16th Wild & Scenic Film Festival

The 16th annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival returns to Bend, Oregon, hosted by the Oregon Natural Desert Association (ONDA). This one-night event takes place at the Tower Theatre with an additional online streaming option, featuring a lineup of nine award-winning films ranging from animated shorts to long-form documentaries. The selection focuses on themes of environmental restoration, conservation activism, and the inherent beauty of the planet.

A centerpiece of this year's festival is the documentary "People of Red Mountain: Life Over Lithium," which chronicles an Indigenous-led campaign to protect ancestral lands from mining in the McDermitt Caldera. Representatives from the grassroots organization People of Red Mountain will attend the screening to introduce the film and discuss their ongoing conservation efforts along the Oregon-Nevada border.

Originally launched in 2003 by the South Yuba River Citizens League in California, the Wild & Scenic Film Festival now tours nationally. The Bend iteration serves as a platform for ONDA to inspire community action and support for protecting the high desert landscape. The program includes stories of global impact, such as lion conservation in Kenya and activism within the U.S. National Park system.