As North America’s oldest, continuously running, documentary film festival, we are thrilled to be celebrating 45 years of film, activism and inspiration. It’s been a long road for the festival as we have come of age and over the years, continue to discover and honor our larger purpose.
Mountainfilm was founded in 1979 by a group of scrappy climbers and mountaineers who adventured by day and watched films — often about themselves — by night. Through the decades, the festival has expanded and enriched its programming to showcase documentary films and presentations focusing on the environment, social justice, culture, politics and as always, pure adventure — tied together with the common thread of celebrating indomitable spirit.
This year we are dedicating the festival to beloved, long-time Telluride local, mother, activist, adventurer and Mountainfilm’s 2021 Guest Director, Hilaree Nelson. In addition to being an accomplished mountaineer with dozens of first ski-descents, she was also a hero, mentor and role model to adventurers around the world and a trailblazer for women. Hilaree was an inspiration to us all. Her kind soul and spirit will remain in our hearts forever.
Mountainfilm continues its mission of engaging audiences in important discussions about cutting-edge topics that encourage reflection and directly impact our lives. Throughout the festival, we’ll spotlight forward-thinking visionaries — in film, art, activism, science and technology — and explore a future that leans on creative, out-ofthe-box solutions for the big issues and demanding questions of our day.
We extend our deepest gratitude to the many people in the Telluride region who have nurtured Mountainfilm over the past 45 years and helped create the festival it has grown to be.
Here’s to another 45 years!
THE MOUNTAINFILM STAFFPRESENTING SPONSOR
SUMMIT SPONSORS
NONPROFIT PARTNER
NATIONAL MEDIA SPONSOR
CAMP III SPONSORS
CAMP II SPONSORS VENTUREWEB
ELINOFF GALLERY • ALPINIST & THE GOAT
• ALPINE BANK
• CHUMS
BASE CAMP SPONSORS
LMNT • BASIN ELECTRIC POWER COOPERATIVE
• SAN MIGUEL POWER ASSOCIATION
• SAN MIGUEL COUNTY • THE NATURE CONSERVANCY TELLURIDE ACADEMY • WESTERN RISE
• JUST FOR KIDS FOUNDATION • COLORADO OFFICE OF FILM, TELEVISION AND MEDIA • LA COCINA DE LUZ MOUNTAIN LIMO • BROWN DOG PIZZA • SMART BY NATURE • ALPACKA RAFT • EDWARD JONES INVESTMENTS, JON MARTIN IN TELLURIDE
CARLSON CUSTOMS
• BOD BAR
• ALPINE START
DIRTY STURDY’S MOUNTAIN COMPOST
• MOUNTAIN TRIP
• TAILWIND NUTRITION • SEND BARS
• LIQUID DEATH • KINSHIP SUNSCREEN • KARA DUFFY / POWERFUL LADIES
SHĀR SNACKS • THE RIDE LOUNGE • LAST DOLLAR SALOON
Welcome to this year’s Mountainfilm Festival. What a privilege it is for us to gather amidst this beauty. It’s a privilege we can earn only with the kind of good work and storytelling that might open up hearts and minds to the crises we face, and lead to action in the time we have.
If I don’t speak with absolute confidence, it’s because we’re currently losing the climate fight. Around the world we see wild and unprecedented heatwaves, and rainfall and floods like we’ve never measured before; these are the predictable results of changing the temperature of the Earth. Physics sets the bar for the change we need to make, and physics doesn’t compromise, so it is our species that must bend — and must do it against a tight and unforgiving deadline.
If we’re to make changes like that, it will require not just understanding the crisis, but feeling the possibilities — the possibility for a new world that runs on sun and wind, but also the possibility for a new world that runs on justice and solidarity. These are no longer luxuries; they are the necessary preconditions for survival. This means that just as much as we need new engines and appliances, we need new metaphors and images, new stories that open up new possibilities.
Let us take our work together with a seriousness we’ve never felt before; the world demands nothing less of us. And in turn, it rewards us with natural beauty and human fellowship!
McKibben founded the first global grassroots climate campaign 350.org , which in recent years has focused on getting institutions of higher education to divest from fossil fuels. He is a contributing writer to The New Yorker and serves as the Schumann Distinguished Scholar in Residence at Middlebury College in Vermont. His most recent project is Th!rd Act, which organizes
people over the age of 60 to work on climate and racial justice. In 2014 he was awarded the Right Livelihood Award, sometimes called the ‘alternative Nobel,’ in the Swedish Parliament. He’s also won the Gandhi Peace Award, and has honorary degrees from 19 colleges and universities.
McKibben currently lives in Vermont and has long been a Mountainfilm hero and inspiration.
On Sept. 26, Nelson and her life and climbing partner, Jim Morrison, summited Mt. Manaslu in the Himalaya, the world’s eighth-highest peak. During her ski descent, Nelson was swept off her feet by moving snow, resulting in a fatal fall down the south face of Manaslu.
Nelson was a hero, mentor and role model to adventurers around the world and a true trailblazer. Her career encompassed dozens of first descents through more than 40 expeditions to 16 different countries. She is regarded as the most prolific ski mountaineer of her generation. Her accomplishments were many, including team captain at The North Face; the first woman to link two 8,000-meter peaks, Everest and Lhotse, in one 24-hour push; and being named the 2018 National Geographic Adventurer of the Year.
Nelson was an inspiration to the Mountainfilm community and was the embodiment of indomitable spirit. Over the years she participated in festival panel discussions and was the subject of films that documented her most challenging expeditions, including her first ski descent of the iconic Lhotse Couloir and a grueling and audacious trip to Myanmar’s little-known peak Hkakabo Razi. In 2021 she was Mountainfilm’s Guest Director, helping to guide programming and events.
As a Telluride resident for two decades, the San Juan Mountains were Nelson’s home playground. Around town she was known not just as an elite mountain athlete, but as a mom to two boys and a dedicated friend. Nelson was also an activist as a member of Protect Our Winters Riders Alliance, sharing her stories and experiences to advocate for wild places.
Nelson’s light will continue to be a shining beacon of optimism in the face of adversity, showing us what endless possibility looks like and guiding us through the vastness of the mountains.
Mountainfilm is mourning the loss of a family member with the passing of famed ski mountaineer and Telluride local Hilaree Nelson.
Hospitality and Lost & Found are located at Mountainfilm HQ at 122 S. Oak St. Please visit us throughout the festival with questions or for the latest up-todate information. Hospitality hours are Thursday 8 AM–8 PM ; Friday 8 AM–8 PM ; Saturday 9 AM–7 PM ; Sunday 9 AM–7 PM ; Monday 9 AM–3 PM
Use the free Mountainfilm app as your festival guide. The app contains your ticket reservations, festival schedule, film descriptions, event details and real-time festival updates, including TBAs and program changes. Search for “Mountainfilm” in the App Store (iOS) or Google Play (Android) to download.
For guaranteed access to programs, passholders must reserve programs through the festival schedule on the Mountainfilm app or schedule webpage. You can make reservations up to one hour before the start of a program, space permitting. If you are unable to attend one of your reserved programs, please cancel your reservation.
Patron passholders have walk-up priority access at theaters and do not need a reservation. Please arrive at the theater 30 minutes before showtime to gain priority entry.
You must wear your pass to be admitted into venues. Please arrive at least 30 minutes before the start of the program . If you don’t, you may lose your seat reservation as we will begin loading the standby line. For the uninterrupted enjoyment of all, theater staff will not grant access to a program once it starts. Passholders without a reservation can line up and wait in the standby line for admission. The public is also welcome to wait in the standby line. Individual program tickets are $30. Credit cards only.
Use the Mountainfilm app or your Eventive account to cast your vote for the Audience Choice Award, available for both feature and short films. Make sure you are signed into your account. Click on My Tickets and then follow the steps to vote. Voting ends Monday, May 29 at 2 PM.
TBA screenings take place on Monday, May 29. Tickets for TBAs can be reserved in advance, and there will also be a standby line. You can find TBA information and updates on the festival app or website.
Official Mountainfilm apparel and gear are available at Bootdoctors, located at 236 S. Oak St., including this year’s Mountainfilm poster created by MD Famous Artist.
All venues are accessible by foot, bicycle, bus or free gondola.
The free Galloping Goose shuttle bus runs a loop through Telluride every 10 minutes. (Check street signs for times and stops.)
High Camp (Telluride Conference Center) is located in Mountain Village. The free gondola runs between Telluride and Mountain Village daily from 6:30 AM to midnight. On Friday and Saturday during the festival, gondola hours are extended until 1 AM.
Please be considerate of your fellow festival goers. Here are the top 10 protocols all attendees should follow:
• Arrive at theaters 30 minutes in advance of screenings
• Do not save seats for people arriving late
• Do not make disruptions by arriving late, talking or shushing during screenings
• Silence all cell phones and watches; refrain from using devices with lit screens
• Remove any hats or caps that may block another’s view
• Do not take unauthorized photographs or recordings during screenings
• Remove fidgety and crying children from the theater
• Stay for the entirety of programs and Q&As
• Clean up afterward and take all of your belongings
• Remember to vote
If you have any questions, please stop by Hospitality, contact our support team at help@mountainfilm.org , or call 970-728-4123, option 1.
Accessibility information can be found by scanning this code and on our website and the Mountainfilm app.
If you have any accessibility questions please email us at help@mountainfilm.org or call 970-728-4123, option 1
ADA accessible venues are indicated with an “ADA” icon. Select films are available with closed and open captions which are listed on our Accessibility web page and our app.
If you would like to use the CaptiView devices (for closed captions) or hearing assist headphones, please email cc@mountainfilm.org in advance of the screenings you plan to attend.
Over the next five days, we are meeting at the intersection of outdoor culture, community, art and passion. The spectacular San Juans are Osprey’s backyard. These are the mountains, rivers, trails and crags that inspire us to play, challenge norms and push our outdoor pursuits forward. We hope you enter this year’s Mountainfilm Festival curious and leave inspired.
Osprey is proud to be a long-time partner of Mountainfilm.
Mountainfilm uses the power of film, art and ideas to inspire audiences to create a better world.
After the festival each year, Mountainfilm on Tour hits the road, showcasing some of the most-loved short films from the festival. We present programs around the globe, hosted by a wide array of organizations in communities large and small, reaching audiences from Little Rock to London, Boulder to Brazil and Anchorage to Australia.
We aim to educate and inspire beyond theater audiences. We connect with schools locally, regionally and around the world, offering free programming to K-12 public schools by presenting informative, fun and imaginative films.
Every year, we award Commitment Grants of up to $5,000 to filmmakers telling stories that support our mission
to inspire audiences to create a better world. Our Commitment Grant focuses on supporting documentary filmmakers in the production and post-production stages. A myriad of grantee projects have premiered over the past decade at the festival. Keep an eye out for this year’s recipients.
Mountainfilm also awards an Emerging Filmmaker Fellowship to a promising early-career filmmaker, offering mentorship support, networking opportunities, a $2,000 cash prize and a trip to Mountainfilm as a festival guest. This year, we are proud to support Soviet Ukraine-born, NYC-based filmmaker Alina Simone as our Emerging Filmmaker Fellowship recipient.
Mountainfilm strives to go beyond inspiration to promote action. One way to do that is to facilitate connections between Mountainfilm audiences and the causes espoused by our filmmakers and speakers. Take Action offers a platform for audience members to learn about and support nonprofit organizations at festival events and through our app and website. We encourage you to take action and make a difference!
