The Nature Track Film Festival celebrates its 5th year and moves to Goleta for the weekend

GOLETA, Calif. -  The Nature Track Film Festival (NTFF) is set for a three-day slate of adventure and outdoor movies. It will take place October 6, 7 and 8 at the Fairview Theatre in Goleta.   This is the first year the festival has come to Goleta and the event  organizers are  finding collaboration on many levels including the Ritz-Carlton Bacara Resort nearby and many environmentalists in the area.

There will also be special panels and a field trip to Lake Los Carneros, a birding hot spot in the area.

Those attending the film My Alaska Journey will automatically be entered into a contest for a trip to Alaska.

Outside of the theatre is a large "Montana" canvas tent that will be part of a raffle with just 100 tickets.

Festival organizer Sue Eisaguirre said, "this is another way we can connect people to the natural world but we are doing it through film.  So if we connect all the people that come here  then we will have more people who will make decisions about the future of our environment."

In the lineup will be 11 features, 30 shorts and 13 countries will be represented.
"It's outdoor, adventure, it's documentaries, it's animated, it's live, it's shorts, it's feature length, " said Eisaguirre.

One is a student film focusing on a personal quest to help the local environment alone and with others.

Drew Rasmus is a fifth year UCSB Student and said his story line shows, "protecting the environment on a personal level can be very challenging at time and very daunting." He said the person at the center of the film,  "addresses how to over come that and keep pressing on an individual level and how to go beyond that."

There were many student entries that had to be narrowed down for this festival. Rasmus said there were,
"five different groups of film makers from the university."

For those showing films and those attending, there will be collaboration on many levels to understand and look at, what's next for our environment.

"It's going to be a great resource  just to meet people and learn from all these films and creatives trying to protect our environment," said Rasmus.

Some films have already won awards in other festivals, including two films by Michael Love. The take a closer look at the Channel Island Foxes and the California Condors,  but that were once about to die off.

Love said, "I have been at nature film festivals all this year.  Both of these films are prize winners from other film festivals. What I really wanted to do is chronicle local endangered wildlife and show that even though human impact brought it to the brink of extinction it was  human effort that brings them back."

As a veteran film maker with success in many festivals, Love said, "I love being in a nature film festival.  Incredible films from around the world. I want to see all the films."

Funds from the film festival will help students connect with nature throughout the county.

"All proceeds from the film festival go to Nature Track which supports us connecting K-12 students to the natural world all throughout the county and then we have a program for wheel chair users using the  freedom tracks." 

The event was previously in Los Olivos, and it will return there on October 14 for a "Best of the Fest" event at The Grainge.   The top films, as chosen by a team of judges, will be shown from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Organizers said in a statement:  

NTFF is a program of the NatureTrack Foundation, founded in 2011 this nonprofit organization’s mission is to foster lifelong fascination with nature and inspire respectful stewardship of our natural world through field trips and events. More than 35,000 students, K-12 have experienced a NatureTrack field trip. All at no charge to the teachers, schools or families. Now with Freedom Trax devices for wheelchair users to be on the trails and beaches with their classmates.

NatureTrack Film Festival by the numbers:

• 5th anniversary 
• 1st time in Goleta and in a real movie theatre
• 41 films : 11 features & 30 shorts
• 16 filmmakers at the festival 
• 13 countries represented 
• 12 months in the planning
• 4 parties
• 3 days +1 of nature films 
• 2 Panels
• 2 Goleta hotels - Ritz-Carlton Bacara & The Leta
• 2 Raffles 
• 1 Field Trip to Lake Los Carneros

For more information go to:    info@naturetrackfilmfestival.org
(More video, photos, and details will be added here later today)