The acclaimed national Wild & Scenic Film Festival returns to Cincinnati on June 14 at Memorial Hall. Presented by Ohio River Foundation, this is a specially curated selection of films created just for the Cincinnati audience!

  • When: Saturday, June 14, 2025. Program start at 7:30 pm. (Doors will open at 6:00 pm for food, refreshments, and socializing.)
  • Where: Memorial Hall – 1225 Elm St, Cincinnati, OH 45202
  • What: The festival will feature a series of short films from talented environmental filmmakers from all over the world, lite bites, a cash bar, and a raffle.

SYRCL (South Yuba River Citizens League) is the organizing non-profit for the national Wild & Scenic Film Festival and 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 give us 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?

 

Thank you to our 2025 Sponsors!

Dan & Jill Freshley

SPONSORSHIP

To learn more about sponsoring the 2025 Wild & Scenic Film Festival, contact Rich Cogen at rcogen@ohioriverfdn.org for more information and payment options. If you’d like to submit sponsorship payment online, click here. 

THE IMPACT

Your Donation Makes a Big Impact

  • $25 can provide food for the freshwater mussel “ambassadors” we use in our Mussels in the Classroom program.
  • $100 can buy water quality equipment to enable us to identify pollution problems.
  • $500 can help 50 students be River Explorers for a day of learning in a river or creek.
  • $1,000 can plant 100 native trees to restore critical habitat and help keep our water clean.