Prayer flags have adorned the Town of Telluride during the annual Mountainfilm festival since the first-ever Moving Mountains Symposium was dedicated to the Tibetan people’s struggle for freedom in 1994. We acknowledge that prayer flags are a long-standing and intrinsic part of Tibetan culture and continue today to be used to send prayers of peace and well-being to all beings. The meaning of this Tibetan custom aligns with Mountainfilm’s culture and values. Since 1994, prayer flags have been an important part of the festival.
Prayer flags originate from the Bön tradition in Tibet, where they are hung to remove obstacles and bring good fortune. The offering of prayer flags is now a common practice across Tibet and the Himalaya. This practice has led to the transmission of Buddhist prayers printed on cloth to the rest of the world.
Prayer flags (Tibetan: ) are printed in five colors — blue for the sky, white for air/wind, red for fire, green for water and yellow for earth — and are traditionally woodblock-printed with sacred images and texts. The center of the flag often depicts a lungta (Tibetan: ) meaning wind horse, a symbol of speed and transformation of bad fortune to good, bearing three jewels on its back that represent the Buddha, Buddhist teachings and the Buddhist community.
Tibetan and Himalayan peoples believe that when the wind breezes the flags, it spreads the blessings, good will, peace and compassion embodied in the images and writings across the land.
AB – Anna Brones
SD – Sabrina Davis
JJ – Jennifer Julia
KW – Kellyn Wilson
*Absent initials & HS –Heather Sackett
PALM – Palm Theatre
HC – High Camp
SOH – Sheridan Opera House
NUG – Nugget Theatre
MAS – Masons Theater
BC – Base Camp
See maps, pages 106-107, for locations.
Libby Spears
FRI, 2:30 PM, SOH
Fighting against an unforgiving healthcare system while she battles the symptoms of progressive multiple sclerosis, muralist Lydia Emily ties paintbrushes to her failing hands to create large-scale works of creative resistance. Over time, the portrait of Emily that emerges is one of a tough, tender, indomitable force of nature, plagued by hospital bills, buoyed by medication and never silenced. Even as her disease progresses, she persists, declaring, “I dare you to make this my last year. I love my life — try and take it from me.” —SD (USA, 2022, 78 min.)
Colorado Premiere
MountainfilM CoMMitMent
Grant 2016
Rebecca Landsberry-Baker, Joe Peeler
FRI, 8:45 PM, MAS SUN, 9 AM, SOH
In Person: Filmmakers and
Freedom of the press, though protected in the United States Constitution, is not guaranteed in most Native American tribes; as sovereign nations, tribes determine their own laws and constitutions. Of the 574 federally-recognized tribes, only five have passed laws protecting free press. One of those five is the Muscogee Nation. When the Muscogee Nation suddenly begins censoring their free press, a rogue reporter fights to expose her government’s corruption in a historic battle that will have ramifications for all of Indian country. —SD (USA, 2023, 98 min.)
Colorado Premiere
Mike Day
SAT, 2:45 PM, MAS
SUN, 7 PM, PALM
In Person: Filmmaker
Cowboy Poets is an unlikely Western set in the world of cowboy poetry gatherings. Every year since 1985, they’ve gathered to share their heartfelt cowboy poetry in Elko, Nevada. At once a celebration of the creative process, our need to create, to gather, to share, Cowboy Poets reveals a modern West wrangling with change and environmental threats. This film follows some of these poets as they reckon with the West’s founding myths, the fossil fuel economy and natural disasters that threaten their way of life, and their relationship to the land as they spin these struggles into moving, lyrical verse. (UK, 2023, 92 min.)
Colorado Premiere
Matthieu Rytz
FRI, 5:30 PM, HC
MON, 10:30 AM, SOH
Produced and narrated by Hollywood’s Aquaman
Jason Momoa, Deep Rising illuminates the vital relationship between the deep ocean and sustaining life on Earth. Closely paralleled with the development of seabed mining startup The Metals Company, the film follows the organization in its early stages as it pursues funding, public favor and permission from the International Seabed Authority to mine wide swaths of the Pacific Ocean floor. The deep intonation of Momoa’s narration pulls us into the question of the hour: is opening up our earth’s last untouchable wilderness, the deep ocean, really the solution to our supply crisis, or is it yet another misplaced step on humanity’s unstoppable march toward self-destruction? —SD (USA, 2022, 93 min.)
Colorado Premiere
Josh Berman
FRI, 5:30 PM, PALM SAT, 1 PM, PALM
In Person: Filmmakers and Film Subject
Parallel in their injuries, a current Trevor Kennison and a legendary Barry Corbet have their narratives woven together through reinventing themselves after trauma. Vulnerable in its close inspection and inspiring in its development and delivery, Full Circle follows both Kennison and Corbet as they transform the tragedy of spinal cord injury into an unbelievable opportunity, redefining what’s possible as they set realistic goals in their rehabilitation. —SD
(USA, 2023, 105 min.)
Colorado Premiere
Alejandra Vasquez, Sam Osborn
SAT, 6 PM, NUG
SUN, NOON, MAS
In Person: Filmmakers
In the borderlands of southern Texas, a competitive world of music sets the stage for exploring identity, cultural roots and pressing social issues: mariachi. Situated in the Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg North High School’s acclaimed mariachi band faces fierce competition and must fight to stay in the top echelon. Empowered by the sounds of trumpets, thick guitarrón strings and violins as their backdrop, the teenage captains and their coach Abel Acuña work on turning a shoestring budget and a diverse crew of inexperienced musicians into fierce competitors. (USA, 2023, 104 min.)
Colorado Premiere
Gabriela Cowperthwaite
SAT, 10 AM, HC
SUN, 12:15 PM, NUG
In Person: Film Subject
Quietly and seemingly out of sight, governments, private investors and mercenaries are seizing food and water resources at the expense of entire populations. These groups are establishing themselves as the new OPEC, where the future world powers will be those who control not oil, but food. And it’s all beginning to bubble to the surface in real-time. Global food prices have hit an all-time high, threatening chaos and violence. Meanwhile, Russia is using food as a weapon against the Ukrainians and as a geopolitical tool to control the world. The Grab is a global thriller that takes you around the globe from Arizona to Zambia, to reveal one of the world’s biggest and least-known threats.
—JJ
(USA, 2022, 104 min.)
Samuel-Ali Mirpoorian
SAT, 12:15 PM, NUG
SUN, 5:30 PM MAS
In Person: Filmmakers and Film Subjects
Greener Pastures captures the day-to-day lives of four small, multigenerational family farms over the course of three years. Through an intimate, observational lens we examine the various farm stressors, policies and politics farmers must maneuver to survive, connecting the dots between mental health, industrialization, food production and climate change. It is a story of perseverance, patience and determination that tackles nothing less than the future of farming in America.
(USA, 2023, 85 min.)
Colorado Premiere
Olivia Kuan
SAT, 3 PM, NUG
SUN, 10 AM, HC
In Person: Filmmaker
The Houston Herricanes were a part of the first women’s full-tackle football league in the 1970s. Their underdog story is one of commitment, courage, strength and community. Despite adversity and hardship, they fielded a team that was more than the sum of its players purely for the love of the game. What they started was a movement that is still in motion today. Although the story of the Herricanes may be littleknown, these tough women were trailblazers, helping to usher in an era of equality for women’s sports with the passing of Title IX in 1972.
—HS
(USA, 2023, 87 min.)
Colorado Premiere
Meg Griffiths, Scott Faris
SAT, 5:30 PM, MAS
SUN, 8 PM, SOH
In Person: Filmmakers
In the mid-1980s in rural southern West Virginia, Dr. Hassan Amjad is alarmed at the abnormal rates of cancer in his patients. He becomes their fiercest advocate, raising awareness about the persistent risk to human health caused by carcinogenic PCBs left from the mining industry. Decades later, this responsibility lands on his daughter, Dr. Ayne Amjad. Thrust to the helm of this decades-long struggle, and haunted by her late father’s mandate to help others at all costs, Ayne is caught between her dream of raising a family and an audacious but allconsuming plan to relocate the town and bring closure to her father’s work. This story of personal ambitions in conflict with deep familial obligations is set against the backdrop of loss, grief and environmental injustice in rural Appalachia. —AB (USA, 2023, 87 min.)
World Premiere
MountainfilM CoMMitMent
Grant 2022
Daresha Kyi
SAT, 9:30 AM, NUG
What does it take to stand up for your child? Across America, there are over 32,000 mothers, mostly from conservative, Christian backgrounds, who fully accept and battle for the rights of LGBTQ+ children. They are called “mama bears,” because while their love is warm and fuzzy, they fight ferociously to make the world kinder and safer for the entire queer community. Many have grown up as fundamentalist, evangelical Christians, but these mama bears are willing to risk losing friends, family and faith communities to keep their offspring safe — even if it challenges their belief systems and rips their worlds apart. —AB
(USA, 2022, 90 min.)
Ondi Timoner
SAT, 1 PM, HC
SUN, 8:15 PM, MAS
In Person: Filmmakers
Writer and director Ondi Timoner’s documentary is a kaleidoscopic, memedriven journey into a chasm where finance, media and extremism meet. The film drops us into a current reality for many millennials, offering a look at the explosive and irreversible ramifications of our digital future. Timoner’s film is an eye-opening portrait of the new generation of investors, those who play the stock market like a video game and think they’re fighting the power. It’s a modernday gold rush, where retail traders are driven by the idea that the democratization of stock trading is possible. Hiding behind avatars, accepting a substitute of fantasy for reality, these new Americans are indeed gaming a revolution. —SD (USA, 2023, 104 min.)
Colorado Premiere
Pablo Durana
FRI, 8:30 PM, PALM
SUN, 10 AM, PALM
In Person: Filmmakers and Film Subject
While studying abroad in Prague, André Kajlich suffered a terrible accident, leaving him with both legs amputated. After years of addiction, struggle and coming to terms with this life-changing accident, Kajlich aims to be the first double amputee to complete the Race Across America. This grueling 12-day, 3,082-mile bike race is known for spitting out 50% of able-bodied racers. But Kajlich is up for the challenge. In No Legs. All Heart, we find a story about the true test of the human spirit, overcoming addiction and the pain we endure to carve our own path in life. As Kajlich says, “we are disabled in things we can’t do… but there is no shortage of things that any of us can do.” —AB
(USA, 2023, 89 min.)
Colorado Premiere
Eric Bendick
SAT, 8:45 PM, NUG
SUN, 2:45 PM, MAS
In Person: Filmmakers and Film Subject
Drawn in by the haunting specter of the Florida panther, National Geographic photographer Jr. Carlton Ward and a coalition of biologists, ranchers, conservationists and Indigenous peoples find themselves on the front lines of an accelerating battle between forces of renewal and destruction that have pushed the Everglades to the brink of ecological collapse. As one of the most elusive and endangered wild cats in the world, the plight of the panther inspired a visionary idea: a wildlife corridor or “wild path” that could one day stretch into every corner of North America. What began as a moonshot photo and film mission, Path of the Panther evolved into a groundbreaking collaboration between the National Geographic Society and other partners that inspired the passage of the Florida Wildlife Corridor Act, the first legislation of its kind and a blueprint for addressing habitat fragmentation and species extinction across the globe. —JJ
(USA, 2022, 89 min.)
