SARANAC LAKE – Adirondack Green Circle Director Gail Brill has high hopes for the Wake Up Film Festival, a series of film screenings at Pendragon Theatre beginning tonight at 7 p.m.

“(The festival) is a great way to get people talking about things,” she said. “They’re films that are off the beaten path. They have important messages to tell. Part of our effort is consciousness-raising, so that kind of falls into that category for us in terms of getting people talking about things.”

Brill said Adirondack Green Circle’s goals include raising consciousness about environmental issues and trying to shift the paradigm toward more sustainable living. The nonprofit organization, which began in 2007, advocates for small, local agriculture and puts on the Farm2Fork Festival each year.

“That really is a way to get the consumers to understand more about what the farmers are bringing to the market,” she said.

The circle will present “Merchants of Doubt” tonight, a “satirically comedic yet illuminating ride into the heart of conjuring American spin,” according to the festival’s press release.

“‘Merchants of Doubt’ is about the heavily-financed effort to convince the public that climate change is not real,” Brill said. “It deals with other issues like tobacco and the brainwashing of America.”

There will be an opportunity for public discussion after the screening.

“After the film is over, we’re hoping that we can have a discussion,” she said. “(People can) talk about what they saw, what they thought about it, and how to make a change.”

On March 11, the festival will screen “Inhabit,” a film that explores “permaculture,” which Brill describes as “living in harmony with nature.” On March 24, the final installment in the festival, “Just Eat It,” will examine the issue of food waste.

The suggested donation for the screenings is $5.

Brill said she hopes the films will inspire community members to be more environmentally conscious.

“Ultimately, we are powerless to do any major changes in the world, so the only change we can affect is in our own local communities,” she said. “That’s kind of where we come in, to get people talking about these things and what we can do to make a change.”

For more information, visit the Adirondack Green Circle’s Facebook page or call Brill at 518-586-1063.