DETAILS:

Date: Thursday, April 19 and Friday, April 20

Time: Doors open at 6 p.m., films start at 7 p.m.

Location: Olympic Village Lodge, Olympic Valley, Calif. 96146

Tickets: $10. Advanced tickets can be purchased at New Moon Natural Foods in Truckee and Tahoe City and at Alice’s Market in The Village at Squaw Valley.

For more information contact Sara at taddojones@gmail.com or visit http://tahoetruckeeearthday.com/film-festival/.