Wild & Scenic Film Festival

Wild & Scenic Film Festival

Also known as: SYRCL’s Wild & Scenic Film Festival, WSFF
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The Wild & Scenic Film Festival is the environmental and adventure film festival of the South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL), a grassroots river protection group in Nevada City, California. Its name refers to the protection of 39 miles of the South Yuba River under California’s Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, which SYRCL campaigned for. Kathy Dotson co-founded the festival and later launched its touring programme.

The five-day flagship festival takes place in Nevada City and Grass Valley and presents more than 100 environmental and adventure films, grouped into themed tracks, alongside filmmaker and activist talks, workshops, family programmes and art exhibitions. A Film Jury, a Kids’ Jury and the audience present the Yubie awards, carved from Yuba River stones. After the festival, Wild & Scenic On Tour takes selected films to more than 125 community events a year. The 25th edition takes place on 18–22 February 2027 under the theme “Momentum”.

Country

United States (USA)

Focus

Action and adventure, Family, Nature and ecology

Categories

Animation, Documentary, Feature, Short, Student

Dates

18 February 2027 — 22 February 2027

Awards and prizes

Yubie awards, carved from Yuba River stones, are presented at the festival each year. A Film Jury watches a shortlist chosen by the programmers and the Festival Director and decides Best of Festival, Best in Theme, Spirit of Activism, Most Inspiring Adventure Film, Best Short, Jury Awards and Honorable Mentions. The Festival Director presents the Student Filmmaker Award and the John de Graaf Award for Environmental Filmmaking. A Kids' Jury selects the Best Children's Film, and audience votes decide the People's Choice Award.

Festival rules

Films are submitted through FilmFreeway in four categories: Environmental Films, Adventure Films, Student Films and Family-Friendly Films. The festival accepts documentaries, narratives and animation, shorts and features, from 2 minutes to over 100 minutes; adventure films with an environmental focus are preferred. Student films must be made by a student enrolled at any level of education. Screeners are submitted online only; physical media are not considered. Non-English films must have English subtitles. For the 2027 edition, only films completed after 1 January 2026 are considered unless otherwise approved, accepted films are asked to provide burned-in open captions, and works in progress are not screened unless approved. Entry fees are non-refundable; a limited number of fee waivers is available. Films selected for the festival can opt into the Wild & Scenic On Tour programme.

Contacts

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