The weeklong Earth Week events culminated with the inaugural Environmental Film Festival at the Historic Park Theatre.
This two-day event, held on Friday, Apr. 26 and Saturday, Apr. 27, featured the work of award-winning documentarian Nick Mollé and his staff.
During the course of the two days, six films, including full length, premieres and trailers, were played, all delivering a message of conservation and stewardship for Earth.
“We had not had an event at the theater in a while because of COVID,” said Mollé, owner and producer of Nick Mollé Productions and Rocky Mountain Channel. “We had this idea and Jenna at the Historic Park Theater and Claire [Mollé] said we have to do it as a festival.”
Friday’s events included showings of “The Living Dream: 100 Years of Rocky Mountain National Park,” a film about the history of this rugged place that has attracted Native Americans, mountain men and hikers for centuries.
That film was followed by “Rivers of the Rockies,” a film about rivers in northern Colorado, including the mighty Colorado River, which starts in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Before the evenings headline events started, Claire’s on the Park provided a light dinner while John Berry entertained the crowd with his skills on the guitar.
The evening’s main events featured an unveiling of “Estes Inspired” from Visit Estes Park, a series of videos highlighting the talented and inspirational residents, business owners and community leaders of Estes Park. That was followed by the premiere of “Wild Ride.”
One of Mollé’s latest films, “Wild Ride” showcases the people of the Peak to Peak Highway, otherwise known as Colorado Highway 7. This eclectic mix of businesses, individuals and artists are pulled together into a story about this scenic stretch of highway.
The second day of the festival, although hampered by a spring storm that dropped up to a foot of heavy, wet snow in some parts of Estes Park, went on despite the weather.
Although the need to cover the snowstorm prevented speaker Mike Nelson, Chief Meteorologist for Denver7, from attending, several dozen individuals braved the weather to enjoy a second day of conservation-minded documentaries.
This day was filled with the playing of “Nature of the Beasts,” a film about the impacts of increased visitation and climate change on the ecosystem of Rocky Mountain National Park, including the many wildlife species that call the area home.
That popular film was followed by the recently completed — Mollé said the final cut for the festival was finished at 3 a.m. the day before — “Wildside Australia.”
In this 60-minute travel documentary, Mollé and fellow producer John Goerner visit the flood plains near Darwin on the northern coast of Australia. There they explore the region to learn about the unique animals — crocodiles, wallabies, green ants and jabirus, among others — that call this region home.
After a reception catered by Poppy’s Pizza, which gave participants time to speak with the producers and filmmakers, the premiere of “Water: The Sacred Gift” was revealed.
In this 22-minute preview of Mollé’s upcoming conservation documentary, not only does Mollé and his team, including lead cinematographer Sean Doherty, bring the beauty of Rocky Mountain National Park to the screen again, but they incorporate a wealth of knowledge through interviews from local content experts about the impacts of climate change on water, wildlife, landscapes and the people that live in the area.
“Weather is like one play in football, and climate is the history,” said Nelson in the film.
Nelson went on to explain in his interview in the film that if humans continue to burn carbon at the current rate, Denver’s climate will be more like the current climate of northern New Mexico by the end of the century.
That sentiment and stark message was reiterated by Dr. Scott Denning, a Professor in the Department of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University, who was interviewed in the movie and attended the festival.
“As you know, the world is warming up,” said Denning after the preview of “Water.” “If we don’t stop burning carbon, we will bring the average temperatures of Denver to Estes Park and the average temperatures of Estes Park to the Continental Divide. The forest we have here, the wetlands we have here cannot survive in that.”
Other attendees of the festival also spoke during the panel discussion after the preview of “Water,” including: Loren Shriver, a NASA astronaut who recalled seeing fires burning in Brazil from space during his first shuttle mission; Chris Ray, Research Associate at the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research at the University of Colorado, who studies the effects of climate change on pikas and what it could mean for their future; Nico Strange Owl, owner of Eagle Plume’s Trading Post; Gary Miller, retired ecologist with Colorado Parks and Wildlife; and Celeste Fraser and Bob Leavitt, both of Estes Valley Watershed Coalition.
“I have been taught things about climate change from a Native perspective,” said Strange Owl. “We adapt and learn to live in nature.”
“$14 billion is spent every year on extracting and burning carbon,” said Denning. “Despair is the new denial in climate change, and that is irresponsible.”
“Pikas will evolve by shifting to being nocturnal animals,” said Ray. “We don’t want that.”
When asked about his role as cinematographer on the film “Water,” Doherty reflected on his time with the pikas.
“As a cinematographer, I love to be able to witness all of the wildlife and my favorite animal, the pika,” said Doherty. “I spent a lot of time with pika and saw how they are tied to water and the message of the film of climate change and water.”
One of the best comments of the panel discussion that created an impactful visual came from Fraser.
“I think of the planet like a carpet,” said Fraser. “If you pull out one string, the whole thing starts to fall apart and unravels. It is all connected.”
The crowd left after the panel discussion — most hoping the snow had stopped and the roads were not bad — with many talking amongst themselves about the messages this festival delivered.
The goal of the festival was to raise money to complete the film, “Water: The Sacred Gift,” with all proceeds of the event going to the production of the movie.
If interested in learning more about the movie and helping to fund the project, visit https://www.nickmolle.com/.
