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Explore the Full Festival Lineup Below
Full screening schedule coming soon.
Friday Nov 6th
Opening Night Ritz-Carlton Bacara
Central Coast Premiere
In Cinque Terre on Italy’s northern Riviera, fewer than three thousand locals contend with over four million tourists each summer. Across one chaotic season, six very different lives play out in parallel, revealing a sharply funny and surprisingly tender story of paradise under pressure in the age of social-media-driven tourism.
Acclaimed Irish director Gar O’Rourke, along with social media influencer Grace Andrews, one of the film’s central characters, will join WAFFF founder Gareth Kelly in person for an intimate conversation about the film and the story behind it.
The evening begins with a Mediterranean-inspired reception featuring acoustic guitar from Sam Adams, complimentary appetizers, wine from Sunstone Winery, beer and non-alcoholic beverages, all set against the backdrop of one of the Central Coast’s most spectacular coastal resorts.
Reception — 6:30–7:30 p.m.
Film Premiere — 8:00 p.m.
Tickets — $125 per person
Included with the All In Festival Pass
Limited availability.
Saturday Nov. 7
Central Coast Premiere
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Winner of the 2026 Sundance Grand Jury Prize for U.S. Documentary.
A polar bear is forced to navigate a human world of tourists, wildlife officers, and hunters as its ancient migration collides with modern life. When a sacred predator is branded a nuisance, the film asks a provocative question: who truly belongs in this shared landscape?
The screening will open with a special recorded message from directors Jack Weisman and Gabriela Osio Vanden.
The evening also features the 2026 Wild & Free Film Festival Awards, before the celebration continues with a rooftop after-party at Hilton Garden Inn Goleta.
Doors Open — 5 p.m.
Auditorium 4
Included with the All In Festival Pass
Film Ticket — $15 per person
Limited availability. We expect this special screening to sell out.
All In Pass - $185
Includes - Opening Night - Ritz-Carlton Bacara | Saturday Night - Nuiscance Bear & Fest Awards Event | Priority Admission to all film blocks, events & panels | Swag Bag
Opening Night Only - $125 - The Siege of Paradise
Admission for one adult to Opening Night Reception & Film Screening - Ritz - Carlton Bacara
Nuisance Bear - Special Event - $15
Admission for one to the Central Coast Premiere of A24's Nuisance Bear - screening only. Limited Seats.
4 Pack - $40 (save $8)
Admission for 4 to any regular film block or one person for 4 film blocks (Does not include Nuisance Bear)
Features
All screenings will take place at Camino Real Cinemas, Goleta, except for Opening Night.
The Siege of Paradise (IE/IT/CH)
In Cinque Terre on Italy's northern Riviera, fewer than three thousand locals contend with over four million tourists each summer. Six very different lives play out in one chaotic season, a funny and tender story of paradise under pressure.
Nuisance Bear (USA)
Winner of the 2026 Sundance Grand Jury Prize for U.S. Documentary. A polar bear navigates a human world of tourists, wildlife officers, and hunters, and the film asks who truly belongs in this shared landscape.
Catching Pinecones (USA)
The story of Jan and Herb Conn, pioneering rock climbers and cave explorers who traded a conventional life for adventure, discovery, and fun.
Seoul to Sol (USA)
A law-school graduate living on a Colorado pig farm travels back to South Korea to reconnect with her culture and family, and finds a new sense of gratitude.
The Vegan Poultry Farmer (NL)
A Dutch poultry farmer who rebuilt his business around animal welfare begins to question animal farming itself, and sets out to ask whether our food system can do without animals.
The [Conserv]atives (USA)
Four conservative climate activists break with their party to fight for climate action, and face new urgency when the progress they won starts to be rolled back.
Shorts
Foster the Earth's Guide to Surviving the Great Outdoors (USA)
Seven foster youth backpack to the summit of Mt. Whitney in a light-hearted, funny portrait of resilience, joy and the healing power of wild places.
Boys of Summer (USA)
At a summer camp in the Vermont woods, teenage boys explore vulnerability and friendship, redefining what it means to be a boy in a world that tells them not to feel deeply.
To My 14 Year Old Self (USA)
Decades after a childhood promise to meet orcas, Cody Westheimer swims with them in the Arctic and writes a letter to his younger self.
Derya Runs Many Miles (USA)
Pushed more by fear of regret than confidence, Derya takes on her first 100-mile ultramarathon in the Colorado Rockies.
Loving Bing (USA)
Ten years after a bitter divorce, 81-year-old Ann decides to make a documentary about her ex-husband, Bing.
