The festival features films by renowned regional and international storytellers and filmmakers. Among its highlights are stories of untamed wildness and the indomitable human spirit.
Most screenings take place at the historic Columbian Theater. There are seven film blocks, each approximately two hours long.
There will also be local pop-up events in Astoria. These informal gatherings are open to the public and feature special panel discussions. Attendees can eat, drink, and nerd-out on conservation topics.
We will be bringing back the very popular photo walk again this year! Join Morgan Heim (National Geographic Explorer & member of the International League of Conservation Photographers), Gretchen Kay Stuart ( also with the International League of Conservation Photographers) for a morning of photo adventure in the Astoria area. More details to come.
Join the Wildlife Center of the North Coast for a special tour of their property and wildlife rehabilitation clinic, plus an introduction to the center’s ambassador birds. Supporting WCNC is at the heart of the Wild Coast Film Festival, and we’re excited to offer passholders the chance to visit the center and see their important work in action.
Join students from Warrenton High School for a tour of their salmon hatchery, featured in the student film From Beginning to End.
This event is open to Saturday Day Pass and Weekend All-Access Pass holders. To reserve a ticket, please purchase one of these passes. Capacity for this event is limited.
Celebrate the 2026 Wild Coast Film Festival with our event sponsors at the Columbia River Maritime Museum. The museum’s stunning event space, offering breathtaking views of the river, will host the festivities.
Additional details to come.
This event is open to Weekend All-Access Pass holders. To reserve a ticket, please purchase one of these passes. Capacity for this event is limited.
Join the Chinook Indian Nation on a walk through History, from pre-colonial existence to the signing of the Tansy Point Treaties of 1851 to the modern resilience of the Chinook people. Tribal staff will lead a small group on an ~3-mile roundtrip walk along the Warrenton Dike Trail culminating at Tansy Point, where the Tribe’s ancestral leadership signed the Tansy Point Treaties of 1851 and solidified an identity of resistance against colonial pressure by reiterating one main point: the Tribe had no interest in being forced to leave the bones of our Ancestors. In addition to the historical relevance of the place, the Warrenton Dike Trail and estuary system remain one of the North Coast’s most productive bird watching sites and a place where the resident elk are often in action. Bring your cameras and open hearts.
This event is open to Sunday Day Pass and Weekend All-Access Pass holders. To reserve a ticket, please purchase one of these passes. Capacity for this event is limited.
Join staff from the Wildlife Center of the North Coast for an engaging look at wildlife rehabilitation and conservation education on the North Coast. Learn about the vital work of WCNC’s wildlife rehabilitators, ask questions, and connect with representatives from local conservation organizations, who will be on hand with informational tables and resources.
Join filmmakers whose work is featured in the festival for a discussion about their films, conservation filmmaking, and more!
Join Chanel Hason of the Elakha Alliance, along with conservation photographer Gretchen Kaye Stuart and biologist Brittany Blades from the Oregon Coast Aquarium for a discussion on the efforts to reintroduce sea otters to Oregon’s coastal waters.
Astoria, Oregon is balanced at the edge of the Columbia River, one of North America’s mightiest rivers. With a history steeped in reliance on its wild bounty and millions drawn in by its mist-filled forests, beachcombing elk, wild oceans, legendary salmon, and excellent beer, it is only natural that it be the place to showcase how we survive from the land, care for it, are shaped and awed by it.
This celebration is the brainchild of the Wildlife Center of the North Coast, which rescues between 500 and 1,000 wild animals a year, and Astoria-based Neon Raven Story Labs, a conservation production company working with nonprofits and outlets such as Smithsonian, National Geographic, and Audubon.
Proceeds benefit the Wildlife Center of the North Coast.
The Wildlife Center of the North Coast was established in 1997 by Sharnelle Fee, who had a vision to care for native Oregon wildlife by providing both rehabilitation and education. The Wildlife Center currently operates in Astoria, Oregon, providing wildlife rehabilitation for injured, ill, and orphaned wildlife on the north coast. They operate a wildlife crisis hotline for the public, and provide long-term rehabilitation care for seabirds transferred from other centers all around Oregon.