Brad Allgood, Camilio de Castro Belli
FRI, 5:45 PM, SOH
SUN, 3 PM, NUG
In Person: Filmmakers and Film Subject
The Indio-Maíz Biological Reserve on the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua is sacred ground to the Rama and Afro-descendant Kriol people who have called it home for generations. As the global demand for beef rises, this rich, biodiverse environment is under serious threat from illegal cattle ranchers who steal acreage and raze large swaths of rainforest to graze their herds. At the present rate of decimation, the reserve could be wiped out in less than five years. In an attempt to protect their ancestral lands and preserve one of the last remaining rainforests in Central America, Indigenous rangers join forces with an American conservationist and undercover journalists to expose the dark world of conflict beef. —JJ
(USA, 2022, 82 min.)
World Premiere
MountainfilM CoMMitMent Grant 2022
Jamie Jones
WARNING: This film includes mature and graphic content.
SAT, 8:30 PM, BC
SUN, 8:45 PM, NUG
In Person: Filmmakers
The Road of Excess is a film about toxic masculinity, mental health, addiction, fame and what happens when it’s gone. The film explores these pitfalls of notoriety and celebrity through the eyes of Matt Pritchard, the star of MTV’s UK “Jackass” clone; “Dirty Sanchez,” as he attempts to row the Atlantic Ocean. In many ways, the row is a metaphor for Pritchard’s life of excess. Everything he does, he does to the extreme. He doesn’t know any other way. This reality manifests itself on film as a raw, exposed human mind with no filters. It’s a harrowing journey both on the ocean and into Pritchard’s inner world. The Road of Excess explores what an immense physical and emotional challenge can teach us about finding peace and purpose.
(UK, 2023, 100 min.)
North American Premiere
Crystal Moselle, Jon Kasbe
FRI, 8:45 PM, SOH
SAT, 4 PM, PALM
In Person: Filmmakers and Film Subjects
For David, Sophia is much more than a machine, she’s an empathetic robot offering deep connection and a glimpse at what the shared future between AI and humans might look like. As he works tirelessly in his lab, shaping Sophia’s lifelike face and building her intelligence, pressures from the outside world seep in. When his mother’s health takes a turn for the worse and investors begin to question his vision, David’s unwavering belief in Sophia is all that stands between himself and failure. With time running out and resources dwindling, will David and Sophia find their place in the world? —JJ
(USA, 2022, 89 min.)
Colorado Premiere
Irene Taylor
SAT, 5:15 PM, SOH
SUN, 4 PM, PALM
In Person: Filmmakers and Film Subjects
The entangled lives of people and trees take root and grow into a contemporary tale of time: our connection to the natural world and to one another. Trees tell the truth. They are vulnerable. They cannot escape. In this film, we meet a young boy stolen and hidden amongst trees, an artist refining American bonsai, a photographer artfully observing trees, a mother fighting to protect the forests in her backyard, family trees and uprooted trees, and a man who steadfastly plants them. The layers reveal the tender heartwood of the humans and trees alike, both honest and sensitive. These stories unfold as an arboreal and deeply human thriller. —SD (USA, 2023, 114 min.)
World Premiere
Ash Kreis
FRI, 5:30 PM, NUG
SUN, 9:15 AM, MAS
In Person: Filmmakers and Film Subjects
Penny Logue is many things: A transgender alpaca rancher. An anarchist. A modern pioneer. The founder of the Tenacious Unicorn Ranch — a safe haven for queer and transgender people in rural Colorado. She’s also a hero in the queer community. Tucked away in the central Rocky Mountains at the 40acre ranch, Logue and her dedicated family of queer ranchers find themselves battling a variety of threats: fierce weather, impossible finances, far-right militia and their own inner struggles as they pursue liberation. Documenting the ranchers’ journey from their idyllic beginnings to their fight to exist when confronted by harassment and local militia groups, We Are Tenacious is a classic American story of true perseverance. —AB (USA, 2023, 82 min.)
North American Premiere
Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin
SAT, 7 PM, PALM
SUN, 7 PM, HC
In Person: Filmmakers and Film Subjects
From Oscar-winning filmmakers Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, Wild Life follows conservationist Kris Tompkins on an epic, decades-spanning love story as wild as the landscapes she dedicated her life to protecting. After falling in love in mid-life, Kris and the outdoorsman and entrepreneur Doug Tompkins left behind the world of the massively successful outdoor brands they’d helped pioneer — Patagonia, The North Face, and Esprit — and turned their attention to a visionary effort to create national parks throughout Chile and Argentina. Wild Life chronicles the highs and lows of their journey to effect the largest private land donation in history.
(USA, 2023, 93 min.)
David Arnaud
FRI, 8:30 PM, BC
SUN, 4 PM, HC
In Person: Filmmaker
Adventurer, competitor, friend, pioneer and badass human are all words used to describe French kayaker Nouria Newman. In Wild Waters, we follow Newman’s journey as she prepares to become the first female to run a 100 ft (30 m) waterfall, watching her grow from a young, keen Olympic hopeful to one of the greatest kayakers of all time. But running some of the world’s gnarliest whitewater isn’t Newman’s biggest life challenge. Realizing that the expectations placed on her as both an athlete and as a woman weigh heavily on her decisions and ambitions, she pushes back to make her own path. In her refusal to conform to the expectations of others, Newman utilizes her passion for kayaking to uncover her true, most authentic self. —JJ
(France, 2022, 85 min.)
Dominic Gill
Jamie MoCrazy, Mark Locki
SAT, 3 PM, NUG SUN, 10 AM, HC Playing with The Herricanes (page 20)
In Person: Filmmaker and Film Subject
In 2015, professional slopestyle skier Jamie MoCrazy’s life changed in a blink of an eye when she suffered a serious traumatic brain injury. Jamie’s rehab and miraculous recovery helped revolutionize Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) treatment at Vancouver General Hospital and charted Jamie on a course to help others with TBI challenges.
(USA, 2023, 18 min.)
Colorado Premiere
FRI, 8:30 PM, PALM SUN, 10 AM, PALM Playing with No Legs. All Heart. (page 22)
Since the 1800s, bicycles have been a powerful liberating tool, starting with the first faltering pedal strokes of a child daring to venture a little further from home. Yet, somewhere in our cultural trajectory, many of us have forgotten the power of this simple machine to build community. This film celebrates the “run what you brung” adage and reminds us that however we choose to engage with the everchanging world of cycling, there is more that brings us together than sets us apart.
(USA, 2022, 8 min.)
Colorado Premiere
Andrew Harrison-Brown
FRI, 2:30 PM, SOH
Playing with The Art of Rebellion (Page 18)
In Person: Filmmaker
As one of only 30 fluent (Squamish) language speakers left in Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation), Myia Antone teaches as a way to preserve her language for generations to come. Seeking to learn more about her culture and language, Antone uses her mountain bike as a needle weaving through her ancestral lands and language. While biking with other Indigenous women, Antone utilizes the language to point out geographical features and native plants on rides. Weaving complex conversations through nuanced layers of generational trauma, Inseparable: Myia ultimately paints Indigenous joy and community as vital elements for a path forward.
(USA, 2022, 12 min.)
Colorado Premiere
Aurora Brachman
SAT, 9:30 AM, NUG
Playing with Mama Bears (Page 21)
In Person: Filmmakers
A child reveals a secret to their mother: “I’m not a girl.” This breathtakingly honest portrait of growing up gender expansive beautifully captures the hesitancy, fear and relief at revealing one’s innermost thoughts, as well as the unconditional love of a mother.
(USA, 2020, 6 min.)
Colin Jones
SAT, 2:45 PM, MAS
SUN, 7 PM, PALM
Playing with Cowboy Poets (Page 18)
Lightfall shares the story of legendary mountain bike photographer Sterling Lorence and his process to get the perfect shot in the dank and misty mountains of Vancouver’s legendary North Shore, with riders Jackson Goldstone and Brett Rheeder.
(Canada, 2022, 14 min.)
Kaki Orr, Robert Wassmer
SUN, 1 PM, HC
In Person: Filmmakers and Film Subjects
Playing with Hilaree Nelson Tribute (Page 69)
In 2022, Hilaree Nelson, Emily Harrington, Christina Lustenburger and Brette Harrington embarked on an expedition above the Arctic Circle with a vision to climb and ski first descents on Baffin Island. What they found was a celebration of where they’ve been and of where they’re going — the trip’s success was contingent not on what they skied but on the time they had together.
(USA, 2023, 40 min.)
World Premiere
Hugo Dubé-Bouchard
SAT, 8:30 PM, BC
SUN, 8:45 PM, NUG
Playing with The Road of Excess (Page 23)
Mountain biker Xavier Massicotte tears around the streets, stairs, parks and subways of Montreal in this fast-paced, flowy adventure.
(Canada, 2022, 5 min.)
U.S. Premiere
Diane Russo Cheng
FRI, 5:30 PM, NUG
SUN, 9:15 AM, MAS
Playing with We are Tenacious (Page 24)
In Person: Filmmaker
Transenders explores how the power of community allows you to be your true self, overcome failure and transcend fear. In its 22-year existence, Skate Like a Girl has utilized skateboarding as a vehicle to promote confidence, leadership and social justice by creating space for stories like Alexa’s and countless others. The work this nonprofit organization has been doing for decades, and the accomplishments of non-traditional skaters, are boundless and timeless.
(USA, 2022, 10 min.)
Colorado Premiere
Paula Eiselt
SAT, 12:15 PM, NUG
SUN, 5:30 PM, MAS
Playing with Greener Pastures (Page 20)
Inspired by the lawsuits filed in Florida challenging the state’s abortion ban on the basis of religious freedom, Under G_d is a documentary about the national Jewish response to the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization United States Supreme Court decision. The film weaves together the stories of a Jewish mother and activist in Indiana, a rabbi in Florida, and lawyers throughout the country who are fighting abortion bans by placing them in the context of religious freedom, flipping the script used by Christian nationalists.
(USA, 2023, 24 min.)
Colorado Premiere
Renan Kamizi
FRI, 8:30 PM, BC
SUN, 4 PM, HC
Playing with Wild Waters
(Page 24)
Walking on Clouds reveals the breathtaking and dizzying highline crossing between two hot air balloons above the city of Praia Grande, Santa Catarina, Brazil. At 1,901 meters off the ground, athlete Rafael Bridi achieved the highest highline record in the world.
(Brazil, 2021, 7 min.)
Saturday, 7 PM, High Camp
Sunday, 8:30 PM, Base Camp
Jen Randall
In Person: Filmmakers
Pass It On celebrates three locals who spread their love of Squamish climbing into the fabric of the broader community. In this short segment, we get meet the charming Tami Knight, a route developer of the late ‘70s and ‘80s.
(Canada, 2022, 4 min.)
Timmy O’Neill
In Person: Filmmaker and Film Subject
Soundscape features Erik Weihenmayer, a global adventure athlete and author who is fully blind, as he ascends a massive alpine rock face deep in the Sierra Nevada. Using expert camera work and emotive, novel animation to bring to life a concept by adaptive climbing pioneer Timmy O’Neill, the film is a surprising and soulful adventure in echolocation, touch and imagination.
(USA, 2023, 14 min.)
Mike McKay
A ballet dancer finds her true expression by rediscovering her passion for movement in the mountains. Through Emily Rudenburg’s transition to climbing, she finds healing and herself.
(Canada, 2022, 5 min.)
World Premiere SOUNDSCAPE
Danny Schmidt
In Person: Filmmaker and Film Subject
When Rob Cahill was growing up, skateboarding was a four-wheel freedom machine. As the co-founder of 4DWN, a service-driven organization in South Dallas, he uses skating to highlight the interdependency between people and their environment. 4DWN’s mission is to sustainably foster the health of kids, families, communities and the environment, providing free programs emphasizing recreation, education, cultivation and conservation.