The Meloneers (USA)
In small-town America, a high school wrestling coach uses the sport to help young people learn what they can and can't control in their lives.
Dick's-A-Thon (USA)
26 miles, 5 meals, 1 wild tradition: Seattle's wackiest marathon honors a friend and gives back to the outdoors.
Asante Nyuki (Kenya)
A Kenyan beekeeper travels to Nepal to meet the Gurung honey hunters, who harvest wild honey from towering cliffs, and reflects on the bond between bees and people.
Sylvia (UK)
Sixty years after her first expedition, 90-year-old oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle returns to Chile's Juan Fernández Islands to see how far the ocean there has recovered.
Kāinga Tupu (USA)
A hand-drawn animated film following New Zealand's endangered Kākāpō parrot as strange lights and noises close in on its forest home.
Overlooked: A Silent Extinction (UK)
Giraffe numbers have fallen dramatically in recent decades with little notice, but there may be some unexpected solutions.
You Told Us to Talk About the Weather (UK)
Starring Michael Sheen and told through the eyes of a child with climate anxiety, this film asks why Brits talk endlessly about the weather but so rarely about climate change.
Beautiful Birds (UK)
A widowed birdwatcher and her granddaughter team up for a birding competition on Scotland's Isle of Bute, and find their way through grief together.
No Coucou in the Mountain (Germany)
A group of friends learn to mountaineer in Chamonix, facing their fear of heights and the risks of the high mountains.
Fire Lily (UK)
As a pandemic, protests and wildfires rage, a violent encounter between a police officer and a dancer spirals into a surreal, poetic reckoning.
The Volunteer (USA)
Luis Yepiz has spent his life feeding families in food deserts, until a near-death experience makes him rethink how much he gives of himself.
Pirate Produce (Canada)
After a rare disease takes his taste, smell and sight, a pastry chef prodigy walks away from the kitchen, teaches himself to farm, and ends up transforming fine dining.
Adas Falasteen (State of Palestine)
A Palestinian chef uses his cooking to help his community survive famine in Gaza, keeping resilience and hope alive.
Poisoned Skies (USA)
In 1954, a scientist about to present groundbreaking pollution research is targeted by the mining company behind a deadly smog disaster. Based on a true story.
Constellations of the Sea (USA)
A 17-year-old filmmaker joins a Maldives research team working to protect endangered whale sharks at the heart of a booming tourism industry.
Point Molate: A Classroom on the Bay (USA)
Twenty-five young people spend a summer learning the biology and history of Point Molate, Richmond's newly protected park on San Francisco Bay.
I Dream in Blue (USA)
A dreamlike journey through Baja into the pull of the ocean and the freedom found beneath its surface.
The Witness of Yara (Nepal)
In Nepal, people confronting memory, loss, and injustice find that telling their own stories can become an act of resistance and healing.
Roots (USA)
Vermont ski patroller Ethan Parrish skis extreme backcountry lines more than 200 days a year, while dreaming of a future rooted in the land, people and mountains he calls home.
Grassroots: The Re:wild Your Campus Story (USA)
How a college beach volleyball player started Re:wild Your Campus, a nonprofit taking on chemical giants to get toxic pesticides off college campuses.
Talking to Owls (USA)
After dark in the sky-island forests of West Texas, biologists follow the calls of owls to uncover their surprising lives and why their habitat needs protecting.
Samaná: The Last Free Flowing River of Antioquia (USA)
Colombia's Samaná is the last undammed major river in Antioquia, sustaining rich biodiversity and a growing local economy.
Listen (USA)
Amid global crisis and disconnection, visionary leaders tune in to nature's 3.8-billion-year-old wisdom to heal, restore and reimagine our world.
The Rusty Fish (Iran)
An animated fable about a hunter who treats nature as his to exploit, and the price of upsetting its balance.
Restoring the Headwaters (USA)
Biologists race to repair an eroding stream in Montana's Big Hole Valley before it drains wetlands and sage-grouse habitat.
Wild Rescue (USA)
Dedicated teams rescue and rehabilitate injured wild animals with groundbreaking medical care, a reminder that every creature deserves a second chance.
Like Friend, Like Deer (Iran)
When a wildlife ranger kills a poacher in a confrontation, the film explores the hidden bonds between people, animals and the land they share.
Bears in Hot Tubs (USA)
Black bears roam the suburbs of Los Angeles, soaking in backyard hot tubs and living as our neighbors in a world reshaped by people.