Press

The Latest News From IWFF

Getting ready for IWFF 2015

We are working hard here at The Roxy Theater, gearing up for the 38th Annual Wildlife Film Festival, but still taking time to enjoy the beautiful Montana weather! The official films selection list and the official screening schedule are now up! Be sure to check out what films will be screening during the 2015 IWFF. We … Read more

Calling all WildFest Exhibitors!

You can now fill out the WildFest Exhibitor Registration Form. Form available here: http://goo.gl/forms/2nf2qW4P3y   Wildfest will take place Sunday April 19th 2015 (Rain or Shine) / 12:00-3:00pm / Caras Park Pavilion / Downtown Missoula  

2015 Film Festival Selections

A huge thank you to everyone who submitted films for the 2015 International Wildlife Film Festival! We have reviewed all of the submissions and will post the official selections list soon! We are so excited to share the amazing work of these filmmakers at our 38th annual festival in Missoula, MT April 18-25.

The IWFF Children’s Matinee Program Returns in 2015

The 2015 IWFF Children’s Matinee Program is continuing with the momentum from last year’s hugely successful program. UM Spectrum will join us again in 2015 with even more pre-show performances. We are also working on screening programs geared directly towards middle and high school students, with guest speakers and question and answer sessions. Over 2,000 students … Read more

2015 Open Call

IWFF is now accepting submissions for the 2015 festival, happening in Missoula, Montana April 18-25 at the historic Roxy Theater. Now in its 38th year, the week-long event will feature new and exciting films, special guests, workshops, seminars, field trips, technology sessions, product demos, parties and dynamic networking events. With 6000 annual attendants, IWFF engages Missoula’s … Read more

Post Festival Tour

The 37th Annual International Wildlife Film Festival is now on tour! Learn how to bring the longest running wildlife film festival into your hometown, organization, business, agency, or school by downloading the Post Festival Tour Packet.

What’s Happening in the Wild – Closing the festival with the winning films

Congratulations to our Winning Films! After viewing, deliberating and debating, the IWFFl’s competition jury has reached consensus on our awards categories. The winners are: Best of Festival Short – PRIDE Best of Festival Feature – KILLER WHALES: BENEATH THE SURFACE Best Cinematography: SHORT – CATALINA ISLAND Best Cinematography: FEATURE _ ON A RIVER IN IRELAND Best Editing – TOUCHING THE WILD Conservation – DamNation Judges’ Merit … Read more

What’s Happening in the Wild – Friday, April 18

Special Event! IWFF Awards with Whizpops! & IMAX® Showcase 6 pm, Special Admission $5 Kids are FREE The IWFF Awards just got a whole lot more fun! The evening begins with a CD release party for the new record by Missoula’s own Whizpops! – the fun and lively band that the Missoulian calls “kids’ music done … Read more

What’s Happening in the Wild – Thursday, April 17

Special Event! Science Is Fiction: 8 Underwater Films by Jean Painlevé 8 pm, Special Admission $10, Free with Festival Pass One of the first filmmakers to descend underwater with a movie camera, French avant-garde filmmaker Jean Painlevé created hypnotic and surreal films that capture the beauty and weirdness of life undersea. His evocative images are taken … Read more

What’s Happening in the Wild – Wednesday, April 16

Special Event!  An Evening with M. Sanjayan At The UC Theatre at The University of Montana, 6 pm. FREE ADMISSION IWFF and The University of Montana are pleased to welcome leading global conservation scientist, writer and an Emmy-nominated news contributor Dr. M. Sanjayan to this year’s festival to present an episode from his upcoming Showtime documentary series … Read more

Film Reviews

Press Release April 8th, 2020

43rd International Wildlife Virtual Film Festival April 18–25, 2020

MISSOULA, MT— The International Wildlife Film Festival returns for a 43rd year, adapting to our changing world and offering a virtual festival to an online, international audience.

Due to the generosity and cooperation of many filmmakers, production teams, and sponsors, the International Wildlife Film Festival is excited to offer more than 60 films from the 2020 IWFF festival slate digitally! A majority of the film selections will be free to stream the week of the festival, and a virtual pass can be purchased to access featured events including seven special online events - one for every day of the fest. Featured events will be accompanied by live Q&A events, extra video resources, discussions, and more. Digital passes are available on a sliding scale starting at $5 and all sales support the IWFF and its home, The Roxy Theater.

As an online festival, all IWFF selections and passholder content will be available to students and classrooms. Educators are encouraged to visit the website and research films to use in their lesson plans. Many films are paired with educational activities, resources, articles and extras that will be available on the IWFF website beginning April 18. Specific recommendations for films appropriate for younger learners will be included. Educators with curriculum or accessibility questions may contact IWFF Education Coordinator Brit Garner at [email protected].

IWFF’s featured events for passholders offer greater depth into the featured films and subject matter as well as opportunities for collective viewing. On April 20th, take a look into all things mushrooms with viewings of Mushroom Hunters and The Kingdom and a visit from the Untamed Science team. There will be a selection of shorts celebrating the 50th anniversary of Earth Day on April 22nd, as well as a live Q&A with director Tom Mustill whose film #NatureNow focuses on Greta Thunberg and her powerful vision for our future. The co-creator of Takaya: Lone Wolf, Cheryl Alexander will give updates and extras after the film about a lone wolf living on an island near Vancouver on April 23. On April 24th, the festival closes with a look into the national fascination with tiger conservation with a screening of Sundance selection Tigerland and a talk from PhD candidate and Wild Tiger Executive Director Sarika Khanwilkar on the state of captive tigers in the world today.

The free-to-everyone streaming shorts and films include a wide variety of topics that explore great heights: climb into a golden eagle nest with ecologist Caitlin Davis, learn how the Quinault Nation is protecting blueback salmon, and play matchmaker for two skywalker gibbons! Watch The Smithsonian’s America’s Prairie Reserve shorts tracking restoration efforts or National Geographic’s series of shorts depicting researchers demonstrating the scientific method in action. Max Lowe’s Bare Existence encourages viewers to track the fate of polar bears in the Arctic, and The Oregon Zoo’s Gajah Borneo follows the challenges of Borneo pygmy elephants in stop-motion. For the entire festival week, virtual filmgoers can enjoy films on wildfire’s impact on wildlife, the realities of pangolin trafficking, the endangered helmeted hornbill, wolverines and much, much more.

Founded in 1977 at the University of Montana, IWFF is the first and longest-running event of its kind. In these fast-changing times, the IWFF staff is thrilled to be able to offer the festival to audiences all over the world and hopes to spark joy and engagement with our natural world. The vision of the IWFF will always be to champion wildlife filmmakers, challenge conventional expectations about conserving wildlife and habitat, and to foster an engaged, enlightened community that finds itself through cinema, and helps the planet to heal. For full event listings and times visit wildlifefilms.org.

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