(USA, 2023, 17 min.)
Daniel Mitchell, Trent Sugg
In Person: Filmmakers and Film Subject
Well Worn Life is a short documentary film series that reveals the recipes of outdoor-minded individuals who love life deeply and live it to the fullest extent. Dani Reyes-Acosta is a mountain athlete, land cultivator and storyteller whose path consistently seeks the limits of possibility. Reyes-Acosta is constantly moving through the landscapes of Southwest Colorado — by bike, on foot, on skis and clinging to the side of a boulder — to see where she fits into it.
(USA, 2022, 6 min.)
World Premiere
Nick Rosen, Erik Osterholm
In-Person: Filmmakers and Film Subjects
Elite sport climbers Sasha DiGiulian and Matilda Söderlund team up with trad specialist Brette Harrington to attempt a free ascent of the 2,000-foot alpine rock route, Rayu — a 5.14 in Spain’s Picos de Europa. Unrepeated since its first ascent by the Basque Pou brothers and Kiko Cerdá in 2020, Rayu combines heady trad climbing with a burly sport crux on a steep headwall 1,000 feet off the deck. Living on the wall for days on end, the team battles stormy weather, loose rock and the tension between personal goals and group success.
(USA, 2023, 30 min.)
World Premiere
Friday, 8:30 PM, High Camp
Saturday, 9:15 AM, Masons
Faith Briggs Rose
In Person: Filmmaker and Film Subject
Natasha didn’t grow up believing that “Black people don’t do that,” was going to be a limiting factor in her life. Not only does she ride dirt bikes, skate and surf, but she is also passionate about sharing those skills with others. Along with her friends at Ebony Beach Club, Natasha is reclaiming waves, creating an inclusive space and spreading a love of surfing through her community.
(USA, 2022, 5 min.)
Colorado Premiere
Jade Ang Jackman
Speed of Sound is a sonic portrait of a self-professed adrenaline junkie, Carina Edlinger, whose athletic prowess and determination led her to win gold at the Beijing Winter Paralympics in 2022. Skiing 80 kmph down a snow-laden mountain would be daring enough for most. But Austrian skier Edlinger does this with just 2% vision and nothing but the voice of her guide, faith in her practice and the rush of the wind behind her.
(UK, 2022, 5 min.)
U.S Premiere
Nicole Gormley, Nancy Kwon
In Person: Filmmakers
After moving away from her childhood home on the remote island of Marado, South Korea, Jaeyoun finds herself plunged into a deep state of depression. Fearing she might do herself harm, her aunt, a lifelong free diver and fisherwoman known as a “Haenyeo,” invites Jaeyoun to return to her island roots. Jaeyoun travels back to visit her family and the all-female fishing community on Marado and to her surprise, finds a connection to nature and her ancestors that literally saves her life.
(USA, 2023, 17 min.)
World Premiere
Samantha Sanders
In Person: Filmmaker
As the brutal Chicago winter draws near, Deirdre, Helen and Jennefer — avid open-water swimmers — make a pact to continue through the snow and ice as the pandemic rages on. This intense commitment becomes their salvation from lockdown and helps alleviate each of their personal struggles. Initially just acquaintances, Swimming Through follows their friendship as it coalesces around their commitment to the daily ritual of swimming at sunrise in Lake Michigan.
(USA, 2022, 15 min.)
Colorado Premiere
Sofía Jaramillo, Jr Rodriguez
In Person: Filmmakers and Film Subject
For conservationist and angler Jr Rodriguez to become “like the pictures he saw in magazines,” he had to leave behind what he loved the most. By juxtaposing Jr’s origins in Houston, Texas, and his current home in world-renowned fly-fishing hub Jackson Hole, Wyoming, we share his journey of learning to love the outdoors and what it can be like to participate in outdoor sports in western mountain towns as a person of color.
SWIMMING
THROUGH
Anna Wilder Burns
In Person: Filmmakers and Film Subject
To Be Frank explores authenticity and community in surfing via Frank Paine, a 73-year-old South Bay icon and humble local legend whose life orbits around a two-block stretch of beach. His unforgettable mustache and magnetic spirit are what most first notice, but Paine’s deeper layers expose a depth that might answer some questions that surfers continually ask themselves. Surfing, which for some becomes lost in isolation, is made whole again with Paine — welcoming, inspiring, kind and committed, with an unwavering passion centered on and springing from Hermosa Beach’s beloved shores.
(USA, 2022, 12 min.)
Colorado Premiere
Zeppelin Zeerip
In Person: Filmmaker and Film Subject
Dog musher Apayauq Reitan is on a journey of gender, mental health and purpose to become the first out, transgender woman to complete the legendary Iditarod sled dog race across Alaska. Named for her great-grandmother, Apayauq defies stereotypes as she travels over the starkly beautiful, frozen landscape in the same manner as her ancestors. Her four-yearold self, who wanted to be a girl when she grew up, would be proud.
(USA, 2022, 16 min.)
CoMMitMent Grant Winner 2022
Saturday, 8 PM, Sheridan Opera House
Sunday, 6 PM, Nugget
Andrea Wing
In Person: Filmmakers
Disillusioned with his life of rock and roll, Leo Downey sojourns into the desert of the Sierra Madre Mountains and sleeps beneath the stars. Deep in the desert, Downey undergoes a spiritual experience that changes his life forever. Following his intuition, he leaves his life in California behind and becomes a first-generation buffalo rancher. To gain the acceptance of an animal four times stronger than an ox and faster than a horse, he must face his fears and embrace the herd’s gift.
(Canada, 2023, 9 min.)
Beth Gage, George Gage
In Person: Filmmakers
Bread Bike Bakery is Sam, Matt and Mariah, three young people on California’s central coast who were unfulfilled with what they studied in college. Each has a passion for dough (the bread kind) and loves making food for other people. Now, with their desire to create friendship and community, and a belief that everyone loves good food, they’ve turned their obsessive hobby into their profession. Bread Bike is creating delicious food, promoting healthy local produce and having fun at the same time.
(USA, 2023, 19 min.)
Colorado Premiere
dream hampton
In Person: Filmmakers
Water is in constant motion and it has the ability to destroy and erase. Set in Detroit, Freshwater is a short film about flooded basements, memory and displacement.
(USA, 2022, 10 min.)
Colorado Premiere
Alex Massey
In Person: Filmmakers
Markelle Taylor started running as a way to turn his life around after incarceration in San Quentin, in the shadow of Mount Tamalpais. Today he runs free in the oldest trail race in America, on a mountain that was once unreachable. (USA, 2022, 6 min.)
Kirk Horton
In Person: Filmmakers
Helena Bourdillon has pushed her limits in the freediving world, using a single breath to dive to seemingly impossible depths. But her path to discovering her diving potential started 20 years ago when she was on the verge of suicide. Light Beams For Helena explores her journey with depression, her ongoing mental health efforts and what diving into the darkness of deep water has taught her about life and light.
(USA, 2023, 10 min.)
James Saunders
In 2022 alone there have been over 300 anti-LGBTQ+ bills proposed in various states across the country. Refusing to sit idly by, trans trail runner Perry Cohen (he/ him) formed a team of fellow runners, who identify as trans men, with an aim to compete in trail races in states proposing and passing oppressive legislation. Miles to Go follows their journey into the world of trail running, where they find the freedom to be themselves.
(USA, 2022, 8 min.)
Christopher Stoudt
In Person: Filmmakers and Film Subjects
In 2016, the League of American Orchestras conducted a study that revealed a shocking statistic: only 1.8% of the professional orchestra workforce in the US is Black. From an old church rec room in the inner city of Los Angeles, former lawyer-turned-conductor Chuck Dickerson is on a mission to change that. With his majority Black and Latino youth orchestra — the largest of its kind in the country — Chuck is creating opportunities for his community that did not previously exist. The Orchestra Chuck Built is a loving portrait of a tireless mentor and the orchestra members whose lives have been transformed by music.
(USA, 2023, 22 min.)
World Premiere
CoMMitMent Grant Winner 2022
Saturday, 11:45 AM, Sheridan Opera House
Monday, 9 AM, Masons
Lindsey Hagen
In Person: Filmmakers
High Road celebrates the unbreakable bond between Paralympian Meg Fisher and Jack Berry, a young Para athlete whose cycling career is just beginning to unfold. Together the two navigate life’s obstacles with grace and integrity, creating space for the next generation of Para cyclists.
(USA, 2022, 12 min.)
Ben Proudfoot
Told by her daughter Wendy, Mink! is the story of the remarkable Patsy Takemoto Mink, a Japanese American from Hawaii who became the first woman of color elected to the U.S. Congress, on her harrowing mission to co-author and defend Title IX, the law that transformed athletics for girls and women in America.
(USA, 2022, 20 min.)
Colorado Premiere
Rick Wall
In Person: Film Subject
Caleb lost his leg to a great white shark, but he is a survivor, not a victim. This short film follows him as he slows down to process his trauma while returning to the ocean to learn to free dive. Caleb is still coming to terms with his new body, but realizes although something has been taken from him, the healing power of the ocean also has much to give back.
(South Africa, 2022, 8 min.)
North American Premiere
Faith Briggs Rose, Tim Kemple
For Rosalie Fish, Indigenous studentathlete and activist, running isn’t just a sport — it’s how she represents the strength and resilience of indigenous women within her tribe and beyond.
Rosalie’s story is told in the second episode of “Who is a Runner,” a docuseries collaboration with Brooks Running.
(USA, 2021, 10 min.)
Colorado Premiere
Bronwyn Davies
Sonya Looney is a female professional mountain biker and new mother facing the challenge of corporate politics coupled with societal norms. In today’s world, it would seem that female athletes wouldn’t have to keep their pregnancy journeys hidden — but fear of sponsorship loss, failure to maintain results and standings, and social pressure are all at play. Looney bridges the gap between mother and athlete, embodying the strength of these roles combined.
(Canada, 2023, 9 min.)
Zaire Love
Slice explores how Rico and his homeboys in Memphis find joy by submerging themselves in an original swimming art form of athleticism and creativity called slicing. A blend of bellyflopping, style and swag, slicing allows a community of Black men to find peace, freedom and challenge in the water.
(USA, 2023, 17 min.)
Colorado Premiere
Daniel Lombroso
On the verge of her 90th birthday, a grandmother reveals to her grandson the painful story of her sister’s disappearance during the Holocaust and the survivor’s guilt she carries. Nina lost 25 members of her extended family, but never talked about it after she moved to America in 1951. In this heartbreaking and heartwarming story, a filmmaker turns the camera on his own family as his matterof-fact grandma explains the realities of war and human nature.
(USA, 2023, 22 min.)
Colorado Premiere
Friday, 3 PM, Nugget
Monday, NOON, Masons
John Davies
Told through the eyes of Indigenous activist Narubia Werreria, The Ghost Rainforest follows a group of five Indigenous leaders and activists from the Amazon rainforest making an emotionally charged journey to the last remnant of a lost ecosystem — a desperately rare temperate rainforest habitat on the west coast of Scotland.
(UK, 2022, 10 min.)
Colorado Premiere
Dawn Kish
In Person: Filmmakers
Conservation photographer Dawn Kish photographs the epic landscape of red sandstone walls, flowing rivers and cultural sites of Glen Canyon, which is re-emerging from beneath Lake Powell. Kish goes on an adventure of rediscovery with an old Crown Graphic 4x5 camera, following in the footsteps of photographer Tad Nichols, who documented this magical place from 1950-1963.
