The Mound City Film Festival is back for its second year this Saturday, November 7, bringing a free full day of environmental documentaries, live music, art demonstrations and a paired tasting menu to Atomic by Jamo in St. Louis’ Grove neighborhood. Organizers say the event runs from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and is open to the public at no cost.
The festival returns with films, food, art and outdoor activities all built around environmental storytelling, according to Sauce Magazine. Co-founder Charles Whitt said the festival’s second year is meant to expand the experience and spotlight talent from the St. Louis region, adding that the goal is to celebrate community talent and make environmental protection feel inspiring and fun, per the same report. Whitt is also described elsewhere as a producer of the festival, according to a conversation on The STL Bucket List Show.
According to the CRSTL.FM newsletter, this year’s lineup offers screenings of local and national documentaries and shorts alongside environmental filmmaker and artist panels, artist demos, and sets from local bands and DJs. The newsletter notes that film topics range from Missouri’s wealth of rail-trails to the harms of plastic pollution, climate action and nature’s restorative power. CRSTL.FM DJs are among four scheduled DJ sets at the festival, per Sauce Magazine, alongside live music from Neil C. Luke, Lo Stone and Atomic Junction.
From a Brewery Series to a Neighborhood Festival
The festival grew out of a monthly Mountainfilm series at Four Hands Brewing Co. downtown that launched last year to celebrate Open Space STL’s 60th anniversary, the podcast reports. Organizers said the event leans environmental and is meant to eventually grow into a walkable, multi-venue neighborhood festival. This summer, festival organizers screened 42 films as part of that build-up, according to the podcast.
Chris Trunk, who is associated with Four Hands Brewing Company, said food and beverage completes the festival experience, per Sauce Magazine. That pairing shows up directly in this year’s tasting menu, created by Atomic Eats and chef Eric Prophete’s team, which includes chef Jamal, working alongside Four Hands Brewing Company.
Four Courses, Four Pairings
Each of the festival’s four courses comes with a choice of three beverage pairings: a beer, a specialty cocktail or a hard seltzer, according to Sauce Magazine. The first course is a caprese salad with Raspberry Peach Prussia, paired with a gin-and-tonic made with fresh lime and basil or a Tiger’s Blood hard seltzer. The second course brings fried pickles with chipotle aioli, served alongside City Wide APA, a cranberry-ginger mule or a Sparkler hard seltzer.
The third course is short rib sliders paired with Oktoberfest, a rye-and-ginger cocktail made with Withered Oak Small Batch Rye, or a Pineapple Express hard seltzer. Dessert closes things out with chocolate mousse and whipped cream, offered with chocolate milk stout, a blackberry gin and tonic made with 1220 Spirits Blue Morpho gin, or a Thriller hard seltzer, per the same report. Atomic Eats will also handle broader chef-driven food pairings with Four Hands offerings throughout the day, according to The STL Bucket List Show.
Art, Climbing and Outdoor Vendors
An environmental art exhibition curated with Third Degree Glass Factory will feature indoor work from Steven Walden, Kenya Mitchell and Danielle Gorin, Sauce Magazine reports. Outside, Ariel Danza and Lendy Middendorf are set to perform live flame-glass demonstrations. The STL Bucket List Show adds that live art demos curated by Third Degree Glass Factory and climbing clinics with Climb So iLL are part of this year’s programming, alongside an artists-and-environment panel, outdoor vendors and community partners.
Brandon Cavanagh said he hopes visitors leave with a renewed appreciation for local outdoor opportunities, including hiking, kayaking and the rivers that have shaped the region’s history and communities, according to Sauce Magazine. Cavanagh said protecting waterways and the surrounding land matters both for the environment and for quality of life for future generations. The Missouri, Mississippi and Meramec rivers are each central to that regional story, per the same report.
A Day of Films, From Plastic Earth to Mountain Climbs
The film program opens with Plastic Earth, a feature-length documentary about the global plastic crisis, followed by a virtual Q&A with Janice Overbeck, according to Sauce Magazine. A block called Mound City Stories features films about regional landscapes, conservation and community, including The Trail State, Intervention, Navigating the Mississippi, Veterans Outdoor Therapy/Gold Star Peak Climb and Restoring Shortleaf Pine Forests.
A regional filmmakers panel will be moderated by Kate Grumke of St. Louis Public Radio, per the same report. The lineup also includes For the Love of the Region — The Life and Art of Bryan Haynes and Climate in Motion, a collection of short films about environmental change and resilience. The evening wraps with Beyond the Edge, a two-hour Mountainfilm program, while Mountainfilm in the Garage is set to begin at 7:30 p.m., according to Sauce Magazine.
On Facebook, Route 3 Films wrote that it is excited to be part of the Mound City Film Festival this November, a sentiment shared ahead of Saturday’s free, full-day event in The Grove.
