Angels Camp, CA…Chris Stevenson, organizer of the Calaveras Wild & Scenic Film Festival tells that, “The weather is going to be great for relaxing and enjoying this wide variety of adventure, nature and travel film from all over the world.” The festival will feature cinematography from award winning films from the flagship national Wild & Scenic Film Festival in Nevada City. Plus, our local film festival will show six hours of beautiful and sometimes poignant videography from filmmakers that live and work in our tri-county area.

Stevenson states, “The river rafting company OARS, headquartered in Angels Camp, understandably make some crazy, wild whitewater adventure films, but that’s not all. They are stewards of the environment and also show their love and protection of our planet in the films they make. They have four films to show, and the OAR President, Tyler Wendt, will take questions after the showing.”

In fact, many of the local filmmakers will have a question and answer session, including Ron West, an architect of the Northern California Backcountry Discovery Route. This is a mostly off-road motorcycle journey that runs through our backyard, from the ghost town of Bodie, through Monitor and Ebbetts Pass, Bear Valley, then an offroad section that summits peaks north of Highway 4.

“Those guys are nuts!”, says Stevenson, adding, “and, they aren’t afraid to show the crashes, dropping of the bikes and the ensuing injuries, all the while laughing at themselves and remaining happy that life is being lived to its fullest.”

David Vassar is Academy Award nominated and has won multiple Emmy awards. The Calaveras Wild & Scenic Film Festival will show three of his entries, and Vassar will be on hand for a Q&A. Vassar won the John DeGraff Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the flagship Wild & Scenic Film Festival.

“We couldn’t show local films in the wild and scenic genre without including David Vassar. He’s a legend around here in film circles, and we are honored to have him,” states Stevenson.

The final two films to be shown highlight a blind rock climber and mountaineer, Erik Weihenmayer whose resume includes summit Mt. Everest. We will experience his use of sound and touch in order to navigate the boulder strewn landscapes, and find the best hand and foot holds. The film festival concludes with Weihenmayer becoming the mountain guide to lead a very determined Colorado woman with cerebral palsy to achieve her goal of summiting one of the mountains she can see from her bedroom window.  “That film made my eyes well up. It’s very powerful and uplifting. I love it, and this inspiring film is the climax of the film festival,” states Stevenson.

The event is produced by the Calaveras Film Commission to benefit Calaveras Community Television. It is generously sponsored by the Chicken Ranch Casino, Dignity Health Mark Twain Medical Center, Bear Valley Mountain Resort and The Body Shop in Angels Camp.

There will be 28 films shown Saturday, September 14th at the Bret Harte Theater in Angels Camp starting at noon and running through 8:00 pm. The admission price includes the After Party which begins at 8:00pm. Attendees will be given a wristband to enable them to enter and exit.

Food is available for purchase thanks to the generosity of Mike’s Pizza in Angels Camp.  Tickets are available at the door, or at CalaverasCommunityTV.com. For more information, call 209-822-1131.

Schedule:
Time Film Length
12:00pm National W&S Open 3
12:09pm Skull Country – Moonshinin’ 4
12:13pm Skull Country – Keep Riding 4
12:17pm Skull Country – The Immigrant 4
12:21pm Who Will Tell Your Story 7
12:29pm A Baffin Vacation 12
12:32pm Between Two Rivers –
Ria Rice Lawson 25
1:02pm Lost On Purpose 11
1:19pm Water: Our Gold – UTICA 11
1:30pm UTICA Storm Response 4
1:44pm 4DWN 17
2:01pm Giant Sequoias – Yosemite 9
2:11pm Klamath Finds Its Way – Mikey Weir 2
2:13pm Gold Fever – Mikey Weir 11
2:34pm Northern California BDR 74
3:58pm Big Trees – Ed Lark 19
4:26pm Why India? – Chris Stevenson 20
4:51pm The Prospector 18
5:09pm Like A River 4
5:14pm Refuge – David Vassar 7
5:21pm Spirit of Yosemite – David Vassar 22
5:43pm Flooded Valley – David Vassar 1
5:57pm The Rock Pool Waltz 8
6:06pm River of Eden – OARS 5
6:11pm Martin’s Boat – OARS 23
6:34pm 62 Years – OARS 9
6:43pm Dory Land – OARS 22
7:23pm Soundscape 14
7:37pm From My Window 19
8:00pm After Party