The Lookout Wild Film Festival appeals to nature lovers, film fans
It’s about that time again. Seven years ago, the Lookout Wild Film Festival began offering a niche film event, one particularly suited to Chattanooga. The LWFF is a celebration of the “wild” places of the world and the people who seek them out.
Beginning Thursday, Jan. 24 at the Tivoli, the festival stretches four days over the weekend and features some 17 hours of film.
It’s a festival for adventurers, for conservationists, for climbers and bikers and rafters and hikers and anyone else who loves the outdoors.
If walking in the woods behind your house is your idea of getting in touch with nature, come to the Lookout Wild Film Festival.
If you enjoy the dandelions that break through the sidewalk outside of your office, come to the Lookout Wild Film Festival.
Not everyone can travel to Antarctica, to Norway, to Brazil. We can’t all visit exotic locales, or wrestle with bears, or descend into the depths of the Earth. We can, however, appreciate those who do.
We can watch in wonder at the images they capture and the drama they discover. We can support their causes and marvel at their achievements.
The LWFF lets us do just that. It’s a great event, one that grows and changes every year.
The festival will feature short films and one full-length film every night. The schedule of short films has yet to be published, although the titles are available on the LWFF website.
Here’s the roster of their full-length films:
Thursday, January 24
Dirtbag: The Legend of Fred Beckey
Fred Beckey was a legendary climber and mountaineer, a man who pioneered climbing in North America. He was first on hundreds of peaks, paving the way for climbers around the country and around the world.
He was also known as a dirtbag—a man who lived by his own rules. He never sought financial security; he lived only for the climb. He continued this lifestyle until he passed away at age 94 in 2017.
Dirtbag follows him toward the end of his life and is a portrait of a man who lived his own way because it was the only way he knew how.
Friday, January 25
Confluence
A film by Amy Marquis, Confluence follows a journey by indie rock band The Flapjack Affair as they tour the Colorado River Basin, hoping to meet the people who live there and weave their story into their music.
The Colorado River Basin contains a large number of public lands, including the rim of the Grand Canyon, Rocky Mountain National Park, Dinosaur National Monument, the Glen Canyon Dam, and Bears Ears National Monument (an area recently reduced by 85 percent by the Trump administration).
The film hopes to show, through music, how these lands bring the country together.
Saturday, January 26
Bears of Durango
In this Kickstarter documentary, filmmakers follow wildlife researchers, led by Dr. Heather Johnson, who are studying the effects of human interactions on bear behavior in Durango, CO.
Durango has evidently grown significantly in recent years, leading to a dramatic increase in human/bear contact.
Over a six-year period, Dr. Johnson has studied how this has affected bears in the area by diving head first into bear dens. A culmination of this study, the film hopes to raise awareness about bear conservation.
Sunday, January 27
The Bikes of Wrath
Inspired by John Steinbeck (and a little Springsteen) a group of four Australian men decide to make a 2,600-mile bicycle trek from Oklahoma to California, with only $420 to share, the same as the Joad family in “The Grapes of Wrath”.
The film offers an in-depth look at the heart of America, using the lens of the 20th century American novel. It’s a road trip movie like no other, an adventure for the ages.
Remember, these are just the feature films found in the LWFF. In total, there are forty-five films that offer a unique perspective on the wild places of the world.
These films are important, as these wild spaces are shrinking in number by the day. You can see the full roster at lookoutfilmfestival.org
Tickets for the Lookout Wild Film Festival can be purchased from the Tivoli Box Office. This event sells out every year, so make sure to get yours soon.
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