5th Annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival: At the Edge

Friday, Sept. 22 at 7:30 p.m.at Orcas Center; refreshments from Cocina Latina served at 6:30 p.m.

— from Susannah Weaver for Orcas Center —

Wild and Scenic Film Festival features 14-year old filmmaker on Sept. 22 at Orcas Center

Celebrate the equinox with the Wild & Scenic Film Festival, an evening of inspiring documentaries about young people who are healing the earth,on September 22, 7:30 pm at Orcas Center.

The 5th Annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival will feature environmental and adventure films and is co-hosted by the San Juan Preservation Trust and Orcas Center. This year’s lineup of short films will focus on our planet’s next generation of change-makers — kids who are inspiring hope by making a positive difference all over the world.

The event’s highlight will be a worldwide, galactic premiere—the first-ever public screening of “Tipping Point,” a documentary about climate change that features Dylan D’Haeze, Orcas Island’s own talented young filmmaker. Also on the evening’s program is Dylan’s first documentary, “Plastic is Forever” — a huge hit when it was screened at Orcas Center for island students on Earth Day 2017. The film and its 14-year-old star have since gone on to win several national and international awards.

“Tipping Point” is the second installment, after “Plastic is Forever,” in a new series of documentaries called “Kids Can Save the Planet.” Dylan and his parents, professional filmmakers Dawn and Kevin D’Haeze of Rock Island Media, are producing the series together as a family. Each film in the series centers around Dylan’s quest to get to the bottom of an issue such as plastic pollution and climate change, and then learn how he and other kids can mobilize to tackle these threats to the planet.

This is the fifth year that Orcas Center and the San Juan Preservation Trust have teamed up to present this popular event. “We are especially excited that Dylan D’Haeze will be back onstage at Orcas Center to introduce his new film, after the tremendous success of ‘Plastic Is Forever’,” said Tim Seifert, executive director of the San Juan Preservation Trust. “The evening’s focus on our next generation of conservationists brings a fresh twist to this year’s Wild & Scenic program.”

“Orcas Center is once again proud to be a co-sponsor of the “Wild & Scenic Film Festival” with San Juan Preservation Trust,” said Brian Kemp, executive director of Orcas Center. “It’s great to see how these films from young conservationists are making an impact in our community and across the region.”

Bring the whole family to Orcas Center’s 5th annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival where you will see award winning youth centered films about nature, community activism, adventure, conservation, marine life, tradition and environmental justice. Cocina Latina will be offering delicious tacos and tamales for sale in the Madrona Room at 6:30 before the films begin as well as during intermission!

Tickets for Wild & Scenic Film Festival are $15, $9 students and may be purchased on the website or by calling 376-2281 ext 1 or visiting the Orcas Center box office during box office hours which are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 12-3 pm. $5 Subsidized Tickets available at the Box Office. For more information about Orcas Center 2016-2017 season events, please visit www.orcascenter.org.