Film Festival kicks off Saturday at Wolf Center
The International Wolf Center in Ely is presenting a summer-long Wolves of the World Film Festival, featuring weekly screenings of the 10 best contemporary wolf documentaries in the world. The festival premiere is Saturday, May 28, at 8 p.m. with a special free screening of the award winning film, Michigan’s “Gray Wolf: Ghost Of The Big Timber.”Produced by Northern Michigan University Public, the film will be introduced by Professor Dwight Brady, the film’s director. Brady will also take questions from the audience following the screening. Many of the films feature rare footage of wolves in the wild. “This summer, Ely, MN will be the only place in the world people can see and experience wolves raising pups in India, exploring a European city at night, fishing for spawning salmon in British Columbia, fleeing from domestic dogs in Ethiopia, and hunting bison in Yellowstone,” says Jim Williams, assistant director for the non-profit education organization. “For folks only familiar with the wolves of the Upper Midwest, the mix of the familiar and the exotic presented in these films is very powerful.” Historically, wolves ranged throughout much of the northern hemisphere. Despite centuries of persecution and habitat destruction, they still survive today in large portions of the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and North America. Although wolves may differ a great deal in appearance, these far-flung wolf populations are closely related and share basic traits including organization in extended family groups called packs, preferential hunting of large hoofed mammals. Each film in the festival highlights a different global wolf population. Wolves and their environments in India, Romania, Michigan, Alaska, Yellowstone, North Carolina, British Columbia, Mexico, Ethiopia, and the Arctic are all represented. The festival has garnered major support from film production companies including National Geographic, the BBC, Northern Michigan University Public Television, and Film Option International, who dramatically reduced or waived their normal fees as they see the great benefit to the viewing public who will see a cross-section of the world of wolves today. Every day in June will feature six film screenings. In July and August, there will be 10 screenings per day in the newly rededicated Wolves of the World Theater, which has been refitted with a new sound system and screen in preparation for the film festival. In addition to the daily showings, there will be a special evening screening every Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Center’s auditorium. The full schedule for the film festival is on the International Wolf Center Web site at http://www.wolf.org/wolves/visit/daily_prog.asp. A special offer is being extended throughout the summer festival. Visitors to the Center can affordably enjoy as many of the films as they wish over the course of several days. Beginning May 27 through September 5, admission fees to the Center’s education center, normally good for just one day, will be good for an entire week. Admission to the films is free with admission to the Center. Admission fees are $7.50 for adults, $6.50 for seniors, and $4 for children 6-12. There is no admission fee for Center members and children under the age of six. The Summer Film Festival is just one of many great experiences at the International Wolf Center this summer. A single admission ticket also grants access to award winning exhibits for adults and children, a live wolf exhibit featuring five gray wolves in a natural North woods habitat, the Wolf Den store, daily presentations that provide the latest information on wolves, and the Wolves of the World Theater where the film festival screenings will be held.
