ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
In February 2027, the South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL) celebrates the 25th Anniversary of the Wild & Scenic® Film Festival.

Drawing top filmmakers, activists, and adventurers to the historic northern California towns of Nevada City and Grass Valley. WSFF serves as a powerful tool for environmental action. This milestone event follows the recent 25th anniversary of the South Yuba River’s Wild & Scenic status, the very namesake of our festival. We invite you to celebrate these 25 years of Momentum and join us as we build the energy for the next 25.

ABOUT THE FILMS
Wild & Scenic features environmental and adventure films from around the world that illustrate the earth's beauty, the challenges facing our planet, and the work communities are doing to protect the environment. We welcome documentary, narrative shorts, and features about nature, community activism, intentional adventure, conservation, health, water, energy, climate change, wildlife, environmental justice, food, and farming.

Our objective is to inform, inspire, and ignite solutions to restore the earth and human communities while creating a positive future for the next generation through stellar filmmaking, beautiful cinematography, and first-rate storytelling. Films are curated into themed tracks, which pair projects with complementary subject matter or ideas to create a cinematic journey for audiences.

Each year, filmmakers and activists travel from around the globe to speak to festivalgoers following their respective films for Q&A, in workshops held in the festival's activist center, and in talks throughout the weekend. There are many opportunities for filmmakers to connect with peers, audiences, and the press.

WSFF chooses a theme to help guide the direction and focus of the festival season. While all relevant film submissions are welcome, WSFF always appreciates when there are ties to the annual theme.

2027 Theme: MOMENTUM

Selection for the flagship festival includes the opportunity to join our On Tour program, which is now in its 21st season. If programmed by on tour hosts this model can fundamentally change the lifecycle of a film:

National Reach: Programmed in over 125 locations across the United States and Canada.
Audience Engagement: The tour reaches an annual audience of over 40,000 people.
Community Impact: Supporting over 100 partner organizations to help their environmental impact causes.

***Information Regarding Festival Interruptions***
The Wild & Scenic Film Festival staff are in the early planning stages of our 2027 event. We are hopeful that an in-person or hybrid (virtual + in-person) event will be possible. If an in-person event cannot be held for any reason (pandemics, extreme winter storms, etc) we will pivot to a virtual festival. Updates will be posted here as more information becomes available and further decisions are made.

Awards & Prizes

"Yubie" awards are given each year carved from Yuba River stones.
Categories are:
Best of Festival
People's Choice
Spirit of Activism
Most Inspiring Adventure Film
Best in Theme
Best Short Short
Jury Award (x2)
Student Filmmaker
John de Graaf Environmental Filmmaking Award
Best Children's Film (awarded by the Kids Jury)

Two Honorable Mentions: One awarded by the Jury, and one awarded by the Kids Jury.

Rules & Terms

1. Submission copies must be submitted online (no DVDs, Blu-rays, DCPs, thumb drives, or other physical media will be considered)

2. All entries selected for our 2027 festival grant the Wild & Scenic Film Festival the right to use film stills and portions of accepted films for promotional purposes.

3. If accepted, final screening copies must arrive no later than December 5, 2026, or the entry will not be included in the festival. Filmmakers are responsible for shipping costs to the festival. All copies of the films become SYRCL's property unless otherwise directed.

4. Non-English entries must be submitted with English subtitles.

5. WSFF is making a push for 100% accessibility as a festival. All accepted films will be asked to provide burned in open captions for the 2027 edition.

5. Entry fees are nonrefundable.

6. Only films completed after January 1, 2026 will be considered for Official Selection unless otherwise approved.

7. Wild & Scenic does not show works in progress unless otherwise approved. Works in progress will be considered, but programmers cannot guarantee that any screeners updated after submission will be reviewed. Be prepared to have your original screener be reviewed. Completed projects are preferred.

8. As Wild & Scenic is a program for an environmental non-profit, we can only offer a limited number of fee waivers, and we cannot guarantee them from year to year.
Apply here: https://wildandscenicfilmfestival.org/film-submission-fee-waiver-application/. APPLICATION DEADLINE: July 14, 2026.

9. By submitting your project, you acknowledge that:
-Your film is not subject to any litigation, nor is it threatened by any litigation.
-You are duly authorized to have this film be screened at the festival.
-You have secured the rights to any and all music and/or footage used in the film.
-You fully indemnify and hold SYRCL and Wild & Scenic Film Festival completely harmless from any and all claims whatsoever that may arise as a result of usage of submitted materials.
47 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Katie Tannenbaum

    Great festival in a lesser-known, but awesome, location. You could feel the positive grassroots impact SYRCL has in this community. The festival had a wonderful selection of films. I appreciate that they offer a virtual festival and a tour in addition to the in-person festival. And they take great care of their filmmakers who attend!

    March 2026
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  • Everett Mathiason

    This was the first festival we traveled to for our film, and it was an incredible treasure. The sense of community, the accommodations, and not to mention the professionalism were all top-notch, and we could not imagine having a better time. They matched us with a housing partner, who went above and beyond to make us feel at home. We wished we could have stayed longer, but the short time we were there was simply incredible. If you're a filmmaker and your film ever gets accepted into this festival, I urge you to attend in person!

    March 2026
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  • Sky Dylan-Robbins

    Having attended Wild & Scenic with past films it's great to see them staying awesome and finding new ways to surprise everyone in good ways. Hospitality is top notch, a wonderful community and a great variety of films of all types. Lots of opportunities to meet and network with other filmmakers, Very engaged community of environmentalists and activists. I want to go back even when I don't have a film in the festival.

    March 2026
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  • Kimberly Calvert

    This was one of the first festivals my film was a part of, and, boy, did they set the bar high. Everyone on the team was incredibly welcoming, and the organization was impeccable. They thought about everything— networking events, a welcoming ceremony, awards ceremony, interviews with the filmmakers which were uploaded to YT. They even provided lodging with locals (a real benefit for us starving artists). It is clear they want to set us filmmakers up for success and provide an experience of a lifetime. And Nevada City Rocks! What a magical little town to host a magical festival. HIGHLY recommend submitting your environmental film if you have the opportunity!

    March 2026
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  • Lorna Young

    This is an outstanding festival. Exceptionally well organised with fantastic communication and community hospitality that made it both affordable for us to visit from the UK and enhanced our festival experience immeasurably. If you have a film that relates to the environment, animal welfare, sustainability or wildlife, Wild & Scenic should be at the very top of your festival wish-list, it was a privilege to be part of it.

    March 2026
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