BY KAREN BOSSICK
Ohlone elder Ann Marie Sayers has created a refugee for the indigenous peoples of her ancestral home in the San Francisco Bay area.
And 82-year-old Willem bought a potato farm in 1980, spending the next 40 years working the land with shovel and scythe to preserve butterflies.
Sayers’ story is told in the film “In the Land of My Ancestors.” And Willem’s in “Insect Guardian.”
Their films are among several that will be shown as part of the 17th annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival hosted by the Idaho Chapter Sierra Club. The festival begins tonight and runs through Jan. 13.
The festival is virtual this year. Given that, the festival will be livestreamed tonight at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 8. Films will be available for viewing from Jan. 9 through 13.
In addition to the two films already mentioned, the festival will include these films:
- “A Message from the Future with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Set a couple decades from now, it rejects the idea that a dystopian future is a forgone conclusion.
- “All That Remains”—A year after deadly wildfires ravaged Northern California’s wine country, its second responders and vineyard workers are still dealing with the aftermath.
- “If You Can Hear My Voice: The Fight to Ban Chlorpyrifos”—A mother fights for a ban on the pesticide years after her son was born with developmental delays believed to be caused by her exposure to chlorpyrifos during her pregnancy.
- “Every Nine Minutes”—Every nine minutes enough plastic to comprise a 300,000-pound blue whale makes its way into the ocean. To call attention to this, the Monterey Bay Aquarium built a life-sized replica of a blue whale made of plastic trash. Certified by the Guinness World Records, it’s the largest sculpture of its kind ever built.
- “Pebble Redux—The Bears of Amakdedori”—This film shows how the current administration fast-tracked the Pebble Mine proposal in Bristol Bay through the eyes of a four-year-old grizzly bear.
- “Where the Wild Things Keep Playing”—An ode to the athlete who is unapologetic about rowdy adventures.
- “Sanctuary”—This documentary shows a group of veterans and urban youth learning about steelhead trout research on the North Umpqua’s most famous tributary, Steamboat Creek.
- “Detroit Hives”—Urban beekeepers have been purchasing some of the 90,000-plus empty lots in Detroit to turn into bee farms in an effort to rebuild inner-city communities one hive at a time.
- “Mi Mama”—A salute to a single mother from the Dominican Republic who is a cardiac nurse, outdoor athlete and a woman dedicated to helping Latinx and POC outdoor communities.
Tickets are $10 for individuals and $25 for a household, with packages available, as well. For tickets, visit www.sierraclub.org/idaho