The Wild and Scenic Film Festival is coming from 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, April 18, at Western Carolina University.

The festival is part of a national tour of award-winning films that take audiences to some of the most remote and beautiful places on the planet to highlight community activism and the power of people to make a difference in their communities.  

“The tour is part of a network of grassroots organizations using the power of film to inspire environmental activism,” said Ken Brown with the Tuckasegee Community Alliance.

The short films explore a wide range of issues, including communities involved with saving their “home places” in the Appalachian mountains from mountaintop removal and hydro-fracking, a controversial extraction technique that fractures rock to release natural gas; the impact of “plastic” on our lives and landscapes; and “new environmentalists” who offer solutions for preserving natural resources, such as a citizens group that created Germany’s first successful cooperatively owned renewable power company.

The Western North Carolina Alliance and Western Carolina University’s Sustainability Council and Eco CATS student group are co-sponsoring the festival. The event will be held in A.K. Hinds University Center theater.

The April 18 program at WCU will include a keynote address from Tom Belt, coordinator of the Cherokee language program at WCU; a welcome from Julie Mayfield, executive director of WNCA; live music; and the Smoky Mountain Roller Derby Girls.

General admission to the festival at WCU will be $6 for students and $10 for the general public. Attendees who join the WNCA – $10 for students and $25 for the general public – will be admitted free.  

Advance tickets are available online at www.wnca.org.

828.258.8737.