“There is absolutely not enough wildness in the world today.” – Daniel Kinka, Director of Rewilding at American Prairie Reserve, Montana

The Wild & Scenic Film Festival brings a special selection of seven films to the big screen at the Columbia Valley Centre in Invermere on November 14. It’s an evening to celebrate wild landscapes around the world and learn about the people who help protect them.

While all the documentaries feature intriguing characters, like the Kenyan beekeeper who travels to Nepal in search of the wild honey hunters, or the Chilean mycologist whose passion about fungi takes her to the far reaches of Patagonia, one of the highlights this year is a 35-minute documentary called The Rewilders.

The Rewilders tells the tale of pioneering conservationists on three continents, working tirelessly as they galvanize the global movement of re-wilding, one species and one landscape at a time.

Jaguars (hunted almost to extinction in Argentina) are bred in the Iberian wetlands and restored to the wild, as one part of a vast conservation program initiated by Kris and Doug Tompkins 30 years ago in South America.

A mother-daughter team in South Africa, who have restored lions, cheetahs and rhinos to the Samara Reserve, bring a family of elephants on a 200-kilometer journey to perpetuate this threatened species and revive habitats in degraded lands. A wildlife ecologist, a bison-whisperer, and a young man poised for leadership on the Rocky Boy Reserve, work together through American Prairie to restore Montana grasslands, and all its creatures, through the reintroduction of the iconic bison.

Closer to home, in British Columbia, river conservationist (and the founder of the annual BC Rivers Day) Mark Angelo stewards efforts with conservation organizations and First Nations stakeholders to save the salmon that are critical to the environmental health of the region and the culture of its people.

For those who can’t make it to the event in Invermere on November 14, an online viewing option is available for seven days. Either way, you are supporting local environmental efforts in the East Kootenay.

Event Details

What: 13th Wild & Scenic Film Festival
When: Saturday, November 14
Where: Columbia Valley Centre, Invermere
Doors open: 5 p.m.
Films begin: 6:30 p.m.
Extras: Silent Auction, door prizes, pizza and snacks, cash bar

Also available: seven-day Online Viewing option.

Tickets and information: wildsight.ca/events/2026wsff-invermere/  or simple link: Wildsight.ca/Invermere

Lead image: Jaguars, hunted almost to extinction in Argentina, are bred in the Iberian wetlands and restored to  the wild, as one part of a vast conservation program, as featured in the film The Rewilders. Image submitted

Wildsight Invermere

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