Submitted by Baiba Morrow
“If you see a problem, you can do something about it. Because typically, we created it.”
This is how the film ‘Study Aboard’ starts out, and it sets the appropriate tone for the rest of the evening at the 11th Wild & Scenic Film Festival.
The event on November 16 is not only the annual fundraiser for Wildsight Invermere and a lively, community gathering, it’s also a call to action. It aims to inspire the audience with compelling storytelling and stunning cinematography on the big screen at Columbia Valley Centre while enhancing environmental awareness and offering solutions to what may sometimes seem like insurmountable global problems.
Take, for instance, Chad Pregracke, the main character in Study Aboard. He founded Living Lands & Waters in 1998 with the philosophy that each person can make a difference in their community through hard work and dedication. So, each year as college students look forward to spring break to relax, let loose, and forget about their classes, he offers a week-long experience in Tennessee; living, learning, and cleaning up waterways on a conservation barge … and the results are life changing.
When Bright Toh, a visual artist from Cameroon, witnesses the bushmeat of pangolins and primates being sold in the markets, he uses his vibrant artwork “to trigger emotions in a unique way,” and thus draws attention to habitat and biodiversity loss.
Issues of water, wildlife, logging and climate change are interwoven in the carefully chosen, family-friendly program of 12 films, each one between five and 16 minutes long. They all feature inspiring stories of people making a difference in their communities from western BC to Costa Rica, Ecuador, Ireland and beyond.
“Even though the films are from all over the world, they resonate with the things we care about here in the Columbia Valley,” says Helena-Grace Treadwell, Wildsight Invermere’s program manager. “Things like protecting the habitat of iconic wildlife, clearing up trash, battling invasive species, sharing the joy of learning about nature. It’s inspiring to connect Wildsight Invermere’s work with the global movement of passionate people protecting what they love.”
New at this year’s festival is a five-day online film access option, so that those who want to support the fundraiser and see the films can do so from the comfort of their homes, no matter where they live. Also part of the fundraiser is the 50/50 Raffle for the Wild (rafflebox.ca/raffle/wildsight). With an ambitious goal of $5,000, it means the winner could take home $2,500. As with other years, there will also be a silent auction with special offerings of local adventures, art, wellness and culinary delights. A two-night stay at Jumbo Hut, courtesy of the Columbia Valley Hut Society, never fails to elicit a bidding war.
The success of the evening always comes with huge thanks to the generous “giving” spirit of businesses and individuals who empower and enable Wildsight Invermere to continue its work in conservation, climate change and community education. Special thanks go to this year’s Visionary sponsors: Columbia Valley Law, Eagle-Eye Tours and thinkBright Homes.
As Chad from Study Aboard unabashedly states, “I’m just someone of average intelligence but I’m smart enough to know that you can really make a big difference.”
See you at the festival on November 16. Go to wildsight.ca/invermere for more information and tickets.
Bright Toh, the visual artist from Cameroon featured in Unsung Heroes, says “I decided that my art can be a tool for conservation and the protection of the wild.”
PHOTO SUBMITTED
