10 minute read
MINDS MOVING MOUNTAINS SPEAKER SERIES
from 2022 Program
by Mountainfilm
PHOTO: SARAH SCHWAB
MINDS MOVING MOUNTAINS SPEAKER SERIES 72-80
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FRIDAY, 10 AM, HIGH CAMP RICK RIDGEWAY: LIFE LIVED WILD
Collectively spending more than five years of his life pitching and sleeping in tents in some of the most remote regions of the world yields Rick Ridgeway the sort of rare life experiences that taught him how to “distinguish matters of consequence from matters of inconsequence.” In his memoir, Life Lived Wild: Adventures at the Edge of the Map, Ridgeway reflects on his ambitious feats: the first American ascent of K2; the first direct coast-to-coast traverse of Borneo; the first crossing on foot of an extremely remote 300mile corner of Tibet that no outsider had ever trekked. Despite these seemingly insurmountable exploits, it’s the small unexpected encounter with a butterfly at 23,000 feet on K2 and the relationships he forged with his fellow travelers, like Patagonia’s Yvon Chouinard, that Ridgeway cherishes most in Life Lived Wild. Join Ridgeway as he shares how his greatest adventures and relationships shaped his desire to protect wild places and create a better world.
JAMES BALOG: THE HUMAN ELEMENT
Followed by a special conversation with Guest Director Jeff Orlowski-Yang
An environmental photographer, thinker and long-time presenter at Mountainfilm, James Balog has spent the last 40 years working to turn attention toward the impact humans have on our environment and climate change. As the founder of Extreme Ice Survey, Balog and his EIS were featured in Chasing Ice (Mountainfilm 2012) for their renowned study of glaciers and the implications of climate change within this environment. In his latest book The Human Element: A Time Capsule from the Anthropocene, Balog shares remarkable images and insights that National Geographic’s Dennis Dimick calls “...a profound statement by a force of nature on the forces of nature. The scale, scope and versatility of his vision is without compare.” In this presentation, Balog will share stunning images and provocative ideas from The Human Element.
Please join Rick and James for a book signing at the Hotel Madeline’s Timber Room at 12:15 p.m.
SATURDAY, 10 AM, TRANSFER WAREHOUSE
Mountainfilm’s 2022 Guest Director Jeff Orlowski-Yang is known for his work as a director, producer and filmmaker of award-winning films Chasing Ice (Norman Vaughan Indomitable Spirit Award 2012), Chasing Coral (Mountainfilm Audience Award and Student Award, 2017) and The Social Dilemma. As the founder of the award-winning production company Exposure Labs, Orlowski-Yang’s mission of using film to create stories for a better future is part of a growing ecosystem of storytellers and practitioners that continue to forge conversations leading to action and meaningful change. Join Jeff, Impact Team members, Megha Agrawl Sood (Doc Society) and Jade Begay (NDN Collective) to discuss the climate stories we need to be telling now. Learn more about the critical importance of story in the midst of the climate crisis and best practices for working in collaboration + reciprocity with organizers and movements. The speakers will share their learnings and facilitate a hearty Q & A with the audience.
NALINI NADKARNI & TIERNEY THYS: PORTALS TO NATURE
SATURDAY, 10 AM, WILKINSON PUBLIC LIBRARY
Drs. Nalini Nadkarni and Tierney Thys have spent years studying the influence of nature contact and education on some of our nation’s most severely naturedeprived audiences — incarcerated populations. With nature film and soundtracks as their experimental tools, they have measured beneficial impacts on human behavior and health to develop best practices for working with hard-to-reach audiences who live or work where nature is not. This dynamic duo will share the latest findings of nature imagery and sounds on human health, and then highlight their prison work which was honored by TIME magazine as one of the top inventions of 2014. The workshop will close with a lively participatory discussion inviting audience members to explore innovative, non-traditional ways of getting nature docs to those who need them most.
This presentation is free to the public after passholders are seated.
PHOTO: MELISSA PLANTZ
A SPECIAL TRIBUTE TO BILL KEES
SATURDAY, 9 AM, SHERIDAN OPERA HOUSE
In 1972, Bill and Susan Kees rolled into the Telluride Valley with their kids in tow and never looked back. Bill’s love for adventure, the mountains and everything outdoors inspired him to co-found Mountainfilm Festival in 1979, alongside Lito Tejada-Flores. Throughout his life, Kees dedicated himself to perfecting and embodying the art of mountain living. Known to many as ‘The Father of the Ophir Wall,’ he was among the most influential pioneers in the area — with dozens of routes to his name. An avid backcountry skier, Bill and his friends snagged first tracks on nearly every face in the San Juans. His adventures reached far beyond the box canyon as his swansong took him from the headwaters of the Green River all the way down the Colorado to the Gulf of California. The Mountainfilm family gathers to honor Bill with memories, photos, short film clips and toasts from friends and special guests. Join us as we pay tribute and honor the legacy of our founding father, Bill Kees. In the tradition of Mountainfilm’s early years, there will be a homebaked pie reception in the downstairs Opera House SHOW Bar immediately following the program. This presentation is free to the public.
