If you go
› What: Lookout Wild Film Festival› Where: Walker Theatre in Memorial Auditorium, 399 McCallie Ave.› When: 7-10:30 p.m. Thursday-Friday, Jan. 18-19; 2-5:30 p.m. and 7-10:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 20; and 2-5:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 21› Admission: $12.50 individual sessions, $30 weekend pass› For more information: 423-757-5580
"Tennessee Walking Men" documents the walk of three friends across Tennessee.Where can you watch 79 films for $30?
That deal's only found at this weekend's Lookout Wild Film Festival, which opens Thursday, Jan. 18, in Walker Theatre of Memorial Auditorium, and continues though Sunday, Jan. 21.
The film festival committee strives to bring the best outdoor adventure and conservation films from around the world to Chattanooga for one marathon movie weekend. Film categories include adventure sports, exploration, conservation, shorts, features, documentaries, narratives and Southeastern adventures.
There are stories that celebrate wild places and the people they inspire as well as selections that feature high adventure in exotic locales such as Antarctic mountain climbing, rock climbing in Spain and Himalayan honey harvests.
The majority of the festival's films range from two to 10 minutes, but there are some in the 20-25-minute range as well as "Coming to my Senses," which is the longest of the series at 80 minutes.
Three-hour sessions are scheduled Thursday and Friday night; Saturday afternoon and evening and Sunday afternoon. Individual sessions are $12.50; a weekend pass is $30.
Of particular interest to Chattanoogans:
» "Climbing the Scenic City." Thursday night, Jan. 18. Explore the history of climbing in Chattanooga and how the Scenic City has become a mecca for climbing in the Southeast.
» "Lookout Mountain Conservancy." Friday night, Jan. 19. A story of Chattanoogans leading a movement to bridge the racial divide through renewed attention to land conservation and community development in a partnership between Lookout Mountain Conservancy and Howard High School.
» "The Wild President." Friday night, Jan. 19. President Jimmy Carter grew up in awe of nature's beauty, but it wasn't until he paddled the Chattooga River that he understood the power of a wild, free-flowing stream. This film tells the story of Carter's pioneering tandem-canoe descent of Bull Sluice Rapid and how the experience transformed his life and politics.
» "The Steward." Saturday afternoon, Jan. 20. After Steward Spring cave in Fort Payne, Ala., is vandalized in the late 1980s, the cave's preserve manager goes to extreme lengths to keep the cave beautiful and preserved for future generations.
» "When the Dust Settles." Saturday afternoon, Jan. 20. This film, set in Chattanooga, compares the struggles of wild horses to those of disadvantaged girls.
» Trail Angels." Sunday afternoon, Jan. 21. A group of Chicago friends and young conservationists venture into the Great Smoky Mountains to experience the Appalachian Trail while they rebuild it.
» "Tennessee Walking Men." Sunday afternoon, Jan. 21. Motivated to know more about their home state, three young men set out on foot across the hills and highways of Tennessee. Instead of adventure, these explorers are confronted with questions of life, purpose and death.
To see the festival's full schedule with film descriptions: lookoutfilmfestival.org/images/LWFF_2018Schedule.pdf.