Pitt-Bradford to host Wild and Scenic Film Festival

BRADFORD, PA – As part of the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford’s Alumni and Family Weekend, Pitt-Bradford will celebrate its 3^rd annual Wild and Scenic Film Festival.

The festival will be from noon to 4:30 p.m. Oct. 4 in Bromeley Family Theater in Blaisdell Hall. This event is free and open to the public.

Twenty-two films, which begin at noon, are on the schedule this year. Several breaks throughout the day will allow time for discussion, food, and live music from regional musicians Stony and Company.

Additionally, there will be door prizes throughout the day. Each attendant will receive a free ticket for the chance to win several grand door prizes, including a mountain bike donated by sponsor Just Riding Along, and a Kayak donated by the Sportsman’ Outlet. There will be other prizes from national partners Cliff Bar and Klean Kanteen, and area sponsors, including Stoneman Guitars, Zippo Manufacturing Co., and W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery.

Short films from the South Yuba River Citizen League’s Wild and Scenic Film Festival will be featured at the event, which focuses on films that speak to the environmental concerns and celebrations of the planet.

Two of the event’s highlight films are “Snows of the Nile” and “Damocracy.”

“Snows of the Nile” follows two scientist/photographers in their goal to retrace the steps of the legendary 1906 expedition of Uganda’s Rwenzori Mountains that rise 5,000 meters from the heart of Africa. At their summits, are some of Earth’s only equatorial glaciers, which are changing quickly. The scientists hope to capture glacier imagery in order to visualize the impacts of a century of climate change. This film will begin at 2 p.m.

“Damocracy” exposes the myth of dams as “green” energy through two examples from Amazonia and Mesopotamia: the Belo Monte Dam in Brazil and the Ilisu Damn in Turkey. The film shows the potential disasters these dams would cause on cultural heritage, wildlife and local communities, which rely on the rich natural resources provided by the Tigris and Xingu Rivers.

It is a call to action to save these natural and cultural heritages. This film is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.

In addition to viewing the films, the public can also join in a hike of the White Pines Trail at the Marilla Reservoir. Interested hikers should gather in front of the Bromeley Family Theater at 9 a.m.

The event will also include many regional and local vendors featuring sustainable and locally-grown food and agricultural products. Doors to the market will open at 11 a.m., and doors to Bromeley Theater will open at 11:30 a.m.

The festival is being sponsored by the Allegheny Defense Project and co-sponsored by the Pitt-Bradford Environmental Studies Club and the Pitt-Bradford Sustainability Committee. Regional sponsors and participants include the Pennsylvania Firefly Festival, Just Riding Along, Zippo, Case, the Sportsman’s Outlet, the Allegheny National Forest Visitors Bureau, Tuna Valley Trails Association, and many more.

For more information contact Steve Robar at robar@pitt.edu or (814) 362-0242.

For disability-related needs, contact the Office of Disability Resources and Services at (814) 362-7609 or clh71@pitt.edu.