How to Change the World

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2016 ACFF GREEN SPARK AWARD – INSPIRING THE NEXT GENERATIONACFF 2016 Green Spark Laurels large110 Minutes
Filmmaker: Jerry Rothwell
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In 1971, a group of friends sail into a nuclear test zone and their protest captures the world’s imagination, giving birth to Greenpeace and defining the modern green movement. Media savvy from the beginning, these pioneers captured their activist adventures on 16mm film. From this vivid archive and narration by Robert Hunter, an early guiding force of the organization, Jerry Rothwell has created a thrilling, sometimes terrifying film. When youthful energy comes up against the complexities of a growing organization, and idealism meets compromise, the group finds that their battle to save the planet forces them also to fight each other. This film is also a vibrant, moving reflection on the struggle to balance the political and the personal.

Screens on Friday, October 21 during BLOCK 1, which begins at 6:00 pm at the Byrd Center for Legislative Studies on the Shepherd University Campus.  Encore screening on Saturday, October 29 during BLOCK 12, which begins at 5:00 pm at the Frank Center on the Shepherd University Campus.

Life Story – First Steps

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59 Minutes
 Filmmakers: Tom Hugh-Jones,Rupert Barrington
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Vulnerable, naïve, and determined, some young animals face their biggest challenges in the first few days of life. Barnacle geese goslings take a leap of faith, falling tens of meters, just for their first meal. A tiny, young long-eared jerboa faces the daunting nighttime world of the Gobi desert completely alone. And at just 2 months old, a humpback calf embarks on a migration halfway around the world. In infancy, every challenge is a new one. How a creature fares at the very beginning of its life is the foundation upon which their future success depends. 

Screens on Saturday, October 22 during BLOCK 3, which begins at noon at the National Conservation Training Center.

As part of ACFF’s Youth an Family Programming, this film will be followed by a live animal presentation by Blue Ridge Wildlife Center!

Marijuana Grows and Restoration

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5 Minutes
Filmmakers: Steve Dunsky and Ann Dunsky

Marijuana HelicopterMarijuana growing on our national forests causes significant harm to the land, water and animals. The toxicants and lethal weapons found at these sites are both shocking in terms of amount and raise concerns regarding the health of the Region’s forests. The Forest Service, along with other agencies and volunteers, are working together to restore these impacted lands.

Screens on Sunday, October 23 during Block 7, which begins at 1:00 pm at Reynolds Hall on the Shepherd University Campus.

Medieval Monsters

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2016 ACFF STUDENT AWARD WINNER
ACFF 2016 Student Winner Laurels Large10 Minutes
Filmmaker: Oliver Mueller
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The New Forest of England has remained unchanged for centuries and while many of the country’s ancient beasts have long since vanished, here the creatures of old can still be found. This film captures their lives using macro, slow motion and time-lapse techniques to reveal behaviors beyond the capabilities of the human eye. Dueling dragonflies, acid-firing ants and jousting stag beetles take center stage in this world of medieval monsters.

Two Screenings!  Screens on Sunday, October 23 during BLOCK 8, which begins at 3:30 pm at Reynolds Hall on the Shepherd University Campus.  Encore screening on Sunday, October 30 during BLOCK 16, which begins at 6:00 pm at the Frank Center on the Shepherd University Campus.

Monarchs: The Milkweed Mission

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9 Minutes
Filmmakers: Turk Pipkin and Christy Pipkin
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The Milkweed Mission tracks the amazing year-long path of North America’s main Monarch butterfly population, documenting threats from logging and community conservation challenges in the winter reserves in Michoacán, Mexico, to loss of essential pollinators and milkweeds due to droughts, climate change, and chemical agriculture across the U.S. and into the northern migration range in Canada.

Screens on Sunday, October 23 during Block 8, which begins at 3:30 pm at Reynolds Hall on the Shepherd University Campus.

Moving the Giants

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11 Minutes
Filmmakers: Michael Ramsey and Ted Wood
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In 1991, arborist David Milarch had a near-death experience that inspired a personal quest to reforest our planet. He would harvest the genetics of the world’s oldest trees, initiate tree-planting efforts to combat climate change, and help restore the planet’s health. Moving the Giants tells David’s story, as he helps California coastal redwoods migrate northward to survive climate changes that threaten their current habitat. His is one path to promote “treequestration,” a mass movement to use one of nature’s most prolific methods to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and reduce the amount of future climate change.

Screens on Sunday, October 23 during Block 8, which begins at 3:30 pm at Reynolds Hall on the Shepherd University Campus.

Muir

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4 Minutes
Chandler Ellison
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This animated short film reflects on both the love and legacy of the naturalist John Muir, a man who spent much of his life promoting and advocating for the importance of the wilderness in people’s lives as well as its protection. His writings, a product of his own love and devotion to America’s wild places, eventually helped lead to the creation of the National Parks. Muir pays homage to his reverence and devotion to that idea.

Pale Blue Dot

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4 Minutes
Filmmaker: Chin Li Zhi

Pale Blue Dot 2Set to the words of Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot situates human history against the tapestry of the cosmos through an eclectic combination of art styles woven seamlessly together through music and visuals, seeking to remind us that regardless of our differences, we are one species living on Earth.

Screens on Friday, October 21 during BLOCK 1, which begins at 6:00 pm at the Byrd Center for Legislative Studies on the Shepherd University Campus.

Pangolin

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2016 ACFF SHORT FILM AWARD
ACFF 2016 Short Film Laurels Large

13 Minutes
 Filmmaker: Katie Schuler

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Take an intimate glimpse into the journey of a single pangolin, often called a “scaly anteater,” from the moment it is taken from the wild to its final destination in China. Filmed on location across three countries with the help of reformed poachers and wildlife enforcement officers, the film acts as a surrogate for an estimated hundred thousand pangolins that are poached and smuggled annually throughout Southeast Asia and Africa. Filmed with minimal commentary to be as immersive as possible, Pangolin offers audiences the opportunity to experience the life, death and afterlife of one of the most illegally trafficked and endangered mammals on the planet.

Two Screenings! Screens on Sunday, October 23 during Block 10, which begins at 6:30 pm at Reynolds Hall on the Shepherd University Campus.  Encore screening on Friday, Oct 28th during Block 11, which begins at 6:30 pm at Reynolds Hall.

Pronghorn Revival

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6 Minutes
Filmmaker: Ben Masters

Pronghorn PairWildlife biologists capture 100 Pronghorn Antelope, the fastest land mammal in North America, with net guns fired from low flying helicopters in order to translocate them to West Texas and save an iconic species.

Screens on Sunday, October 23 during Block 8, which begins at 3:30 pm at Reynolds Hall on the Shepherd University Campus.