(USA, 2022, 20 min.)
U.S. Premiere
Rosie Baldwin
The climate crisis is threatening to swallow up the United Kingdom seaside town of Bognor Regis by 2050. Historically a thriving holiday spot turned national butt-of-the-joke, the town’s residents are used to defending its reputation. But when research emerges suggesting it could end up underwater due to rising sea levels, the community grapples with what this means, both for themselves and for the place they call home.
(UK, 2022, 17 min.)
Colorado Premiere
Andrew Nadkarni
In Person: Filmmakers and Film Subject
Oliver Sutro, Colin Arisman
In Person: Filmmakers and Film Subject
For thousands of years, Bristol Bay, Alaska has been home to the most prolific salmon run in the world and a thriving native people living alongside it. As modern-day threats fall on this pristine environment, one family fights to keep their relationship with the salmon alive.
(USA, 2023, 20 min.)
World Premiere
Nalini Nadkarni is a renowned ecologist who climbs trees in the rainforest to study “what grows back” after an ecological disturbance. After nearly dying in a fall on a research climb and making a miraculous recovery, Nalini begins to explore a new research subject: herself. Now, Nalini is doing the work of untangling the roots of her past to understand how they impacted her life’s course. In an attempt to heal, she revisits the site of her fall in Washington State, where her past, present and future converge.
(USA, 2023, 26 min.)
Colorado Premiere
CoMMitMent Grant Winner 2022
Friday, 6 PM, Masons
Sunday, 9:30 AM, Nugget
Elizabeth Unger
In Person: Filmmakers
Batsies examines two women’s tender relationship with an animal that’s feared and loathed: the bat. We follow the journey of Dr. Weaver and Dr. Fritts as they conduct cutting-edge research throughout rural Texas, where wind turbines pose a new threat to bat populations. Bats save billions of dollars in agriculture costs by consuming insects that feed on crops. But the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in deepened public stigma toward these winged mammals. Through their research efforts, quirky friendship and shared bat obsession, Batsies is a fresh take on saving a creature that’s considered the ultimate outcast.
(USA, 2023, 15 min.)
Colorado Premiere
Jonathan Pickett
In Person: Filmmaker
A coop of egg-laying hens whose free-range lifestyle creates challenges; a coop of wild, rescue roosters who just might kill each other; a coop of newborn baby chicks for whom daily survival is a delicate, fragile thing. On a start-up farm outside Oakland, these various chicken flocks surmount obstacles while the newbie farmers attempt to Google their way to help.
(USA, 2022, 17 min.)
Colorado Premiere
Matt Cannon, Jake Smallwood
Steve Truluck was trapped in a mundane life, but a job relocation to Scotland unexpectedly ignited what quickly became an obsession with marine wildlife. A surprise encounter with a humpback whale leads him to discover his purpose: helping others connect with whales and dolphins. Steve is now one of the UK’s leading whale-watching guides, known for his ability to find killer whales. We share the ups and downs of Steve’s favorite event in Scotland, Orca Watch, and discover how first encounters with these incredible animals can happen when they matter most.
(UK, 2022, 22 min.)
Colorado Premiere
Jessica Bishopp
Every summer, on a remote island off the coast of Iceland, Birta and Selma rescue pufflings (young puffins) from imminent danger. The pufflings leave their nests for the first time and unfortunately get lost in town, mistaking the harbor lights for the moon. Set over one night, we follow the teenagers as they take it upon themselves to counteract humanity’s damaging impact on nature and exchange night-time parties for puffin rescues. Puffling explores the delicate interplay between wildlife, the environment and human life.
(UK, Iceland, 2022, 20 min.)
PUFFLING
Lucía Flórez
In one of the most remote places of the Peruvian Amazon, an Ashéninka boy must overcome his fears and catch a giant river catfish using just a hook to start his journey to becoming an adult. This film is a glimpse at a vanishing way of life as a father guides his son through the rites of passage to adulthood.
(Peru, Spain, USA, 2022, 16 min.)
Colorado Premiere
Tim Kressin
In Person: Filmmakers
For many migrant families stuck along the U.S.-Mexico border, staying in their home country was never an option. After traveling heroic distances to escape threats of violence, Claudia and her family have been waiting at a shelter in Juárez for nine months. Battling episodes of depression, Claudia wonders if she can continue to care for her son and remain a beacon of hope. As they await the phone call to have their asylum case heard, English classes and cooking with friends become bright spots in her life. This deeply personal story echoes the thousands of migrant families who are stuck along the border, waiting for a phone call from immigration that could change everything.
(USA, 2022, 10 min.)
Friday, 2:45 PM, Masons
Monday, 9 AM, Nugget
Arun Bhattarai
Phuntsho Tshering is the only glaciologist in Bhutan. He is also the only person that has permission to climb the sacred mountains. Every year, he travels for days on foot to the most remote corners of the Bhutanese Himalaya, measuring the glaciers as they rapidly melt because of climate change. For Tshering’s 11-year-old daughter Yangchen, the mountain is the home of the “snow lion,” which is both dangerous and in danger of losing its home.
(Bhutan, 2022, 22 min.)
North American Premiere
María Luisa Santos, Carlo Nasisse
In Person: Filmmakers
In Costa Rica there are no street addresses. They may exist in some government offices, but the people have steadily resisted any effort to develop a centralized system. Instead, an address contains a series of directions in reference to various landmarks. In this film, a Costa Rican woman who has always felt pressing anxiety by this lack of order tries to understand its origins. In doing so she discovers a larger story about human memory and place.
(Costa Rica, 2023, 14 min.)
Colorado Premiere
Sean O’Connor
In Person: Filmmaker
Deep in rural Nepal, a group of childhood friends channels their resources and energy into fulfilling Jagat Lama’s promise to his dying father: to bring medical care to their home of Kumari. Led by Lama, the team begins developing a self-sustaining community centered around many of the region’s firsts: basic electricity, a women’s skill center, a local school, a working community farm and a medical hospital. Less than two years later, a massive earthquake hits Nepal, destroying the community’s progress. Wrestling with the continued challenges, Lama wonders if his promise to his father is slipping out of reach.
(USA, 2022, 17 min.)
Colorado Premiere
Rowan Ings, Faye Tsakas
Parasolka documents a moment in time for the women of the Fedyk family, who recently arrived in the suburbs of Sacramento, California — home to the largest Ukrainian diaspora in America. As the Fedyk family awaits refugee status at their temporary home, they endure endless days of uncertainty. Raising questions about what the future holds, Parasolka is a meditation on land, family and exile.
(USA, 2023, 9 min.)
Colorado Premiere
JL Pomeroy, Tom Broecker
In Person: Filmmaker
Die Laughing illuminates the power of comedy, and the lengths comedians will go to inspire laughter while expressing the truth — where freedom of expression is a literal fight for freedom. Centered in Cairo, the entertainment hub of the Middle East, the film follows “Saturday Night Live Arabia,” which dared to deliver the kind of cultural humor the American version is known for; “Red Tomato,” a troupe of European and Egyptian street clowns; and “The Street Children,” who post satirical sketches to social media. These artists must balance humor with caution, knowing each performance and every punchline could land them in jail.
(USA, 2023, 19 min.)
World Premiere
Saturday, 10 AM, Palm
Sunday, 5:15 PM, Sheridan Opera House I CAN’T KEEP
Francine Strickwerda
In Person: Filmmaker and Film Subjects
Jamshid is an Iranian who came to study in 1970s America, and due to the revolution, never went home. As a guidance counselor in Seattle Public Schools, Jamshid’s best work takes place on the Ultimate playing field with “his kids,” the children of refugees and immigrants. Their parents are in the grips of their own struggles to make a living and a home in a strange land. Mr. Jamshid is the charismatic, fiery, funny human with a Frisbee in hand, who shows that love wins on the field, off the field, at home with family, or boldly forging a new community, in a new country — one kid, chicken, extreme mile and friend at a time.
(USA, 2023, 40 min.)
World Premiere
CoMMitMent Grant Winner 2022
Eurie Chung
In Person: Filmmakers and Film Subject
I Can’t Keep Quiet is an intimate portrait of one woman’s quest for healing that reverberated around the globe through her anthem for the women’s movement. Five years later, we take a deeper look into the song’s impact on MILCK’s journey of reclamation. As we follow MILCK’s path of activism and artistry, we get a window into how she’s awakened by the stillness of quarantine and the reckoning of our country’s racial justice movement. Her acknowledgment and accountability for her blindspots give her and her co-creator, AG, a renewed sense of freedom as they celebrate that it’s never too late to reclaim our voices.
(USA, 2023, 29 min.)
Colorado Premiere
A musical performance by MILCK will follow screenings.
Saturday, NOON, Masons
Sunday, 1 PM, Palm
Sami Khan
In Person: Filmmakers and Film Subject
Each night after his shift, Tarik, a South Asian-American nurse, races against time to deliver expiring vaccines across Philadelphia to homebound patients before the doses spoil. But the cheerful and everoptimistic Tarik soon realizes that he must change policy to address systemic biases in healthcare. He decides to run for political office and faces off against an entrenched establishment candidate.
(USA, 2022, 26 min.)
Colorado Premiere
CoMMitMent Grant Winner 2021
Cynthia Wade, Sharon Liese
In Person: Filmmaker
The small community of Oak Creek, Wisconsin is home to Eder Flag, the country’s largest American flag and flagpole factory. Refugees and immigrants
from Afghanistan, Serbia, Nigeria, Guatemala, Pakistan and Iraq, who have risked everything to come to the US, sew American flags alongside their midwestern co-workers. Sewing manager Radica, a Serbian immigrant, believes every flag has a soul.
As tensions escalate across the nation, the flagmakers reflect on the question: Who is the flag for?
(USA, 2022, 35 min.)
Maia Wikler
In Person: Filmmaker and Film Subject
Fueled by an unwavering love and responsibility for the land, Quannah Chasinghorse, a 20-year-old member of the Hän Gwich’in people, and her mother Jody Potts-Joseph, are taking a stand to defend their sacred homelands, including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
(USA, 2022, 29 min.)
Friday, 8:30 PM, Nugget
Saturday, 4 PM, High Camp
Natasha Mynhier
In Person: Filmmakers and Film Subject
After becoming the first person to ski the Seven Summits, team athlete Kit DesLauriers found herself searching for purpose beyond herself. Through an epic adventure of athleticism, survival and conservation, she found it. Beyond the Summit explores her two weeks of traversing the Arctic on skis, telling the story of a diminishing snowpack in one of the most pristine wilderness areas in the world: the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
(USA, 2022, 33 min.)
Santiago Burin des Roziers
Mountain bike stars of the future, Emric (10) and Raoul (13) are home-schooled by their parents Toni and Laetitia. They are the Schneeberger family, aka The Nine Wheels. They live in their motorhome going from bike park to bike park across Europe, a decision prompted by the discovery of a
neurodegenerative disease in Laetitia. The Nine Wheels explores what it is like to live with a disability, the power of brotherly love, the devotion of parents, and ultimately, what it is like to live life fully one day at a time.
(UK, Spain, 2021, 22 min.)
Colorado Premiere
Nick Rosen, Zachary Barr, Peter Mortimer
In Person: Filmmakers and Film Subjects
Amidst the ancient terraces and strife-torn hills of Palestine, a tightknit community of rock climbers has sprung up and embraced the sport as a much-needed respite from the burdens of the Israeli occupation. This diverse crew of Bedouins, activists and urban professionals invite us on a journey to explore the beautiful limestone cliffs of their homeland and the power of climbing to transform lives.
