Things to do in Sacramento

Proceeds for the festival will go towards the California Heartland Project.

3rd Annual Sacramento Wild and Scenic Film Festival WHEN: 6:30 p.m.
WHEN: April 27
WHERE: Crest Theatre, 1013 K St. Sacramento
COST: $10.
INFORMATION: (916) 442-5189; www.theCrest.com

2012 W&S Film Program:
(films start at 6:30 p.m.)

Dark Side of the Lens, Mickey Smith (UK), 6mins
Dark Side of the Lens is one mans personal and heartfelt account of life as an ocean based photographer. This short film takes you on an eerie, stunning and moving journey amongst the epic oceanic grandeur of Irelands west coast. Renowned documentarian of the heavy salt, Mickey Smith, has succeeded in creating a visual poem of sorts, that offers a humble glimpse into his strange and magical world, reflecting insights that in turn ring true with many of our own lives.

A Liter of Light, Nick Santiago and Mike Talampas (Philippines), 2mins
The film documents a foundation's project to light up a poor neighborhood through the efforts of a local man who works for them. He becomes a beacon of hope to his community when he installs hundreds of solar-powered light bulbs in his neighbor's houses. The clever device is made from old plastic soda bottles filled with water and bleach. Many of the homeowners can barely afford electricity and because their houses stand so close to each other, they don't really get much daylight. With a little bleach, water and good will, their days are now much, much brighter.

Seasons: Fall, Skip Armstrong, Ryan Bailey (USA), 4mins
Deep canyons with steep, spring fed creeks, make White Salmon, Washington a paddling paradise. This Autumn we caught up with White Salmon local Kate Wagner during a soul-session outside of her hometown.

One Plastic Beach, Tess Thackara & Eric Slatkin (USA), 8mins
Richard Lang and Judith Selby Lang have been collecting plastic debris off one beach in Northern California for over ten years. Each piece of plastic Richard and Judith pick up comes back to their house, where it gets cleaned, categorized and stored before being used for their art. The couple make sculptures, prints, jewelry and installations with the plastic they find washed up, raising a deeper concern with the problem of plastic pollution in our seas.

Towers of the Ennedi, Camp 4 Collective (USA), 14mins
Follow climbers Mark Synnott, Alex Honnold and James Pearson as they travel across the roadless, windswept deserts of northeastern Chad. Basing their expedition on nothing more than a few photographs and rumors of a promised land with countless unclimbed sandstone towers, Mark's insatiable thirst for adventure and first ascents leads the small crew deep into the spectacular landscape of the Ennedi desert. In their search for unclimbed sandstone towers, the team finds much more than climbing in this film about risk and the arc of a climber's career.

Return Flight: Restoring the Bald Eagle , Kevin White (USA), 14mins
The bald eagle was once an important avian predator in the Channel Islands, a group of islands just off the coast of Southern California. Then in the early 60¹s the bald eagles disappeared due to egg collecting, hunting, and DDT contamination. This short film chronicles how a dedicated team of biologists and their partners has been working tirelessly for decades to bring the bald eagle back to the Channel Islands, leading to some amazing results.

Seasons: Winter, Skip Armstrong, Ryan Bailey (USA), 4mins
Brian Ward discovers an unexpected and new-found love for water in its frozen and expanded form.

Second Nature, The Biomimicry Revolution,
Guy Lieberman & Matthew Rosmarin (South Africa), 25mins
Second Nature: The Biomimicry Evolution explores biomimicry, the science of emulating nature's best ideas to solve human problems. Set in South Africa, the film follows Time magazine "Hero of the Environment" Janine Benyus as she illustrates how organisms in nature can teach us to be more sustainable engineers, chemists, architects, and business leaders. After 3.8 billion years, nature has discovered not only how to survive but also how to thrive as a system. Benyus brings deep affection for the natural world as she guides us toward a vision of a planet in balance between human progress and ecosystem survival.

Brower Youth Awards (Tania Pulido), Rikshaw Films (USA), 4min
Six beautiful films highlight the activism of The Earth Island Institute's 2011 Brower Youth Award winners, today's most visionary and strategic young environmentalists. In this segment, meet Tania Pulido, 21, who brings her urban community together through gardening.

Baffin Islands: A Skier's Journey , Jordan Manley (USA), 16mins
High in the Canadian Arctic, five friends venture to the frozen fjords of Northwest Baffin Island during spring time. Ancient and colossal, these branching hallways of rock are the domain of seals and polar bears, and relied upon by local Inuit hunters. For visiting skiers, the fjords are nothing short of a dream. In every direction, giant couloirs ascend thousands of feet above the sea ice, weaving in between some of the tallest and cliffs on the planet. Baffin Island: A Skier's Journey EP2 is a step through these magical spaces. Powder Magazine

Weed War, Rich Addicks (USA), 6mins
One man's obsession to do his part for the environment using weed-eating goats to control noxious invaders in the Rocky Mountains. A profile on Mark Harbaugh, Patagonia fly fishing rep and goat rancher.

Bhutan: Land of the Crane, Greg Pope and Rhett Turner (USA), 16mins
Bhutan: Land of the Black-necked Crane takes viewers on an exotic Journey to the small Buddhist kingdom high in the Himalayan mountains. See how a benevolent king promotes Gross Domestic Happiness for his citizens while fostering respect for the environment and natural resources. Travel with George Archibald co-founder of the International Crane Foundation to see the rare and endangered Black-necked Cranes.

Seasons: Spring, Skip Armstrong, Ryan Bailey (USA), 4mins
As the snow melts and makes it way to the ocean, Jesse Murphy becomes reinvigorated by the river.

Ocean Frontiers 4, Port Orford, OR Ralf Meyer & Karen Anspacher-Meyer (USA), 25min
A new way of thinking, a new way of living, in concert with the sea, in celebration of those yet to come. "Ocean Frontiers" takes us on an inspiring voyage to seaports and watersheds across the country to meet unlikely allies, of industrial shippers and whale biologists, pig farmers and wetland ecologists, sport fishers and reef snorkelers and many more, all are embarking on a new course of collaboration, in defense of the seas that sustain us.

Part 4: Port Orford, Oregon & the California Current
The fishing community of Port Orford is taking control of their destiny, by conducting their own brand of conservation. They are protecting ocean habitat and conducting local science projects to sustain their fishing quotas, as well as protecting upstream forests to save their salmon--a farsighted perspective that considers their links to the land and sea, for their economic well-being.

Eagle Among the Swarm, Mike McKinlay, 3mins
Pacific Dunlin birds spend the winter in Boundary Bay, British Columbia. At the season's peak, numbers can reach up to 20,000 birds at a time and the packs can be seen flocking in great numbers, while continuously evading hungry falcons.