Human Nature
Wild & Scenic Film Festival
Saturday, June 14
Program at 7:30 pm. (Doors open at 6 p.m.)
Memorial Hall
1225 Elm St.
Presented by Ohio River Foundation, with a specially curated selection of films for the Cincinnati audience!
Cincinnati has a long and proud history as a river city. From commerce to community, the Ohio River has quite literally shaped the region.
Each year, the Ohio River Foundation (ORF) brings one of the largest environmental film festivals in North America to town to help inspire environmental activism and a love for nature through film.
The eighth annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival feature a series of short films from talented environmental filmmakers from all over the world, lite bites, a cash bar, and a raffle. This year the festival moves to Memorial Hall Theater as it celebrates 25 years of work.
This year’s organizing non-profit for the national Wild & Scenic Film Festival is the Youth Yuba River Citizens League, which provides more than 100 films for non-profit organizations across the country to select from to produce their own film festivals.
The films chosen by WSFF illustrate not only the challenges facing our planet but the work communities are doing to protect the environment and the places we love. The stories offer a sense of place and what it means to be responsible stewards of the earth.
2025 Featured Films
Wild Hope: A Farm Goes Wild – For years, Derek Gow worked his 400-acres in western England as a conventional sheep and cattle farm. But as both a farmer and conservationist, he knew that wasn’t right for nature. Now, he’s using his experience with British rewilding projects to return his land to what it once was: a healthy, biodiverse ecosystem.
Judy’s Creek: Discovering the Secret Life of the Streambed – Follow ecologist, educator, and author, Dr. Judy Li, into the world of caddisflies, the artisans of the aquatic world. With contagious passion, Judy shares how her childhood curiosity led to a career in freshwater science, and how she has found ways to share the joys of science with audiences of all ages.
Wild Hope: Vertical Meadows – As urban expansion quickly replaces natural habitats, façade engineer Alistair Law has discovered a new way to restore native ecosystems for pollinators and create natural spaces for us all within cities – by turning the walls of buildings into meadows.
Bridging Fragments – Urbanization and deforestation are fracturing the wildlife corridors that preserve biodiversity in tropical rainforests, putting many species at risk, including the world’s slowest mammal – the sloth. “Bridging Fragments” explores these stressors in a tropical rainforest community off the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, where the Sloth Conservation Foundation is helping the local wildlife navigate a disconnected world.
Wild Hope: Cougar Crossing – Los Angeles is well known for its celebrities, so when the fearless cougar P-22 gained fame for making its home in the midst of the city, he inspired an effort to build the world’s largest wildlife crossing and helped spark a national campaign to support crossings and corridors everywhere.
Freya – Feel inspired by 9 years old Freya, who shares how she uses climbing as a practice to lean into discomfort and fear to help her navigate her neurodiversity. The strength she gains through both are applicable and inspirational to us all.
River Cowboys: Keepin’ it Wild – This short film showcases the stunning landscapes of the internationally recognized, Red River Gorge, and KY’s only Wild & Scenic Red River. It highlights an ongoing environmental challenge: the removal of scores of discarded tires and trash from Red River (and dumping as a statewide and national issue) and our humble cleanup leader, the original River Cowboy, Russ Miller.
Rivers Cannot Defend Themselves – 30 Years ago, the Farmington River became the first partnership wild and scenic river, setting a new precedent and path for rivers to be protected. David Sinish, one of the principal activists who led the fight, looks back at the events that made this unique designation possible.
Wild Hope: Turtle Trackers – Three species of sea turtles nesting in southeast Florida face a range of manmade threats. Thanks to conservation measures, loggerhead and green sea turtles are recovering, but leatherbacks remain at risk. Researchers know little about this amazing species — and in the battle to save leatherbacks, knowledge is key.
Friends of the Frogpool Lane – Follow a group of vigilante crossing guards as they help frogs and salamanders navigate a busy road through a rainy Spring night, so these driven amphibians can arrive safely to the unique wetland that is critical for their life cycle.
Here the Wild Things Are – Aotearoa joins a fun, global competition where ecologists and enthusiasts scour cities to uncover the weird and wonderful wild. But can they save the planet, one photo at a time?