(USA, 2023, 37 min.)
This program kicks off the festival with films highlighting the people, places and exciting adventures that remind us of home. This program is free and open to the public.
Brent Englund
Telluride ski bum culture is in danger. Among other things, it is under attack by a specific strain of gentrification known as Aspenification. We aim to document it before it is gone or rendered unrecognizable, beyond distinction.
(USA, 2022, 3 min.)
Cody Cirillo
A foot-powered ski journey takes local Cody Cirillo and friends on an adventure to explore the relationship between skiing and the natural world. Filmed on location in British Columbia, Washington and Colorado. KW
(USA, 2022, 8 min.)
Jordyn Romero, Jo Anna Edmison
In Person: Filmmakers
Shot almost entirely on 16mm, Queens of the Break gives credit to the first generation of women in the Santa Barbara Surf Club and their friendship that has spanned over 50 years. —KW (USA, 2023, 7 min.)
World Premiere
Cedar Palmer
In Person: Filmmaker
Local filmmaker Cedar Palmer and skier Baker Boyd take to the Southern Hemisphere to showcase the various snow conditions of an Argentinian spring, through the raw sounds and sights of wild Patagonia. KW (USA, 2022, 3 min.)
In-Person World Premiere
Sarah McNair-Landry, Erik Boomer
Erik Boomer and Sarah McNair-Landry set off on a bold, multi-sport, 45-day expedition traveling through the remote landscape of Baffin Island in search of cliffs to climb and unexplored rivers to whitewater kayak. —KW (Canada, USA, 2022, 13 min.)
Julien Caldarone, Félix Le Blanc
In Person: Filmmaker
Alongside the striking landscape of Corsica and told through the eyes of his father, we follow the story of Cecce, an enduro mountain biker who lives a full and expressive life in harmony with the nature around him. KW
(France, 2023, 6 min.)
In-Person World Premiere
Kyle Hilken
In Person: Filmmaker and Film Subject
Bloom follows the Schlag family as they navigate the world after losing their father on 9/11, and find connection and healing through the love of skiing that they shared. —KW
(USA, 2022, 15 min.)
Sämi Ortlieb, Rob Heule
Although separated by the Atlantic ocean, longtime friends Sämi Ortlieb and Rob Heule find common ground through shared ski experiences from their respective homes in Glarus, Switzerland and Alberta, Canada. KW
(Switzerland, Canada, 2022, 5 min.)
Jake Burchmore, Luke Mehall
In Person: Filmmaker and Film Subject
Local filmmaker Jake Burchmore chronicles the first ascent of a climb called The Queen, located in Indian Creek, Bears Ears National Monument, which takes climbers Dave Marcinowski and Luke Mehall many long, grueling years to complete. KW
(USA, 2023, 11 min.)
World Premiere
SOMOS
Rafael Pease
Through remarkable imagery of raw and remote environments, the experience of being human in wild places is told by two snowboard mountaineers as they embark on a month-long expedition deep in the Alaskan backcountry. KW
(USA, Chile, 2022, 15 min.)
Colorado Premiere
Scott Secco
Mountain biker Georgia Astle explores what can happen when you’re able to silence your thoughts and put matter over mind to achieve great things. —KW
(Canada, 2023, 3 min.)
Mountainfilm’s program of short, family-friendly educational films are curated for kids and held annually at the Palm. This program offers a wide variety of age-appropriate and perspective-widening themes. Please note that films are not rated. This program is free to kids and all festival passholders. $10 tickets are available to the general public.
Leon Golterman
Aeronaut is about a brother and sister falling in love with planes, just like my brother loves planes.
—Miller Sheedy, age 6 (Netherlands, 2022, 2 min.)
Mark Pedri
In Person: Filmmakers
Bennett is a little mountain climber who hopes to climb mountains for her whole life. When the climb gets tough, she remembers that she is brave and may even have powers!
—Caroline Merritt, age 13 (USA, 2022, 8 min.)
Carmen Morrow, Zach Wolf
The Dukha is an informative, yet whimsical short film that depicts one
of Mongolia’s last cohorts of nomadic reindeer herders. Via a combination of documentary-style footage and enchanting stop motion, this film illustrates the symbolic significance of the reindeer in Mongolian culture, the ins and outs of reindeer herding and the profound way in which the herding lifestyle facilitates familial connections.
—Julia Cieciuch, age 16 (Mongolia, USA, 2020, 8 min.)
Chelsea Jolly
In Person: Filmmakers
Jojo is a kid who lives in the city and loves nature, especially toads. He also loves music and writing rap songs. Jojo combines his love of nature and love of music to write fun environmental rap songs about how we need to protect nature. He shares a good tip at the end, so wait for it. —Zoe Cooper, age 11 (USA, 2023, 8 min.)
World Premiere CoMMitMent Grant Winner 2022
MILK
Celia Jaspers
Milk is an endearing and sweet short film about a young girl who buys milk for a man who can’t afford it instead of buying herself something. This heartwarming representation of true good character and selflessness is a much-needed reminder that good people do exist. This film encourages us to step away from our own selfish tendencies and embrace others so we can realize that even the smallest things can bring joy to their day. And, if this film tells us anything, those small moments of joy can lead to a brighter world. —Ruby Cieciuch, age 13 (New Zealand, 2021, 5 min.)
Colorado Premiere
David Dibble
In Person: Filmmaker
This film was fun! It’s about kids selling rocks that they find in the mountains. I love that they make money to buy candy and ice cream. —Beckett Sheedy, age 8 (USA, 2022, 17 min.)
Logan Lambert
In Person: Filmmakers
This film explores the importance of our connection to nature and finding your true self through adventures in Churchill, Canada. Through this exploration, one can discover who you really want to be in this world. —Jake Martin, age 18 (USA, 2022, 3 min.)
Julio Palacio
Gitanjali was only 4 years old when she got a science kit and started creating inventions. By now, she has made 11 innovations, including one to address the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. Although she has already done more good in her life than most adults, she is far from
finished on her journey to help the world.
—Joe Galbo, age 17
(USA, 2021, 7 min.)
Colorado Premiere
Kirk Horton, Brendan Davis
In Person: Filmmakers
Luke and Ali Peterson are not your normal farmers. They are regenerative farmers surrounded by corn and soybeans for miles. The Petersons’ farm is a sign of diversity and healthy crops. To others they might seem crazy, but the Petersons think of regenerative farming and food as a beacon of hope for a healthier farming system, showcasing that soil health can lead to healthier foods and happier farmers. —Juno Bubolo, age 14
(USA, 2022, 6 min.)
Paul Robert Wolf Wilson, Rush Sturges
In Person: Filmmakers
Paddle Tribal Waters is a positive way to celebrate the removal of the Klamath dams and support the tribal nations by ensuring their youth have a say in the dam removal. This short film encourages education about the dams while also showing how to enjoy the river’s beauty.
—Mateo Bubolo, age 16
(USA, 2022, 9 min.)
World Premiere
Reality (p. 67)
11:45 AM–1:45 PM INDOMITABLE SPIRIT SHORTS (p. 40)
1 PM–3:15 PM Full Circle (p. 19)
1 PM–3 PM The New Americans: Gaming a Revolution (p. 21)
2:30 PM–4:30 PM Innovating Our Way Out of a Water Crisis (p. 68)
4 PM–6 PM Sophia (p. 23)
4 PM–6 PM VOYAGERS SHORTS (p. 51)
5:15 PM–7:30 PM Trees, and Other Entanglements (p. 23)
7 PM–9 PM Wild Life (p. 24)
7 PM–8:45 PM DIRT & ROCK SHORTS (p. 34)
8 PM–10 PM ORIGINALS SHORTS (p. 38)
9 AM–11 AM Bad Press (p. 18)
Q&A
10 AM–12:15 PM #MoCrazyStrong (p. 28) The Herricanes (p. 20)
Q&A
49)
Q&A
4 PM–6:15 PM Trees, and Other Entanglements (p. 23) Q&A
1 PM–3 PM The Place We Meet (p. 30)
Hilaree Nelson Tribute (p. 69)
4 PM–6 PM Walking on Clouds (p. 31) Wild Waters (p. 24) Q&A
11:45 AM–1:45 PM Juan Martinez Pineda: Advancing Racial Equity & Environmental Justice (p. 70)
9:30 AM–11:15 AM WILD SHORTS (p. 44)
Q&A
12:15 PM–2:15PM The Grab (p. 20)
Q&A
2:30 PM–4:30 PM The Generative Power of Disturbance (p. 71)
3 PM–4:45 PM Patrol (p. 22)
Q&A
5:15 PM–7:15 PM LONG & SHORT OF IT (p. 48)
Q&A
6 PM–8 PM ORIGINALS SHORTS (p. 38)
Q&A
7 PM–9 PM
Lightfall: A Journey in Photography with Sterling Lorence (p. 29) Cowboy Poets (p. 18) Q&A
7 PM–9 PM Wild Life (p. 24)
Q&A
8 PM–9:45 PM Impossible Town (p. 21)
Q&A
8:45 PM–10:45 PM Tear Down the City (p. 30) The Road of Excess (p. 23)
Q&A
9:15 AM–11:15 AM Transenders (p. 30) We Are Tenacious (p. 24)
10 AM–NOON DocTalk
The New Yorker: Doc Shorts 101 (p. 87)
NOON–2 PM Going Varsity in Mariachi (p. 19)
2:45 PM–4:30 PM Path of the Panther (p. 22)
5:30 PM–7:45 PM Under G_d (p. 31) Greener Pastures (p. 20)
5 PM–7 PM DocTalk
Doc Society: Soapbox for the Future of Documentary Film (p. 87)
8:15 PM–10:15 PM
The New Americans: Gaming a Revolution (p. 21) Q&A
8:30 PM–10:15 PM DIRT & ROCK SHORTS (p. 34) Q&A
10 AM–NOON Free Range Programs with The North Face Trail Run Bear Creek (p. 89)
NOON–1:30 PM 4DWN Skate Park (p. 89)
1 PM–3 PM Jud Wiebe Hike (p. 89)
*Now at Ah Haa School
3 PM–5 PM Happy Hour & Athlete Chat (p. 89)
5 PM–7 PM Osprey presents Adaptive Outdoor Adventure and Defining Your 100% (p. 92)
FRIDAY, 2:30 PM, HIGH CAMP
We are at what may be the most difficult moment in our career as a species, facing a climate system that we have knocked askew. In order to have any hope of limiting the damage, we need to change the way we power the world — but strong vested interest stands in the way. Hence, huge movements have arisen to help open the way. Longtime climate activist and author Bill McKibben will describe
the birth of some of that work, and its latest manifestations, including the new development of Third Act, which aims to organize folks like him over the age of 60 to back up the demands of youth for progressive action.
Please join Bill McKibben after his presentation for a book signing at the Hotel Madeline Great Room from 5 PM -6 PM.
MODERATED BY LAURIE SEGALL, CEO, DOT DOT DOT MEDIA
SATURDAY, 9 AM, SHERIDAN OPERA HOUSE
Is artificial intelligence the future of the internet and our lives? As companies like Facebook and Epic Games invest heavily in the Metaverse, there has been a lot of hype about it being the future of the internet, a future that is meant to be immersive and constant. Advanced chatbots like ChatGPT can mimic human conversation, write detailed student essays and compose poetry.
But what are the advantages of these technologies and what are the downsides? And how will our understanding of the natural world and our embodied selves change if artificial intelligence is creating our reality?
