A Shawnee Mission East senior is bringing the great outdoors to the interior confines of the Glenwood Arts theatre next week.
Last year, Madeline Hlobik’s friend Devon Dietrich helped organize the inaugural run of the Wild and Scenic Film Festival On Tour in the Kansas City area, selecting a variety of short films on the environment and outdoor activities that were screened at the Glenwood. When Dietrich’s family reached out to Hlobik to see whether she’d be interested in picking up where Devon left off, she was eager to accept.
“I like the action films,” she said. “There’s one we’ve got this year about a 12 year old girl climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro. I like that idea that a 12 year old can do something like that. Because if she can, it shows what anyone can do.”
Hlobik screened the nearly 150 short films accepted to the organization’s festival this year, and selected a variety to be shown here in northeast Johnson County. Last year, the event ran about an hour and a half. This year, Hlobik has expanded the offerings so that there will be 85 minutes of films before an intermission, and another hour of films at the conclusion.
She’s raised $4,000 from sponsors to help cover the cost of putting the event on. Proceeds from ticket sales will go to Blue River Watershed Association.
“This organization sends about 4000 kids each year to local rivers to help test water levels, clean up around the rivers, and become educated on the different problems facing our rivers,” she said.
She’s also excited to have secured around $700 worth of Yeti products, including a Hopper soft-sided cooler, that will be raffled off to attendees.
“Last year, roughly 600 people attended the film festival over two nights, and we are hoping to make this year even bigger,” she said.
The film festival will screen at 7 p.m. on two nights, Monday, Sept. 25, and Wednesday, Sept. 27. You can purchase tickets online here.