Wild & Scenic Film Festival 2026

Presented by the Carrie Dickerson Foundation in memory of her birthday on May 24 and in memory of Terry Stewart - tickets on sale now, $14 members, $18 adults, $15 seniors and students. All tickets include admission to the lobby activities and film screening.

Sponsored by NatureWorks, LEAD Agency, and Tulsa Peace Fellowship. With support from community partners the Regional Resiliency Coalition, Anthropocene Alliance, and Electronic Synergy Foundation. With thanks to Wild & Scenic Film Festival National Partners HHMI Tangled Bank Studios, Hydro Flask, Earthjustice, Nia Impact Capital, and Sierra Nevada Brewing Company.

Circle Cinema is proud to partner with the Carrie Dickerson Foundation for the 2nd annual hosting of the Wild & Scenic Film Festival in Tulsa. Concerned citizens worldwide know the urgency of the many environmental crises facing our planet today, but most don’t know how they can contribute to the fight. Now, those in Tulsa can support their own local advocates for the environment by attending this Wild & Scenic Film Festival On Tour event. This year’s films are themed around the idea of ‘gumption’ and the truth that one person can make a difference like Carrie Dickerson did in leading the community to stop the Black Fox nuclear development.

The event will begin at noon with a social gathering in the Circle lobby. Our sponsors and community partners will have info and vendor tables for people to learn how to get involved with and support local environmental efforts. There will be live music, a special environmental art display, and the Electronic Synergy Foundation parked out back collecting electronics for recycling.

At 2pm the film screenings will begin, featuring a curated selection of new short environmental activism films from around the world. The program includes 11 shorts with a total runtime of 2hrs plus intermission. Following Carrie Dickerson’s example, many of these films feature a woman or group of women recognized a danger, a threat, an absolute crime against nature, or an abuse of power that requires them to stand up and protect their communities. Carrie showed us how to walk the "Soft Path" of sustainable and renewable sources of power generation, and the most important lesson from her shining example is that we can never give up. We hope attendees can take that message to heart through these new films and carry the work forward after the screening. More information on this year’s films below.

About the Carrie Dickerson Foundation: The Carrie Dickerson Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational foundation whose purpose from its inception has been to carry on the work of Oklahoma's dedicated grassroots hero, and to keep the history of her work alive. Our mission is to follow Carrie's example to help Oklahoma become an innovator in developing clean, safe, renewable energy, and to promote and inform the public about sustainable, economically responsible, nuclear free alternative energy resources for our region, the nation and the planet. We are dedicated to the soft path which Carrie walked, to protect and preserve the natural environment. Citizens of Oklahoma and the world will forever be indebted to Carrie Barefoot Dickerson (May 24, 1917-November 17, 2006) for leading the efforts to make northeastern Oklahoma safer for future generations. In May 1973, Aunt Carrie, as she was known by her many supporters and friends, read a news article about Public Service of Oklahoma's plans to build the Black Fox Nuclear Power Plant near Inola, about 15 miles from Tulsa and a few miles from the Dickerson family farm. Aunt Carrie and CASE, with co-chair Ilene Younghein of Oklahoma City, began an expensive but determined battle to educate the public and stop construction of the plant. Following her lead, other anti-nuclear organizations were formed in the area, and citizens from all walks of life and ethnic groups joined in the battle. After a nine-year struggle, PSO announced on Feb. 16, 1982, that they would not build the Black Fox facility. Black Fox was the only nuclear power plant to be cancelled by a combination of legal and citizen action after construction had started. Learn more about Carrie, the sacrifices she made to protect her community, and her ongoing legacy at CarrieDickersonFoundation.org.

About NatureWorks: Conserving Oklahoma wildlife and their habitats. Visit NatureWorks.org for more.

About the Wild & Scenic Film Festival: The Wild & Scenic Film Festival was started by the watershed advocacy group, the South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL) in 2003. The festival’s namesake is in celebration of SYRCL’s landmark victory to receive “Wild & Scenic” status for 39 miles of the South Yuba River in 1999. The 5-day event features over 150 award-winning films and welcomes over 100 guest speakers, celebrities, and activists who bring a human face to the environmental movement. The home festival kicks-off the international tour to communities around the globe, allowing SYRCL to share their success as an environmental group with other organizations. The festival is building a network of grassroots organizations connected by a common goal of using film to inspire activism. With the support of National Partners: HHMI Tangled Bank Studios, Hydro Flask, Earthjustice, Nia Impact Capital, and Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, the festival can reach an even larger audience.

