Film fest brings environmental message to Norwalk

Kathryn Scott, Charlie Center and Scott Ligare, a group of world class whitewater kayakers, have been to some of the world's most amazing rivers. In the 29-minute film "The Last Descent," which the three co-produced and directed, they capture descending down The Marsyangdi River of Nepal, the Brahmaputra River in India and the White Nile River in Uganda, possibly for the last time, as all three waterways are being threatened or are in the process of being destroyed by large scale hydroelectric projects.

The film closes in California with the Tuolumne River and the growing movement to restore Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park.

The film is among several that will be shown Jan. 29 at the Dolce Center in Norwalk as part of the 2010 Wild & Scenic Film Festival on Tour (WSEFF), which is returning to the area following a successful debut in Norwalk last January.

"We hope people will walk away from the film with a sense of the importance of free flowing rivers and what value they provide to the world in their natural state. We hope people will be inspired to visit these wonderful places and make some effort to continue protecting nature," Scott told the Citizen.

"The best advice I would give a resident from Fairfield County would be to get out and experience rivers, whether it's walking alongside them, fishing, kayaking or rafting."

Since the film festival is being hosted by the Norwalk Seaport Association, most of the films focus on waterways in some way because that's what "we are all about," said Susan Snider, executive director of the Norwalk Seaport Association.

She pointed out that the festival is once again being supported by grants from Patagonia Westport. But this year the festival is also getting support from The Sounds Conservancy and the Norwalk Arts Commission.

"Patagonia came back and invited us once again to host the festival," Snider explained. "The objective of hosting the film festival is longterm-- to grow attendance and to build advocacy and awareness...and to continue it on an annual basis.

"Last year was phenomenal. More than 200 people attended. The attendance was way beyond our expectations. Because admission includes membership we actually took on board some 145 new members for the Seaport Association, which was really great too."

New to the festival this year is an after-school screening from 4 to 5:30 p.m. The evening screening begins at 7 p.m. and continues until 10 p.m.

"There was a lot of interest last year from schools to attend, but because it started at night it wasn't feasible for them to have a field trip or get groups together," Snider said.

Films that will appeal to youngsters have been selected for the after-school screening. They range in length from one to nine minutes and include animated films like "Gorilla in the Greenhouse: Great Pacific Garbage Patch" and "Wombat" along with regular features like "Chickens of the Sea" and "Once Upon a Tide." The $10 admission fee includes a special film festival membership to the Norwalk Seaport Association.

In addition to viewing diverse films from around the world that focus on protecting natural resources and wild places, attendees to both screenings can inspect a gallery of photographs by students from Columbus Magnet Elementary School and Side by Side Community School who are in the Seaport Association's nature photography classes and peruse environmental displays.

Side by Side took its involvement in the film festival a step further. Six middle school students involved in an afterschool enrichment program at the Seaport Association will debut a film they created for the event at the early screening.

"This is really becoming a fulfillment of our mission as an organization, which is environmental conservation of the Norwalk Islands and to build advocacy and awareness for our local environment and why that's important. It's really very exciting," Snider said.

The evening screening will culminate with "Red Gold," an award-winning 55-minute feature film.

In the film, audiences will learn about the headwaters of the Kivchak and Nushagak Rivers in Bristol Bay, Alaska, which are home to the two largest remaining sockeye salmon runs on the planet.

And at that same spot, mining companies Northern Dynasty and Anglo American have proposed to extract what may prove to be the richest deposit of gold and copper in the world.

The filmmakers spent more than two months in Bristol Bay, documenting the tension between native fishermen who oppose the dam and mine officials, who say they will build a "clean" mine that will leave the salmon's habitat untouched. This film goes beyond the conflict, offering a portrait of a unique way of life that wouldn't exist if the salmon don't return with Bristol Bay's tide. The film won the Audience Choice Award and Director's Choice Award at Telluride Mountain Film Festival in 2008.

Last year's festival marked the Connecticut premiere of the Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival Tour, which brings together a selection of films from the annual Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival held each January in Nevada City, Calif. Last year the tour had 90 venues nationwide, having grown from 15 venues in 2006.

The seed for the film festival and subsequent tour dates back to 1983, when a small group of concerned citizens banded together to oppose the construction of two dams in the South Yuba River in California. The dam projects were defeated, and then later in 1999, 39 miles of the South Yuba became permanently protected under Wild and Scenic destination.

The South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL) started the Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival to promote community building within the Yuba Watershed, as well as a way to explore an exciting and influential medium. The festival's namesake is in celebration of achieving the Wild and Scenic status. The annual three-day event in January features more than 125 award-winning films, plus speakers, celebrities and activists who bring a human face to the environmental movement.

In 2004, environmental groups began asking SYRCL to bring the festival to other communities around the country.

Last year the "The Last Descent" won the People's Choice Award of the Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival.

"When we won Peoples Choice Award we were so excited because this meant that our film was so well received. It was a great honor," recalled Scott.

"We are thrilled about Wild and Scenic Film Fest going on tour so the film can reach as many people as possible," she added.

The evening admission fee of $25 for individuals and $40 for couples includes door prize tickets, special film festival membership in the Norwalk Seaport Association and a subscription to Norwalk-based E--The Environmental Magazine, which turned 20 this month.

Reservations can be made online at http://www.seaport.org/ or by

Film Fest Schedule

CHILDREN'S PROGRAM -- 4:00-5:30 p.m.

