The American Conservation Film Festival’s Best of Fest returns to the Weinberg Center for the Arts in Frederick, Maryland, for the fifth year for an event including live music, beer tasting, three films, and discussion with filmmakers.

This year will feature one of the most popular films of the 2016 Festival, The Babushkas of Chernobyl, as well as our Student Filmmaker Award Winner, Medieval Monsters and our Short Film Award Winner, Pangolin.

Line-up for Feb. 3 at The Weinberg:

6:30 p.m.- Reception with music from Windtalker, featuring acclaimed Native American flute player Randy Motz and his multi-media show including awe-inspiring nature photos taken by Georgia Harris.

Beer Tasting with Flying Dog Brewery

7:30 p.m.- Welcome and introduction of films and guests

7:35 p.m. – Medieval Monsters- ACFF’s 2016 Student Filmmaker Award Winner. This delightful short film from Oliver Mueller follows the ancient insects of the New Forest of England with macro, slow motion and time-lapse techniques to reveal behaviors beyond the capabilities of the human eye. (10 minutes).

7:45 p.m. – Pangolin- ACFF’s 2016 Short Film Award Winner. The pangolin, often called a “scaly anteater” from Southeast Asia and Africa, is one of the most illegally trafficked and endangered mammals on the planet. This contemplative and beautifully shot film (13 minutes) offers an intimate glimpse of this beguiling animal and attempts to combat wildlife trafficking.

Filmmaker Katie Schuler will join us to discuss the film and answer questions.

8:15 p.m.- Brief Intermission

8:30 p.m. – The Babushkas of Chernobyl – one of 2016 Festival’s biggest crowd pleasers. This poignant, often humorous, and triumphant film tells the story of a defiant community of women who scratch out an existence on some of the most toxic land on Earth, surrounding Chernobyl’s Reactor No. 4. These three women and their story will delight and inspire! (72 minutes)

This Best of Fest is generously sponsored by Flying Dog Brewery.

Enter a raffle to win a gift certificate generously provided by The Trail House! Snacks provided by Weis Market.

Tickets are just $8 for adults; $5 for seniors/students and are available on the Weinberg’s website here or at the door.

Best of Fest gives the American Conservation Film Festival the opportunity to take a sampling of what the annual film festival offers in Shepherds-town to other communities in the region. Best of Fests have been held in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia over the past several years.

About the Weinberg Center for the Arts

The Weinberg Center for the Arts is one of the region’s premier performing arts presenters offering film, dance, music, theatre and family-focused programming.

Located in the historic Tivoli movie theater building in downtown Frederick, Md., events are made possible with major support from the City of Frederick, Maryland State Arts Council, Ausherman Family Foundation and other corporate and individual donors.

The American Conservation Film Festival is an annual event held in Shepherdstown, a vibrant arts community 70 miles west of Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland. ACFF features films from a diverse group of conservation filmmakers from around the world, hosts filmmakers and subject matter experts, offers filmmaking workshops, and presents several special events throughout the year.

This 501(c)(3) non-profit organization addresses conservation through the lens of film, providing a platform for education and dialogue about more sustainable ways to live.

Since 2003, the Festival has screened some 450 films to over 35,000 audience members, presented filmmaking workshops for aspiring documentary filmmakers, hosted panel discussions with filmmakers and offered free family programs with the mission of engaging, informing, and inspiring people toward better ways to live, work and play.