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MORE THAN FILM - IT’S A MOVEMENT By Natalie Downey
If a picture is worth a thousand words, the Nature Now Environmental Film Festival is the catalyst for an entire movement, sparking conversations that shed light on environmental issues and inviting the community to connect with nature. With an entire lineup of gripping
environmental shorts and documentaries, you won’t want to miss this opportunity to see these interesting stories about interesting people and the cinematic creativity of the filmmakers who bring them to life. Nature Now is a local environmental education nonprofit that hosts the only annual film festival in our community, featuring unique documentaries that all share the common thread of a love for nature. Now in its fifth year, the organization focuses its efforts on raising awareness, educating, and inspiring audiences through carefully curated lineups full of breathtaking cinematography and
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fascinating stories of real-life people, and the measures they’re taking to advocate for issues relevant to. For the past several years Columbus was a stop for the Wild and Scenic Film Fest. The second year, Columbus was the largest on-tour host for Wild and Scenic in the country. “We were adding so much extra content,” explains Paige Swift, director of Nature Now, “And it just became larger and larger, so it made sense to establish it as it’s own stand-alone film fest.” What’s typically a one night program in other towns, became a true three day festival experience of films, talks, special guests, art, parties, and a whole network of local ventures, all uniting to celebrate and support environmental awareness. Through Paige’s efforts to expand on the festival, it has grown far beyond the WSFF
On Tour platform. So, in 2021, the Columbus based nonprofit organization Nature Now was started with its own vision for advocacy through an annual environmental film festival. Nature Now contracts content from the Wild and Scenic Film Festival in addition to films from other resources such as Reel Rock, an ontour rock climbing film fest, Southern Exposure, films which produces short documentaries about Alabama issues, and films from a variety of independent filmmakers. “We’ve got something for everyone,” Paige says. “The festival appeals to a wide audience.” The festival extends beyond the screen, connecting the community with filmmakers Continued On p.15 8
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