WSEFF intro

Papirolflexia (2:30 minutes)

Joaquin Baldwin

Spanish for "origami", Papiroflexia, is the animated tale of Fred, a skillful paper folder who could shape the world with his hands. Multiple awards (US, 2007) www.pixelnitrate.com

Once upon a Tide (9:15 minutes)

Kathleen Frith, Mark Shelley, Drew Takahashi

A spell has been cast causing people to forget about the ocean and its importance to our lives. But with a young girl, we embark on a fantastic journey, where orcas swim through corn fields, scientists talk in rhyme, and the power of dreams helps her, and the audience, discover how the ocean touches all parts of our Earth and nurtures our existence. Best of Show, Santa Barbara Ocean Film Festival (US, 2007) www.healthyocean.org

Water Loving Doggies II (5:36 minutes)

Phil Hassan

When will those dog days of summer at the Yuba return? 2009 Wild & Scenic Honorable Mention (US, 2008)

Chickens of the Sea (7 minutes)

Steve Furman

...a sea of grass, that is. Most of the native prairie in North America is gone, and prairie chickens are rare, but if you're lucky enough to find them, they're fun to watch! 2009 Wild & Scenic Honorable Mention (US, 2009) www.furmanfilms.com

Seed (7:19 minutes)

Phil Ebiner

A seed, a boy, and the passage of time. (US, 2008) www.seedmovie.webs.com

Gorilla in the Greenhouse: Great Pacific Garbage Patch (8 minutes)

Jay Golden, Eli Noyes, Ralph Guggenheim

Follow four kids and a green gorilla as they overcome a demented plot b Dr. Morlon Hufflebot to create an island of plastic bags in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Animation (US, 2008) www.sustainlane.com

Wombat (1 minute)

Jason Ables

Listen to this little wombat. He has our future in mind. (US, 2005, Kids' Animation) www.bumpercars.com

Wonder Water Web (7 minutes)

Roger Blonder

Enjoy this nautical journey through poetic narration and vibrant flowing imagery from a drop in the clouds to the depth of the seas. This animated tribute to the oceans raises awareness about the relationship between humans and the seas while playfully inspiring an appreciation for the interconnectedness of all life. (US, 2005) www.wonderwaterweb.com

EVENING PROGRAM -- 7 to 10 p.m.

180° SOUTH (3:42 minutes)

Woodshed Films

This is a trailer for the summer 2009 release of a new film told through the eyes of climber/surfer/writer Jeff Johnson during a six-month voyage to South America to climb a mythical peak called Corcovado. The film delves deep into the roots of climbing, surfing and the environmental movement's most prolific renegades in the hope of finding a new generation's compass in an over-populated, techno-industrial society. Johnson's gritty story telling conveys a unique voice for environmentalism based on experience rather than pie charts and idealism. His cynical humor and humble approach belie his status as a bone fide underground legend. www.woodshedfilms.com ... www.180south.com

WSEFF intro

Maybe (2 minutes)

Sam Chou, Chuck Gammage

A young perspective in a changing world asks the question: Why are we so scared? Just Maybe, if we all... (Canada, 2007) www.style5.tv/maybe

Goldfish (13 minutes)

Joe Wein, Jana Memel

Two girls, one Mission and a lot of fish. Goldfish is a narrative film with plot and characters versus documentary style. Here is the storyline... A little girl questions why each one of her classmates were given a goldfish to foster and wouldn't they be happier in the water with their family. So she recruits a friend to return the fish to their habitat by flushing them down the toilet much the same way Nemo got back to the ocean in the acclaimed Disney film. Only to find out later when she in the principle's office that ... (don't want to ruin the ending). Many awards, including Audience Award, Austin Film Festival www.goldfish-movie.com (US, 2007)

I Love the Ocean (3:03 minutes)

Josh Murphy

Why do you love the ocean? This short film presents a diverse group of ocean enthusiasts as they share their perspectives in a thought provoking narrative on stewardship. (US, 2008) www.upproductions.com

Sand Dancer (10 minutes)

Valerie Reid

Peter Donnelly lives at the beach in Brighton, New Zealand. Hundreds of people are drawn from all over the world to watch him create vast arts works. He does not use any plotting tools or visual aids. Beautiful as his art is, it cannot last ... like a Buddhist mandala, his masterpieces vanish in an instant, as soon as the tide starts to wash them away. Best Doc, Foursite FF (New Zealand, 2006) www.forcefivefilms.co.nz

The Last Descent (29 minutes)

Kathryn Scott, Charlie Center, Scott Ligare

The Good Life Parable: An MBA Meets a Fisherman (3:06 minutes)

Mark Albion and Free Range Studios

A businessman and a fisherman on a small island. He tries to teach the fisherman about business but the fisherman teaches him about life. (US, 2008) www.makingalife.com ... www.freerangestudios.com

INTERMISSION

I Met the Walrus (5:15 minutes)

Josh Raskin, Jerry Levitan

In 1969, a 14-year-old Beatle fanatic named Jerry Levitan, armed with a reel-to-reel tape deck, snuck into John Lennon's hotel room in Toronto and convinced John to do an interview. Using the original interview recording as the soundtrack, director Josh Raskin has woven a visual narrative romancing Lennon's every word in a cascading flood of multi-pronged animation. 2009 Wild & Scenic Honorable Mention (Canada, 2007) www.imetthewalrus.com

Red Gold (55 minutes)

Lauren Oakes, Travis Rummel, Ben Knight