The Wild Mile: A River Reborn

2023 • USA • 15 min • Christy Frank, Alex Goetz

Filmmaker in Attendance

Mud-thick boots, cold farmers, an adze chopping holes for tiny trees in a huge field. These are memorable images from a film that follows one recent restoration project of Ohio’s Black Swamp Conservancy to tell the larger story of the history and mission of the Conservancy.

2025 • USA • 12 min • Tom Deschenes and Nisogaabokwe Melonee Montano

Filmmaker in Attendance, Michigan Premiere

Indigenous and Western ways of knowing come together through the collaboration of a Anishinaabe scholar and college professor to redefine our understanding of wilderness and argue for the return of fire to our forests.

2024 • USA/Mexico • 16 min • Marc Chavez and Octavio Aceves Coutiño

Has Subtitles, Michigan Premiere, Family Friendly

Over 400 years ago, a major disturbance disrupted nature’s law along the West Coast, reshaping coastlines, Indigenous life, and traditions. Now, a new wave emerges, allowing Indigenous communities to thrive in harmony with nature. Haagua portrays the deep bond between Great Great-Grandmother Ocean and her great-grandchildren, where surfing is more than a sport—it is a cultural revival, reconnecting with ancestral ways of life.