Celebrating wilderness and adventure, the festival was staged for a packed audience in the New York’s Explorers Club from January 29 – 31, selecting 21 award winning productions and finalists originating in 27 countries from more than 200 submissions. As the Polar Film Festival held in the same venue last November, the films chosen were characterized by outstanding cinematography and had a clear tendency towards action oriented advocacy documentaries. Introductions to the films and discussions clarified the mission of the festival, which is to enhance communication about wilderness issues and to prompt viewers to get involved. Some of the best photography was found in adventure shorts like DANNY MACASKILL: THE RIDGE by Stu Thomson featuring extreme mountain bike cycling in dangerous heights and the stunning Swiss film ICEFALL by Joseph Areddy shot in Norway, a powerful visual experience. As a viewer noted, ICEFALL was candy for the eyes.  Equally outstanding were two short  compelling recent public service announcements from the USA;  96 ELEPHANTS : TAKE A STAND by Steve Harper and AN ELEPHANT’S TALE: THE MATRIARCH by Natalie Cash inviting  the audience to get involved in the struggle to save a species which is rapidly declining

DAMNATION USA 2014, Ben Knight, Travis Rummel, Matt Stoecker. The US river landscape is slowly restored again because of dam removal, prompted by the recognition of the environmental damage   caused by the about 85,000 dams that were built in the USA. A shift of public opinion toward environmental issues has also taken place.   Dams have a limited life span of 80 years and at great expense must either be rebuilt or destroyed. To date, dam removal has taken out about 1000 dams, and in 2014 72 dams were destroyed.  DAMNATION provides an excellent over view through its account of the history and decline of enthusiasm for dams as well as the misguided and frequently destructive role of the army corps of engineers. Generating hydropower and stream lining rivers often had disastrous consequences for natural habitats. Though environmental objections to dams has a long history, action by non-profit organizations and grass root movements  supporting the  ecological revival of rivers have only become effective over the last decades. For example, the area formerly flooded by the Glines Canyon and Elwha dams has had a recovered salmon migration and plant life.  Media attention and the persuasive cinematography of DAMNATION certainly help the cause.  DAMNATION could even have a greater impact if a more balanced view had been given to the contribution of dams.

The effective activities of Rodrigo Madellin in Mexico to preserve several species of bats were documented in the 2014 production THE BATMAN OF MEXICO, by Tom Mustill. Fighting pervasive negative preconceptions associated with bats he was able to mobilize community groups to ensure their survival. Bats have crucial ecological functions ranging from important insect pest control to pollination. The long nosed tequila bat is essential for pollinating agave plants without which tequila could not be produced or exported.  Madellin was able to track the migration of bats and generated important scientific data. His involvement and research helped to place about 25% of Mexico’s land area under protection and resulted in removing tequila bats from the list of endangered species.  The documentary includes stunning footage of the night life of bats with startling views of their reproduction.

A similar demonstration of the impact of individual actions is offered in SHARK GIRL, a 2014 Australian documentary by Gisela Kaufmann and Carsten Orlt which was produced by the Smithsonian Channel.  Also constrained by the common belief that sharks are aggressive predators, the 20 year old Australian Madison Stewart engages in a fight to save sharks. Like bats in Mexico, sharks play an essential role in maintaining the reef ecological system which is already in a precarious state. Unlike other countries like the Bahamas and Mexico, Australia has no policy or legislation protecting sharks.  Given the demand for shark meat, and specifically shark fin soup cherished by Chinese and other Asian upscale groups, there is an increase of shark fishing and a decline of the shark population. A pound of shark fins trades in Hong Kong $500.00 and often higher. Over the last 20 years the global number of sharks has decreased by 90% and because sharks reproduce slowly with few young they face extinction. There are numerous educational points made by Madison. As it turns out, there can be a high concentration of mercury in shark meat. Further, the neurotoxin BMAA and mercury is stored in shark tissues and fins. When Stewart had supermarket shark meat samples tested for mercury some scored much higher than the legally permissible limit, yet no action was taken by the authorities. Nor have Australian or other official agencies responded to the neurotoxin issue. Cost benefit analysis also supports her cause. Eco-tourism tied to sharks brings higher financial benefits than shark fishing.

The Oscar nominated feature length British documentary VIRUNGA from 2014 by Orlando von Einsiedel and Joanna Natasegara concluded the festival. The story about the Eastern Congo Virunga National Park with a unique biodiversity and increasingly rare colonies of mountain gorillas shows an endless struggle of preservation. This UNESCO world heritage site is threatened by illegal poaching, civil conflicts and attempts by foreign corporations to exploit mineral and energy resources. With the help of bribed local and rebel group collaborators, mining and oil drilling would destroy the National Park and its species, an ecological disaster common to the consequences of many other profit driven corporate ventures.

The Wild Film Festival offers a cogent and welcome selection of productions upholding the need to protect our environment and to get engaged.

Claus Mueller, filmexchange@gmail.com