STAGE & SCREEN Sandpoint leaders to speak at No Man’s Land Film Festival Panel discussion will focus on accessibility and inclusivity in the outdoors

By Reader Staff

The No Man’s Land Film Festival, which serves as the premier adventure film festival for women and gender non-conforming athletes and storytellers, will screen Friday, March 31 at the Panida Theater, capped off by a panel discussion with leaders from the Sandpoint community dedicated to making the outdoors inclusive and accessible for all.

Speakers include Ammi Midstokke, Maeve Nevins-Lavtar and Gwen Victorson.

Midstokke is a popular columnist for the Spokesman-Review and Out There Outdoors magazine, whose writing has also appeared in the Sandpoint Reader and is the author of the recently published collection of essays All the Things: Mountain Misadven- ture, Relationshipping, and Other Hazards of an Off-Grid Life.

Her stories are the raw, humbling and often hilarious occurrences of an adventurous life as a woman, mother and outdoor advocate.

No Man’s Land Film Festival

Friday, March 31; doors at 6 p.m., show at 7 p.m.; $15 adults, $5 children. Panida Theater, 300 North First. Ave., 208-263-9191, get more info and tickets at panida.org.

“I believe that representation is essential in the self-actualization of the individual. When we see people with some semblance of commonality to us doing a thing, it expands and inspires our own ideas of what we have access to or are capable of,” she said. “Beyond giving us hope for self-efficacy, representation is how we build our sense of belonging, and belonging is essential to our mental well-being as individuals and even the health of our communities.”

Nevins-Lavtar works for the city of Sandpoint as its first Park Planning and Development manager, focusing on inclusive and accessible design and land use of public parks and trails, with the mission to improve equitable access to public lands for all.

“Children who have access to bike trails on their route to school have an increased attendance rate,” she said, underscoring one of the many benefits of outdoor recreation development and active play.

“By advocating for funding toward equitable outdoor recreation, and at the local level for park improvements, such as those prioritized in the Sandpoint Parks and Recreation Master Plan, we can strengthen not only the family unit, but ultimately create a positive ripple effect community-wide,” she stated.

Victorson is a lands resource specialist with the Idaho Department of Lands and co-founder of True North Treks, a Sandpoint nonprofit focused on connecting cancer-affected young people and their caregivers to the outdoors.

“I feel the outdoors are life’s grandest classroom, and we all should spend more time soaking in her countless benefits,” Victorson said. “It’s important for the outdoors to remain inclusive and accessible so all creatures are able to reap these big rewards. Part of my hopes for my Idaho Department of Lands career is to continue to help our state balance unprecedented use and the conservation of our resources, so my grandbabies’ grandbabies have the same opportunities I have today.”

The film festival is sponsored by Claire Anderson, a co-owner of Burger Dock in Sandpoint, as well as Matchwood Brewing Company and Alpine Shop.

Raffle sponsors include Le Chic Boutique, Heartbowls, Embody Studio, Outdoor Experience, Sandpoint Medical Massage, Syringa Cyclery, Carousel, Evans Brothers, Rachel Baker Photography, Bula Stone, Bluebird Bakery, Cognito Brands, Kristine Rae

Physical Therapy, Zabrielle, Longleaf Wilderness Medicine, Finan McDonald, Azalea Handpicked Style, Mountain Flow Riders, and Keokee Media and Marketing, among others.

All ticket and raffle sales go to Kaniksu Land Trust and Pend Oreille Pedalers.