The mission of The Wildlife Center of the North Coast is to promote compassion, empathy, and respect for all life through rehabilitation, ecological teachings, and wildlife conservation. They offer educational programs, including summer camps, public tours, and an educational ambassador program with native Oregon bird species.
Through these programs, they educate Oregonians about the diversity and importance of native wildlife, provide outdoor education experiences for children living on the north coast, and provide resources to members of the public seeking to coexist with native wildlife in their communities.
Neon Raven Story Labs is a storytelling platform connecting conservation to our everyday lives. Founded by Morgan Heim, a Senior Fellow with the International League of Conservation Photographers, National Geographic grantee, and friend of The Wildlife Center of the North Coast, Neon Raven produces stories for outlets such as National Geographic, Audubon, Smithsonian and Newsweek, with films in Telluride and Banff Mountain Film Festivals, Jackson Wild, and Wild & Scenic.
Columbia River Maritime Museum
1792 Marine Drive
Astoria, OR
Wrecked
Big Medicine: York Outdoors
From Beginning to End
Anita Building
1312 Commercial Street
Astoria, OR
A Clawsome Tale
A Dairy Story
Photo Walk with conservation photographers Morgan Heim and Gretchen Kay Stuart, and representatives from Pro Photo Supply and Sony. Location to be announced.
Guided Tour: Wildlife Center of the North Coast
Columbian Theater
1102 Marine Dr
Astoria, OR
(Tickets $15 online or at the door)
The Oregon Otter Gap
Embers
The Slowest Stampede on Earth: In Her Nature
The Spirit
Burrowing Owls: A Love Story
Join students from Warrenton High School for a tour of their salmon hatchery, featured in the student film From Beginning to End.
Fort George Brewing
1483 Duane Street
Astoria, OR
Join staff from the Wildlife Center of the North Coast for an engaging look at wildlife rehabilitation and conservation education on the North Coast.
Columbian Theater
1102 Marine Dr
Astoria, OR
(Tickets $15 online or at the door)
Phir Bhi (Even So)
What We Lost Along the Way
Saving the Night Caller
Free to Grow
Operation Wolf Foster
Fort George Brewing
1483 Duane Street
Astoria, OR
Join filmmakers whose work is featured in the festival for a discussion about their films, conservation filmmaking, and more!
Columbian Theater
1102 Marine Dr
Astoria, OR
(Tickets $15 online or at the door)
humble schist
From Lassen, With Love
Reindalen
In Search of the Northern Cassowary
Restoring Wildboy Creek
Something to Hold
FESTIVAL PARTY
Columbia River Maritime Museum
1792 Marine Drive
Astoria, Oregon
Celebrate the third edition of the 2026 Wild Coast Film Festival with a passholder party at the Columbia River Maritime Museum.
Guided Nature Walk: Warrenton Dike Trail to Tansy Point with representatives of the Chinook Tribe
Columbian Theater
1102 Marine Dr
Astoria, OR
(Tickets $15 online or at the door)
Sandpiper’s Last Supper
Epicenter
Pure and Wild
Fish for the Future
Tides of Life
Sloth Detectives: In Her Nature
Obelisk Beer Co.
598 Bond St
Astoria, OR
Join Chanel Hason of the Elakha Alliance, along with conservation photographer Gretchen Kaye Stuart and biologist Brittany Blades from the Oregon Coast Aquarium for a discussion on the efforts to reintroduce sea otters to Oregon’s coastal waters.
Columbian Theater
1102 Marine Dr
Astoria, OR
(Tickets $15 online or at the door)
Listening with Fire
Salabama
A Home in the Grass
Wild Spirit
Ahon
The Rhino Whisperer: In Her Nature
Sound Guardians