MEET THE GRIST FIXERS
SATURDAY, 2 PM, TRANSFER WAREHOUSE
If you look beyond the doom and gloom of the climate conversation, you’ll find inspiring, visionary leaders working to solve the world’s biggest challenges in equitable and innovative ways. But what makes these visionaries tick? How do their personal paths and experiences inform their passion for climate action and environmental justice? For many of them it was finding wonder, peace and joy in the outdoors. Join Grist board member Brady Piñero Walkinshaw in conversation with Favianna Rodriguez (Center for Cultural Power), Jade Begay (NDN Collective) and T. Jane Zelikova (500 Women Scientists) as they recount their personal paths to climate activism and how experiences in the outdoors catalyzed their trajectories as climate and justice advocates. This session is presented by Grist, the national media partner of Mountainfilm, and Grist’s solutions lab, Fix. Grist is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. Through creative storytelling, network-building and events, Fix shines a light on the visionaries whose bold ideas are powering real, tangible progress, leading the way to a planet that works for everyone.
SUNDAY, 10 AM, TRANSFER WAREHOUSE
STEPHANIE MILLER: PROGRESS NOT PERFECTION
In conversation with Rebecca Martin
Former Director of Climate Business at the World Bank Group, Stephanie Miller left her 25-year corporate career to embark on a personal experiment to better understand how her daily decisions could impact the climate and waste crises. After stumbling on the zero waste movement, she realized it’s about progress and practice, not perfection. Her 80/20 approach to zero waste living is simple: focus on 20 percent of those things that make 80 percent of the biggest difference and individuals will make a real, sustainable impact. In this discussion with longtime Mountainfilm attendee and board member, and Exploration Connections Founder and President Rebecca Martin, the two delve into what led Stephanie to embark on her zero waste journey, her aha moments along the way, and the steps each of us can take to lead a more sustainable lifestyle. Join Woodwell Climate Research scientists Drs. Susan Natali, Max Holmes, Michael Coe, research assistant Ellen Bradley and artist Aaron Dysart as they discuss the many benefits our most treasured natural places provide, including storing carbon and cooling the planet. Right now, climate change and human activities are eroding the resilience and natural functions of ecosystems. From the Arctic to the Amazon, longstanding carbon sinks are turning into carbon sources that could threaten our global climate future. This panel of brilliant minds will bring together the perspectives of art and science with the intertwined fates of people and ecosystems around the globe.
INTERTWINED FATES: THE ARCTIC, THE AMAZON AND US
Coffee and pastries will be served. Following the speakers, join Stephanie Miller for a signing of her book, Zero Waste Living: the 80/20 Way.
LEN NECEFER: BRIDGING DIVIDES
SUNDAY, NOON, SHERIDAN OPERA HOUSE With a screening of Spirit of the Peaks (pg. 23)
Following the screening of Spirit of the Peaks, Dr. Len Necefer, CEO and Founder of NativesOutdoors and executive producer of the film, will be joined by Hunkpapa Lakota skier and co-director of Spirit of the Peaks Connor Ryan. They will discuss Indigenous perspectives in filmmaking and ski mountaineering, and bridging the divides that stand in the way of cultivating reciprocity between sport and the sacred, natural world. The two, along with other special guests, will dive into the nuances of Indigenous perspectives in the greater Southwest and the San Juan Mountains and share insights on how to work with and alongside native communities to create a sustainable future through the stories they tell. Necefer’s storytelling work melds the intersection of sport, environmental advocacy and Indigenous people and has been featured in the Alpinist, National Geographic and over 50 film festivals globally.
BEAUCHAMP, CORASANITI AND LOMBROSO: HOW THREATENED IS AMERICAN DEMOCRACY?
SUNDAY, 2 PM, TRANSFER WAREHOUSE
For many years, journalists and scholars have warned that democracy in the United States has been under threat. January 6 legitimized those warnings and proved prescient; the question now is not whether American democracy is imperiled but rather how serious the danger is.
On this panel, Vox’s Zack Beauchamp, Nick Corasaniti of The New York Times, and the director of The Atlantic’s documentary feature film White Noise, Daniel Lombroso, will discuss what their reporting has uncovered about the dangers to American democracy and where they think things might go next. The three will talk about voting rights, gerrymandering, the far-right and the information ecosystem as it stands today. The panelists will also address the relevance of the rise of populism, authoritarianism and far-right candidates around the world.
CHERYL STRAYED & TOM SHADYAC: WHAT NOW?
MONDAY, 8 AM, SHERIDAN OPERA HOUSE
After three days of immersion in incredible documentaries, uplifting stories and remarkable individuals, you are feeling electrified, abuzz with possibility and motivated to create a better world. But how do you take that inspiration and incorporate it into your real life in ways that are meaningful and impactful? Both longtime friends of the festival, Hollywood filmmaker, writer and director of blockbuster comedies such as Ace Ventura, The Nutty Professor, Bruce Almighty and documentary I Am (Mountainfilm 2010 Audience Award Winner and Student Award), Tom Shadyac will join Wild author and co-director of the film We Are Forbidden (Mountainfilm 2019), co-host of popular podcast Dear Sugar Radio, and Mountainfilm special guest, judge, speaker and 2019 Guest Director Cheryl Strayed to tackle the question “what now?” in this festival-wrap conversation about turning motivation into action. Timmy O’Neill will open and host the event, sharing musings about personal wisdom and insight into communal wisdom; tempered by his lighthearted wit and humor.
Free and open to the public.
