The Glenridge Performing Arts Center kicks off Earth Month this year screening a series of films from local filmmaker Darryl Saffer and the Wild Orchid Man, Stig Dalstrom, following the two through the swamps of Florida and the mountains of Peru in pursuit of orchids and a greater understanding of the natural world. Beginning tonight with the duo’s first film, Wild Orchid Man In The Ghost Orchid Swamp, detailing Dalstrom’s venture into the wilds of the Fakahatchee swamps in pursuit of the Ghost Orchid, Glenridge will host free and open screenings of Saffer’s first three films with Dalstrom as the fourth shows at various locales across town. Saffer and Dalstrom will be available for a question and answer session after the screenings.

Though framed by the search for the Ghost Orchid, the film tells a broader ecological story, according to Saffer, who  describes the films less as raucous adventures and more as meditations on the natural world and environmentalism. Audiences will see Dalstrom weather storms, battle the bugs and face down snakes and alligators, but the purpose remains exploration and understanding.

“We went into it with the idea of rather than being what was trendy – fast-paced like The Crocodile Hunter – we would create a travelogue,” said Saffer, who met Dalstrom when shooting a time-lapse at Selby Gardens, where Dalstrom was curator of the orchid collection. “We use orchids to reflect on the history and culture and ecology of the area as a whole.”

With the second film taking the pair to the Andes of northern Peru in search of rare orchids and to investigate the watershed feeding the Amazon Basin, and the third bringing them to Manitoba for similar exploration, audiences have begun to take notice of the Wild Orchid Man, reports Saffer. Though not actively courting the festival circuit, Saffer said they have received requests from festivals as far away as Japan and Amsterdam.

“It’s been very encouraging to see how it’s spread,” said Saffer, noting that the films are made possible only by grants and donations from groups like the Sarasota Orchid Society. Working mostly pro-bono, he says his primary motivation remains environmental awareness and continued education, not financial success. “It’s been an education for me. I thought I was well-read, but until you’re in the environment, you don’t understand.”

Wild Orchid Man In The Ghost Orchid Swamp screens tonight, Wild Orchid Man In The Mountains Of Amazonas will screen on Apr. 16 and Wild Orchid Man In The Land Of The White Bear screens Apr. 30. All screenings are free at the Glenridge Performing Arts Center and begin at 7:30pm.

Free screenings of the fourth film in the Wild Orchid Man series, Wild Orchid Man – Journey to Machu Picchu, will be Apr. 6 at the Selby Gardens and Apr. 17 at the Landings Racket Club.

Pictured: Stig Dalstrom. Credit: Jessie Williams