Lookout Wild Film Festival films will take viewers racing through Alaska, kayaking over waterfalls in Mexico, hiking along the Appalachian Trail, crawling through Aztec ruins, mountain biking through militarized Eastern Europe, and even visiting a homemade island in Canada.
The fifth annual LWFF, an outdoor adventure and conservation themed film festival, will take place Thursday, Jan. 19 to Sunday Jan. 22 at the Memorial Auditorium Walker Community Theater. For full schedule and details, visit www.lookoutfilmfestival.org.
“After five years, we’ve learned what the audience wants and expects at LWFF,” said festival Director Andy Johns. “They want thrills, they want excitement, but they also want films that tug at their heart strings. Our team has picked a group of films that do it all.”
Last year’s event sold 3,000 tickets and became the first event to ever sell out the newly renovated Walker Theater. This year’s festival includes 62 films from 21 countries around the globe. The 17 hours of films screening this weekend were selected from the 98 hours of films submitted by filmmakers worldwide.
Notable international selections include “China: A Skier’s Journey,” “Sea Gypsies: The Far Side of the Earth,” “Surviving the Fundy Footpath” and “PaddleSUP Mission Amazon.” Other films range from “Throw,” one man’s story of escaping Baltimore gangs through his yo-yo talent, to “Shift” the story of First Nations teenagers building bike trails in the Yukon. Films with a local connection include “The Story of Lula Lake,” “The Big Three,” “Fight Like Nate” and “Dale Sanders Source to Sea.” LWFF is proud to host the premiere of “The Story of Lula Lake” on Friday night, a short film that chronicles the work preserving one of the most beautiful areas in the Chattanooga area. “The Big Three” (Sunday) details a trio of bouldering and climbing hot spots in the Tennessee Valley, while “Fight Like Nate” (Saturday night) tells the story of Chattanoogan Nathan Sexton as he keeps running road races despite his battle with a brain tumor. Finally, “Dale Sanders: Source to Sea” (Friday) is a film from local filmmakers about an 80-year-old Tennesseean’s attempt to be the oldest person to canoe the entire the Mississippi River.
“We’ve got an incredible mix of stories from filmmakers with so many different perspectives,” Mr. Johns said. “Saturday night may be the best group of short films we’ve ever shown.”
LWFF 2017 will also feature photo contest winner, backstage yoga sessions with timelapse films, receptions, awards and Q&A’s with filmmakers. For details and tickets visit www.lookoutfilmfestival.org.