David Hanson is the founder and CEO of Hanson Robotics and the subject of the film Sophia. The Hanson team creates robots that look and act alive, and enrich the quality of our lives. Sue Halpern is an author and journalist who has written about AI and technology, among other topics, for The New Yorker. A very special non-human guest will also make an appearance.
Laurie Segall is the founder of Dot Dot Dot, an entertainment and technology company focused on society and artificial intelligence. Formerly CNN’s senior tech correspondent and a reporter for “60 Minutes,” Segall has interviewed the world’s most influential tech leaders including Mark Zuckerberg and Tim Cook. Segall is the author of Special Characters: My Adventures with Tech’s Titans and Misfits.
SATURDAY, 2:30 PM, SHERIDAN
The Colorado River is in crisis. The beleaguered waterway that supports 40 million people in the American Southwest has more demands on it than its waters can supply. Layer on top of that dwindling flows caused by climate change and an inequitable water rights allocation system that favors those who first put them to use and you have a recipe for disaster that will take innovative thinking to solve. Durango-based conservationist Teal Lehto is a water rights activist and raft guide with over 50,000 TikTok followers. Abrahm Lustgarten is a journalist who writes about climate change and
the Colorado River for ProPublica. His 2016 series investigating the mismanagement of the Colorado River was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Lorelei Cloud is a tribal council member of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and was just named by Gov. Jared Polis to the Colorado Water Conservation Board, which is tasked with developing and protecting the state’s waters. Pete McBride is a Coloradan, photographer and conservationist who has spent years documenting the Colorado River and wild places around the globe. Panelists will speak about their work, then come together for a solutionsbased conversation.
SUNDAY, 1 PM, HIGH CAMP WITH A SCREENING OF THE PLACE WE MEET
Hilaree Nelson was a mother, partner, athlete and friend. Although she traveled to far-flung places, scaling the tallest mountains on the planet, she was also grounded in the Telluride valley where she made her home. After a childhood skiing Steven’s Pass in Washington state’s Cascade Mountains, she spent five seasons in Chamonix before putting down roots in the Telluride box canyon. She was taken from us too soon, but her indomitable spirit will continue to move mountains — through her children, through the younger athletes she mentored as a North Face team captain and through her Telluride family. Nelson was an iconic adventurer, and she will always hold a special
place in the heart of the community. The Mountainfilm family will gather to celebrate Nelson with some of her adventure partners as we pay tribute and honor the legacy of our dear friend.
The tribute will include the world premiere of The North Face film, The Place We Meet. This film follows Nelson on one of her last expeditions: an all-women team with a vision to climb and ski first descents above the Arctic Circle. After the film there will be a conversation hosted by long-time friend of Nelson and Mountainfilm Timmy O’Neill. The event will close with a selection of clips from films that featured Nelson’s expeditions over the years.
SUNDAY, 11:45 AM, SHERIDAN OPERA HOUSE
There is a long history of racism and discrimination against Black, Indigenous and People of Color in the United States. Despite this history, community leaders have made significant and meaningful contributions to the advancement of this country, conservation and environmental justice, and especially in the lives of young adults and communities of color.
Join Juan D. Martinez Pineda, (Zapoteca, Be’ena’ Za/ The Cloud People) National Geographic Explorer and senior program manager at The Aspen Institute Forum For Community Solutions, as he shares lessons and insights about the intersection of environmental
justice, conservation and the future of the country’s promise to lift up all people. Attendees will explore the power of place and the importance of harnessing community power that centers the most vulnerable community members, including opportunity youth and families. Juan will share insights related to how communities are building on this power to sustain progress, drive momentum and prepare for deepened impact in the years ahead. This discussion will share reflections on current policy, research and make connections to local community-based efforts, including thoughts on what it takes to lead effective cross-system and sector collaborative work.
This women-led presentation will discuss disturbance and how it relates to ecosystems, cultures and our bodies. Disruption is defined as the interruption of a settled state, of healthy functioning, a breakdown. Disturbances are unpredictable yet ubiquitous elements in our lives and in our landscapes. We tend to frame them as negative elements, and this negativity is reflected in the language we use to describe them: catastrophic hurricanes, devastating earthquakes, debilitating accidents and disease. But disturbance can also provide portals for changes in the ways we perceive and interact with ourselves and with others, which can offer windows into ways of being — altered states that would be impossible without disturbance.
Each of the three speakers is a National Geographic Explorer and has had intimate personal and professional experiences with disturbances. Nalini Nadkarni
survived a five-story fall to the forest floor from the top of a tree in the Pacific Northwest. We learn how during her own recovery, she drew insight and parallels from ecosystem dynamics, neuroscience research, traffic engineering, refugee studies and nature itself. Marine biologist Tierney Thys uses humor to shift debilitating negative energy into a more positive, motivating framework that has helped her focus her global conservation efforts to reduce toxic pollutants in our environments. Medical anthropologist and Buddhist chaplain Carroll Dunham describes how a massive earthquake in her home in Nepal has led to renewed cultural appreciation and a flourishing of skills in the art of temple-building.
Includes the short film, Is Cancer Right For You? and the film Between Earth & Sky (page 43).
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 Awards), Tom Shadyac will join Wild author and “Tiny Beautiful Things” writer and executive producer, and Mountainfilm special guest, judge, speaker and 2019 Guest Director Cheryl Strayed to tackle that question – WHAT NOW? – in this festival-wrap conversation about turning motivation into action.
Free and open to the public.
Friday, 4 PM–7 PM
Mountainfilm partners with Telluride Arts to celebrate and showcase the work of photographers, activists and artists with the annual Mountainfilm Art Walk. Mountainfilm will be hosting a reception at Telluride Arts HQ West, 224 W Colorado Ave with refreshments and wine provided courtesy of Stonestreet Estate Vineyards. This gallery will feature the “Around the World in 80 Fabrics: Wild and Regenerative Explorations” exhibition, along with large-format prints by local photographer Ben Eng featuring Telluride athletes and landscapes.
Ah Haa School for the Arts 155 W Pacific Ave
Atelier 215 E Colorado Ave
Bella Fine Goods 213 W Colorado Ave
Between the Covers Bookstore / Bruno 214 W Colorado Ave
Elinoff Gallery 204 W Colorado Ave
La Cocina de Luz 123 E Colorado Ave
Mixx projects + atelier 307 E Colorado Ave
Red Dirt Studio Gallery 201 W Colorado Ave
Rinkevich Gallery 618 Mountain Village Blvd, Bldg Shop 120C
Slate Gray Gallery 130 E Colorado Ave
Tellurado Studio 219 E Colorado Ave
Telluride Arts HQ East 220 W Colorado Ave
Telluride Arts HQWest 224 W Colorado Ave
The Gordon Collection 220 E Colorado Ave
Wilkinson Public Library 100 W Pacific Ave
Woof! Telluride 134 E. Colorado Ave.
Daniel Tucker Gallery at the Ah Haa School for the Arts
Eric Hanson is CEO of Blueplanet VR and a faculty member at the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California. With a background in design, architecture, photography and feature film visual effects, Hanson currently creates volumetric VR content spanning landscape, natural history and cultural heritage. In a collaboration with the Ah Haa School for the Arts, Hanson will host the Blueplanet VR Immersive Experience: Revealing Histories — Reimagining Landscapes. He has created an interactive exhibition that immerses visitors in the largest historic research program in the Four Corners Region. The ONWARD Project offers visitors a rare chance to explore a virtual retelling of the American West, recreating storylines from the historic Rainbow Bridge-Monument Valley Expedition. The project gives voice to the people impacted by the expedition, the communities culturally related to the land and the original inhabitants of ancient Puebloan sites.
Experience this special VR program during the Art Walk on Friday, or Saturday and Sunday, 10 AM–5 PM.
Slate Gray Gallery
Beth Moon (subject of Trees, and Other Engtanglements) is known for her ethereal photography of the world’s oldest trees — giant redwoods, bristlecone pines and baobab trees. Her haunting black and white portraits explore how the passing of time is represented in the sturdy trunks, gnarled roots and outstretched branches of these ancient beings. Moon brings her subjects to life using platinum printing, a labor-intensive process noted for its luminosity and almost3-dimensional quality. Her recent book of photographs features one of Africa’s natural wonders, the baobab, which can live to 2,500 years old with water-storing trunks that can grow to over 100 feet around.
Slate Gray Gallery
Ryan Neil (subject of Trees, and Other Engtanglements) is a bonsai artist, carefully crafting miniaturized but accurate representations of nature in the form of a tree. To perfect his art, Neil undertook a sixyear-long grueling apprenticeship with one of Japan’s best-known bonsai masters. Neil’s work pushes the limits of design, using modern techniques while maintaining a strong connection to the traditions of the art form. In 2010, he founded Bonsai Mirai, a studio, garden and creative ecosystem outside of Portland, Oregon, dedicated to sharing the art form through science-based education. Ryan will be doing a live bonsai trimming on Friday leading up to the Art Walk .
Telluride Arts HQ West
Telluride Arts will feature a pop-up exhibition of “Around the World in 80 Fabrics: Wild and Regenerative Explorations,” a nonprofit created by Tierney Thys and Carroll Dunham that celebrates the biodiversity of naturefriendly fabrics worldwide and humanity’s connection to our living ecosystems. Thys is a scientist, filmmaker and research associate at California Academy of Sciences. Dunham is an author, Buddhist chaplain and medical anthropologist. Both are National Geographic Explorers. This acclaimed exhibit demonstrates innovations in recycling, bio fabrication and revitalizing vanishing textile traditions to reduce petroleum-fueled fast fashion.
Mountainfilm 2023 poster artist
MD, aka Mike Doherty, arrived in Telluride in 1991. It was not long before he began working at the Ah Haa School for the Arts, facilitating figure drawing classes. He has since built his reputation as a painter and built the local business, Telluride Snowmobile Adventures. Doherty’s work is unmistakably MD: whimsical pop-art interpretations, with florescent streets, purple mountains and the coal-black night skies littered with stars. His bold, clean and bright signature style has made his work a quintessential part of the Telluride art scene, infusing familiar scenery with unexpected boldness and a sense of adventure.
Mountainfilm Festival Mural
Friends of Mountainfilm and kindred spirits alike recognize the call of adventure. The feeling one gets from peaks in the distance, rapids downriver and old maps filed away for future explorations. Drew Ludwig is an artist working with this feeling, harnessing its gravity to create pieces capable of placing the beholder in a sphere of dreaming and endeavor in wild landscapes. For Mountainfilm this year, Ludwig’s mural questions the gravitas of great expanses by reflecting the viewer in the piece itself. Head over to Bruno coffee shop to take a closer look. You might see something you weren’t expecting to find.
Saturday and Sunday, 8 AM–9 AM
Mountainfilm kicks off the mornings with our popular Coffee Talks bringing together guests of the festival for engaging discussions. Bring a cup of joe and join us as we dive into climate change, diversity, community organizing, environmental advocacy and heartfelt conversations.
