# Lookout Wild Film Festival

The Lookout Wild Film Festival (LWFF) is a film festival based in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The LWFF is a 4 day, 6 session event showcasing conservation and outdoor adventure films from around the world. Films are submitted via FilmFreeway and/or selected by a volunteer screening team. LWFF is a member of the Film Festival Alliance.

## History

LWFF originated in 2013. The LWFF is a 501(c)(3) non profit organization and has an elected Board of Directors.
In 2013 and 2014 LWFF was held in the Centennial Theater at the Chattanooga Choo-Choo Hotel.
In 2015 the LWFF moved to the Robert Kirk Walker Theater in the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium.
In 2019 the LWFF moved to the Tivoli Theater.
In 2020 the LWFF added a Photography Competition.
In 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the inability to hold indoor events, LWFF adapted by presenting fifteen 60-minute, free film nights at Miller Park in downtown Chattanooga, every Friday during the Nightfall Music Series.
In 2022, LWFF added the Dale Greybeard Sanders Perseverance Award (The Stoney), an annual accolade bestowed upon the most inspiring person in the films. Recipients include Dale Sanders (2022), Nimblewill Nomad (2022) Sunny Yang (2023), Lane Lamoreaux (2024) and Mike Adair (2025). LWFF also hosted the Reel Rock film tour and organized four free film events in the mid-summer period to raise funds for local non-profit organizations.
In 2023, due to renovations at the Tivoli, LWFF returned to the Walker Theater. The festival featured the world premieres of two films: "Greybeard - The Man, The Myth, The Mississippi" and "A Dream of Flying". The lead characters, producers, directors, and filmmakers from both films attended a Q&A session. Additional attendees to the filmmaker Q&A came from Iran via the United Kingdom, British Columbia (CA), as well as Minnesota and Montana in the US. LWFF once again hosted the Reel Rock Tour and the Paddling Film Festival. LWFF also released a craft beer called Watch This through Wanderlinger Brewing Company as a fundraiser for the festival.
In 2024, LWFF showed more than 60 films from around the world including 4 locally focused films. LWFF hosted the world premier of "Flowing Air" from Big Cedar Media. The 2024 'Stoney' award was presented to Lane Lamoureux. LWFF will be hosting the Reel Rock Tour as a fundraiser demonstrating the commitment to give back to the local community. In addition LWFF will be presenting several tour dates at locations across the US.
Attendance and location :
| Year | Attendance | location |
| 2013 | 330 | Chattanooga Choo Choo hotel |
| 2014 | 1400 | Chattanooga Choo Choo |
| 2015 | 1700 | Robert Kirk Walker Theater |
| 2016 | 2700 | Robert Kirk Walker Theater (includes a session sold out at 851 attendees) |
| 2017 | 3300 | Robert Kirk Walker Theater (includes two sessions sold out at 851 attendees) |
| 2018 | 3800 | Robert Kirk Walker Theater (includes two sessions sold out at 851 attendees) |
| 2019 | 4000 | Tivoli Theater |
| 2020 | 4400 | Tivoli Theater (Pre-Covid. Includes first ever Tivoli Theater film event sell-out of 1238 attendees) |
| 2021 | 2000 | No indoor festival due to Covid, estimated over 15 weeks |
| 2022 | 4100 | Robert Kirk Walker Theater |
| 2023 | 4200 | Robert Kirk Walker Theater |
| 2024 | 4200 | Robert Kirk Walker Theater |
| 2025 | 4000 | The Signal |

## Awards

* Fan Favorite - Throughout the festival, LWFF allows attendees to vote for their fan favorite film.
* The Loggy - an internally selected film award, in the categories of Feature Film, Southeastern Film, Environmental Film, Short Film, Adventure, and Exploration Film.
* The Stoney - annual award presented to the most inspiring person in the films.

## Notable films

* The Alpinist
* The River Runner
* Greybeard - The Man, The Myth, The Mississippi (World Premier)
* A Dream of Flying (World Premier)
* Flowing Air (World Premier)