About this year’s films:
“A Home in the Grass” – 6min, dir. Ryan Ward
Since 1970, North America has lost 3 billion birds. As grassland bird populations continue to decline, one conservationist’s act of devotion represents hope in a world where natural habitats are disappearing every day.

“Back from the Brink: Resurgence of the Catalina Island Fox” – 19min, dir. Robert Bowman
Once teetering on the brink of extinction, the Santa Catalina Island Fox made a dramatic recovery. Its resurgence marks one of the greatest conservation success stories in United States history.

“Wild Hope: Building for Birds” – 16min, dir. Geoff Luck, Srah Arnoff, Sam Legrys
Millions of birds pass through our yards during their bi-annual migrations, but they face an invisible killer along the way: glass windows. In the US alone, an estimated one billion birds die each year when they collide with windows. Now, two organizations help pave the way to a bird-friendly future.

“Return to the Earth” – 7min, dir. Amy Smyth
What if your home could be handmade—from the ground beneath your feet? This intimate micro-documentary tells the story of Betty Seaman—a mother, builder, and teacher—who constructed her family’s cob home with her own hands. What began as a quest for affordable, sustainable shelter grew into a living classroom for resilience and community. But when wildfires came dangerously close to consuming everything she had built, Betty was forced to confront the stark realities of life on a changing planet. Filmed while the Palisades fires were still smouldering, her story emerges as one of survival, adaptation, and the possibility of building back without using toxic materials.

“Guardians of the Earth” – 10min, dir. Cyril Guyot
In Kenya’s wild heart, rangers, Maasai lion guardians, and Samburu women reveal how ancient wisdom and modern conservation unite. Through their courage and traditions, the film shows that protecting wildlife is also protecting culture, land, and the sacred bond between people and the living world.

“Good Neighbors Care” – 3min, dir. Kate E. Hinshaw
For decades chemical company DuPont and its subsidiary Chemours poisoned North Carolina’s drinking water through illegally dumping forever chemicals into the Cape Fear River. On altered 16mm film, corporate promises of community care and pure water dissolve as rivers and bodies merge in a meditation on what it means to exist in an imperfect environment.

“Monumental Moment” – 15min, dir. Pete McBride
For years, shy and soft-spoken teenager Maya Tilousi-Lyttle has been protesting uranium mining on the border of Grand Canyon National Park with her mother, Havasupai advocate Carletta Tilousi. On Aug. 8, 2023, she spoke powerfully from a podium moments before President Joe Biden signed the proclamation declaring Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument. The monument represented a form of long-sought permanent protection for a region that holds irreplaceable significance to the Indigenous peoples who have called it home for millennia. But in January 2025, the Arizona legislature and others filed lawsuits attempting to overturn the monument designation and attacking the Antiquities Act as unlawful. The fight continues, and it is up to Maya’s generation to make their voices heard.

“The Bees and the Birds” – 12min, dir. Olly Johnson
California’s native bees are facing an uncertain future. The Bees and the Birds explores this unfolding environmental crisis through the lens of a vibrant community garden that has become a safe haven for native bees, birds, and other wildlife. Through macro cinematography and stories from local gardeners and scientists, we see how small-scale efforts can have large impacts for local biodiversity.

“Growing Together: A Journey in Agriculture” – 6min, dir. Preston Sam and Adam Koperqualuk
Preston and Adam work together to deepen and share their know-how about living in a harsh northern climate. In a geodesic dome, they grow food that they offer directly to their community, while teaching the members food self-sufficiency.

“Forgotten Flavors” – 13min, dir. Kimberly Calvert
Our ancestors knew every edible plant, every healing herb—knowledge we’ve almost entirely lost. Forager Pascal Baudar moves through Southern California’s woodlands and desert with ancestral eyes, gathering what most would overlook. He teaches others to awaken senses dulled by modern life—to taste, smell, and touch their way back to an ancient knowing. He forages wild plants for food and fermentation, hand-harvests clay to craft vessels, creating an extraordinary feast that exists nowhere else. This intimate portrait reveals what we gain when we slow down enough to remember who we once were.

“The Moon Had a Shadow” – 6min, dir. Phil Hart
Stunning, evocative and world-class footage of solar eclipses in Idaho/Wyoming and the Tetons, and Exmouth, Western Australia. With a soundtrack ‘Shine’ by Jason Mraz that was made for this.