Download Film schedule with descriptions

The Redwood Valley Outdoor Education Project Presents the 10th annual
INTERNATIONAL WILDLIFE FILM FESTIVAL
Post-festival Tour Six Friday Evenings of Captivating Films
February 20 to March 27
Ukiah Civic Center, 300 Seminary Ave.
Tickets available at Mendocino Book Co. or at the door.
Series Ticket: $50 Individual Tickets: Suggested donation of $10/adults & $5/children
LIVE MUSIC and snacks: 6:15 FILMS BEGIN AT 7:00 PM
Films appropriate for older children
___________________________________________________________________________ Film Schedule and Synopsis *Film may contain scenes not suitable/not appropriate for youth and
may include predation, mating, disturbing scenes or information. February 20 - Touching the Wild
(55 min.)* IWFF Award for Best Editing
Joe Hutto's idea of research is anything but
normal, dedicating seven years of his life to
becoming a wild mule deer. Incredibly, these
keenly intelligent animals come to regard this
stranger as one of their own. Accepted by the
matriarch, he walks among them and can lie with
a pregnant doe talking to its unborn fawns. As he
crosses the species divide Joe is tapping into a new understanding about these elusive
animals. The captivating joy he feels for his new family is nothing short of infectious, but this
human predator also learns to see the world from the point of view of prey and sharing their
world so personally finally takes a toll that sends him back to his own kind. Note: This is the
same Joe Hutto that brought us the Emmy award-winning film “My Life as a Turkey.”
Bluebird Man (27 min)
The story of 91-year-old Al Larson, a self-taught conservationist who
has committed the last 35 years of his life to savings North America's
bluebirds. Breathtaking scenery, intimate conversations and stunning
footage of all three species of bluebird create a powerful film with the
goal of inspiring our next generation of citizen scientists
Live Music: Chanterelle – Trio Madge Strong, Diane Smalley, and Helen Falandes share
original songs and folk music from near and far
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February 27 - Ocean Odyssey (57 min)
Commissioned by the Smithsonian's National Museum of
Natural History, OCEAN ODYSSEY takes viewers on an
undersea journey to remote and magical places as it
explores an array of marine ecosystems. See tiny
damselfish in their splendid coral reef habitat. Witness
sperm whales up close and the graceful ballet of giant
manta rays. Discover the marine iguanas of the
Galapagos, the huge Mola mola off California, and an
ocean sunfish that reaches fourteen feet. "....a stunning
film that reveals some of the most amazing underwater footage ever seen and offers
reflections by Feodor Pitcairn and Bob Cranston two of the most prominent cinematographers
at work today."
The Water Brothers - Plastic Ocean (25 min.)
The Brothers embark on a sailing adventure to the middle of the Pacific Ocean to the remote
"Great Pacific Garbage Patch," a massive collection of plastic waste congregated together by
swirling ocean currents know as gyres. What does the patch look like? How does it affect
wildlife and the seafood we eat? Where in the world did this inconceivably massive amount of
plastic come from and what can be done about it? The Water Brothers bring us some answers
to this strange and disturbing phenomenon.
Live Music: Sheridan Malone - Traditional and contemporary vocal and guitar
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March 6 - Bears of the Last Frontier - The
Road North (60 min.)
Ecologist Chris Morgan first explores the world of black bears
caught in the crossroads of urban development in Anchorage
and the wilderness. Some bears are so comfortable living in
urban surroundings that their primary habitat is a golf course.
In residential areas bears frequently raid garbage bins and
bird feeders for easy snacks. Morgan then heads north to
Denali National Park where bears get by on a diet of
thousands of berries a day and grizzlies share the enormous
park with foxes, wolves, and moose.
Raccoon Nation, Part 1 (20 min.)
Are human beings, in an effort to outwit raccoons actually
making them smarter and unwittingly contributing to their
evolutionary success? In this film scientists from around the
world share their thoughts and work to explore this scientific
theory.
Live Music: Guitarists/folk singers Steve Hahm and Sid Bishop
March 13 - Spirit Creatures (48 min.)*
Northern Mozambique's Cyao people both
revere and struggle against wildlife on a daily
bases. To help them cope they regularly call on
their ancestral spirits, some of whom are
embodied in animals. This invisible realm called
"Majini" greatly influences how people think and
act. It seems to be connected to just about
everything from man-eating lions and the
bushmeat trade to the elephant poaching crisis
sweeping across Africa today. "Spirit Creatures"
documents Keith and Colleen Begg's journey to
gain a deeper understanding of people's spiritual
relationships with wildlife inside Mozambique's Niassa National Reserve. They are led to an
important sacred site called Chemambo where all the yellow baboons are believed to be
people. Understanding local culture helps the Begg's become more effective conservationists.
Raccoon Nation, Part 2 (20 min.)
Live Music: Bob Laughton - Celtic/contemporary acoustic
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March 20 - On a River In Ireland (60 min.)
Won Best Cinematography Award at IWFF
"On a River in Ireland" follows Colin Stafford Johnson on a
journey along the River Shannon - Ireland's greatest
geographical landmark and the longest river in Ireland and
Britain. For 340km, the river carves its way through the
heart of the country, almost splitting the country in two. On
its journey, the Shannon passes through a huge palette of
rural landscapes, where little know backwater wild animals
and plants still thrive as almost nowhere else in Ireland. The film follows the river from dawn to
dusk over four seasons capturing it's ever changing moors and exploring the countless
waterways, islands and lakes that make up the entire river system.
Snows of the Nile (20 min.)
Uganda's Rwenzori Mountains rise 5000 meters from the heart of Africa. At their summits are
some of Earth's only equatorial glaciers. But these "Mountains of the Moon," whose existence
caused a sensation in Europe when they were first climbed in 1906 are changing fast. "Snows
of the Nile" follows two scientist/photographers on an ambitious expedition to re-capture
historical glacier imagery from the Rwenzori Mounts of Uganda. If they could trace the steps of
the Duke of Abruzzi's legendary 1906 expedition and re-capture the famous glacier
photographs taken by Vittorio Sella, they could visualize the impacts of a century of climate
change.
Live Music: Mellow bluesy rock with Kim Monroe
March 27 - Wildest Islands Philippines Islands of Mystery (55 min.)
The Philippines harbors one of the highest
biodiversities of wildlife on the planet. A vast number
of species are endemic to the Philippines including the
Philippine tarsier, carnivorous plant species and the
Palawan bearcat. On these isolated islands, it is not
only the wildlife that has had to adapt to survive, so too
have the Filipino people...
Catalina Island (22 min.) - Best
Cinematography in a Short Film Award at IWFF
Just 22 miles off the coast of Los Angeles lays Santa
Catalina Island, home to over 25 endemic plant and
animal species. Explore the unique ecology and
conservation strategies taking place on the island as
told through the eyes of an American bison, a Catalina
Island grey fox, and the bald eagle.
Live Music: Midas Well - A bit of rock, blues, country, and jazz with Chris Gibson, Shar Jacobs,
and Dori Kramer
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Proceeds benefit the Redwood Valley Outdoor Education Project (RVOEP), a communitysupported program of the UUSD providing outdoor environmental education to over 2,000
students each year. For further information please visit www.rvoep.org