#1 RUSTICO RISTORANTE: JULIA CAULFIELD
#2 WILKINSON PUBLIC LIBRARY: SARAH STEELE (SAT) AND JEDIDIAH JENKINS (SUN)
#3 MOUNTAIN LODGE: JON TUKMAN
#4 AH HAA SCHOOL: SARAH STEELE (SUN) AND JEDIDIAH JENKINS (SAT)
#5 HOTEL TELLURIDE: LAURA COLBERT
SATURDAY
Freedom of speech and freedom of the press are critical to a functioning democracy, and in the US these rights are enshrined in the First Amendment to the Constitution. Freedom of speech has been recognized as a human right. The media’s role as a watchdog is critical to exposing government wrongdoing. Join JL Pomeroy, co-director of Die Laughing, and journalist Angel Ellis, main subject of Bad Press, for a conversation about what happens when these essential
freedoms are stifled. Set in Cairo, the entertainment hub of the Middle East, Die Laughing follows comedians as they walk the line between humor and caution, knowing every punchline could land them in jail. Ellis is a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and a journalist at Mvskoke Media. Bad Press follows her mission to restore free press to the tribe in 2021 after a small faction of politicians had dismantled it.
It has been Mark Sedon’s mission in life to never waste a day. He has extraordinary tales to tell, including some incredible accounts of survival when things go wrong. From breaking his back when he was buried in an avalanche, to watching helplessly high up on an erupting volcano, starving for five days in a shipping container in remote Papua, Indonesia, and a yacht fire and broken mast in the Southern Ocean. He has climbed Mt. Everest, then saved a Sherpa’s life high in the Himalaya, and kite skied 2,000 km across Antarctica for two months in temperatures as low as -60°C (-76°F) to climb what might be the most remote mountain on earth. The talk will cover the highs and lows, the laughs and humility of Sedon’s audacious adventures.
Agriculture, land management, food distribution and processing, and food waste are all major sources of climate-warming emissions. That presents opportunities for climate solutions at every step in the food system, from land managers to individual consumers. Join us for an empowering, fact-and fun-filled conversation about the role of food and fields in moving toward a climate-smart West.
Participants include San Miguel County Commissioner and owner of Tomten Farm Kris Holstrom , Woodwell Climate Research Center soil scientist Dr. Jon Sanderman and
alpinist and filmmaker Dani ReyesAcosta . Opening and closing remarks by Woodwell Climate Research Center scientist Dr. Jenny Watts and Director of Protect Our Winters Jake Black .
Moderated by Dr. Heather Goldstone of Woodwell Climate Research Center
Get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the six-year effort that captured the story of conflict beef, infringement of Indigenous rights and the resultant effects of deforestation. Patrol tells the story of how rising global demand for beef threatens a rich biodiverse environment, as well as the ancestral lands of the Rama Indians and Afro-descendant Kriols, who have called the IndioMaíz Biological Reserve in Nicaragua home for generations. Panelists will share how they’ve personally been affected by the making of this film, what it means for the future of Indigenous peoples in Nicaragua and what you can do to stop deforestation in a world that desperately needs healthy wild places. Panelists and film subjects
Armando John is a Rama forest ranger and Dr. Christopher Jordan is a researcher, conservationist and the Latin America Director at Re:wild. Camilo de Castro, the co-director of Patrol, is a filmmaker, journalist and environmental activist. Brad Allgood , the film’s codirector, is a filmmaker focused on character-driven stories related to conservation and natural history.
What does it mean to be an environmental artist? Eric Hanson is a digital artist and filmmaker who is known for his pioneering work in virtual reality. He has created a number of VR experiences that are highly immersive and interactive, using cutting-edge technology to push the boundaries of what is possible in this medium. Ryan Neil is a world-renowned bonsai artist known for incorporating modern techniques and design principles into this traditional art form. Neil’s philosophy is to view bonsai not only as an art form but also as a means of creating a connection between people and the natural world. Beth Moon’s work has been described as both meditative and ethereal, with a strong emphasis on the relationship between time and the natural world. Her images often depict natural landscapes and ancient trees, with a focus on capturing the beauty and complexity of nature. R. Nelson Parrish’s work uses abstract forms and vibrant colors to evoke the energy and movement of natural phenomena, such as wind, water and light. His work has been described as a meditation on the natural world.
The advanced chatbot GPT-4 is impressive, fun and cool, but the artificial intelligence engine also has a propensity to be confidently wrong in its predictions, sometimes hilariously so. As Sue Halpern has written for The New Yorker, the new generative pre-trained transformer has the ability to both enhance and diminish our lives. Technologies like iPhones, social media and artificial intelligence have become a ubiquitous part of society before we have even decided whether we want them to be. This talk will focus on some of the most compelling questions of our time: How does our thinking about ourselves, each other and the natural world change when computers are blurring the line between reality and fantasy? Writer and director Ondi Timoner (The New Americans: Gaming a Revolution) will give us a glimpse into a world where finance, media, extremism and avatars meet. Halpern and Timoner will be joined by Jon Kasbe and Crystal Moselle (Sophia) to explore this new world and how journalism can unmask and decode it.
Much is written about the “disenchantment of the world” — which started with modernity and the commodification of nature. We could not clear-cut forests to build civilization while believing in tree spirits, for example. Disenchantment made way for the commodification of carbon to burn and fuel the world, which now threatens life on Earth. Assuming it’s true that disenchanting the world plays a role in our current problems, then perhaps “re-enchanting” the world might be part of the solution. This session will explore how we can use our truest, most personal stories to re-enchant our lives. Jedidiah Jenkins is a writer best known for his autobiographical memoir, To Shake the Sleeping Self, a journey of self-discovery about biking from Oregon to Patagonia. Brooke Williams is an author who has spent his life advocating for wild places and writes about his adventures exploring both the inner and outer wilderness.
This coffee talk will explore the evolution of grassroots environmental activism and how methods have changed over the last 30 years with leaders from Telluride conservation group Sheep Mountain Alliance and environmental activists. The event will bring together activists from around the world to discuss their experiences in fighting for what’s right, from securing conservation for Telluride’s Valley Floor to working on a national level to fight climate change. Joan May is a Sheep Mountain Alliance board member and former county commissioner. Art Goodtimes is a former county commissioner, potato farmer, basket weaver, mushroom enthusiast and Sheep Mountain Alliance founder. These longtime local activists will be joined by a representative from the local Collaborative Action for Immigrants organization.
In the face of constant environmental and humanitarian crises and an alarmist news cycle, finding any hope for our future can feel nearly impossible. However, what we don’t often see are the millions of leaders and communities driving solutions even in the face of systemic injustices, ecological disturbances and political obstacles. How do you tell a genuinely hopeful environmental story in the face of these threats? Join us in a talk with The Redford Center-supported filmmakers Andrew Nadkarni ( Between Earth & Sky ), Meg Griffiths and Scott Faris ( Impossible Town) and Alina Simone ( Black Snow ) to discuss how their films featured at Mountainfilm spotlight resilient and inspiring leaders in the environmental movement, highlighting the importance of giving audiences stories of hope even in the midst of crisis.
Water is life. Water is for fighting. Water flows uphill toward money. When you touch the water in the West, you touch everything. The cliches are many, as are the challenges. But solutions are elusive. Building on our speaker series about the imperiled Colorado River, this talk will feature journalist Heather Sackett , TikTok creator Teal Lehto, Director of The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) Freshwater Lab Rachel Havrelock , and hydrologist Rory Cowie. Panelists will discuss how they use images, video and the power of the pen to educate about the water crises we face and spur the public into action.
Mountainfilm’s DocTalks will take place at the Ah Haa School for the Arts in the Launchpad (third floor). Sessions will focus on career development and filmmaker support. Sessions will be hosted by various organizations, including Doc Society, The Redford Center, The New Yorker and The North Face.
DocTalk workshops are intended for filmmakers and festival guests. The public is welcome after festival guest passholders have been seated.
FRIDAY, 5 PM
MEET THE MOUNTAINFILM JURIES PLUS INDUSTRY GUESTS
We’ve heard it a lot lately – the golden age of documentaries is dead. But before we succumb to the gloom and doom and the gnashing of teeth, let’s discuss a vision for the future. Our esteemed panelists will include a selection of this year’s jury along with industry guests as they discuss what’s on the horizon in the documentary landscape. They will also offer filmmaker advocacy tips, including how to build relationships with collaborators and decisionmakers in the industry.
Followed by a reception on the Ah Haa Sky Deck hosted by Exposure Labs (festival guest passholders only).
SATURDAY, 10 AM
THE REDFORD CENTER: STORYTELLING STRATEGIES FOR CLIMATE SOLUTIONS
Electric cars, reusable water bottles and straws, and solar panels. What do these things have in common? They’re some of the most popular environmental solutions presented to us, yet our collective imagination seems to start and stop with these possibilities. We know it’s going to take a lot more than short-term fixes and commercial efforts to tackle the larger issues facing our planet. It’s time to move beyond and reimagine our future. This begins with the stories we tell ourselves and each other. Join us for a discussion exploring film’s ability to revolutionize the way we approach the climate crisis. From
redefining sustainability, addressing environmental injustice and barriers to access, and mobilizing collective action, you’ll learn about key narrative strategies that transform storytelling impact.
Panelists: Jill Tidman, Megha Agrawal Sood, Hannah Hearn, Jeff OrlowskiYang and Tracy Rector
Hosted by The Redford Center
SATURDAY, 5 PM
FILMMAKER CREATIVE WORKSHOP THE NORTH FACE PRESENTS: HOW AN OUTDOOR FILM IS MADE
Kaki Orr and Rob Wassmer of The North Face will walk through the creation of a film through the lens of an outdoor brand. In describing their process, they will touch on storytelling ethos, creative intent, production management and distribution — all in hopes of providing lessons and conversation around modern-day branded content creation.
Hosted by The North Face
SUNDAY, 10 AM
DOC SHORTS 101
THE NEW YORKER
Short documentaries have found a powerful home on legacy journalism platforms. The New Yorker’s mission is to create impactful films with a deep sense of purpose, and it has built its programming around that commitment. The team at The New Yorker joins DocTalks to share how it collaborates with established and emerging filmmakers to further expand its vision and elevate the magazine’s award-winning series, The New Yorker Documentary.
Panelists: Daniel Lombroso and Melissa Fajardo
Hosted by The New Yorker
SUNDAY, 5 PM
SOAPBOX FOR THE FUTURE
DOCUMENTARY FILM)
As the independent storytelling field continues to face an onslaught of challenges, let’s take a moment to come together as a community to envision the future we all need and deserve. Join Doc Society’s Megha Agrawal Sood, Mountainfilm Guest Director Bill McKibben, and a group of storytellers and industry leaders, including dream hampton, Opal Bennett and Brian Newman. Together we will collectively imagine a better future for documentary film, for makers and audiences alike.
Hosted by Doc Society
This year, The North Face (TNF) is hosting our Free Range headquarters in Elks Park, featuring world-class athletes Conrad Anker, Erika Flowers, Mike Foote, Sage Cattabriga-Alosa, Nina Williams and more. Space is limited, so stop by and sign up at TNF HQ.
TNF is also hosting two climate-focused Happy Hour & Athlete Chats on Saturday and Sunday in partnership with Telluride Brewing Company. All events are free and open to the public.
123 S. OAK STREET
FRIDAY: NOON - 3 PM SATURDAY & SUNDAY: 9AM–5 PM
FRIDAY
1 PM–3 PM Hike or Trail Run - Idarado Legacy Trail with Sage Cattabriga-Alosa, Nina Williams, Erika Flowers & Mike Foote (wheelchair accessible, weather dependent)
SATURDAY
10 AM–NOON Indoor Climbing with TNF athlete Nina Williams, Conrad Anker & Sage Cattabriga-Alosa
NOON–1 PM Ultimate Frisbee Clinic Join Ultimate Citizens film subjects at the Telluride High School fields. Free chocolate for anyone that brings a Frisbee!
1–3 PM Hike or Trail Run - Bear Creek with TNF athletes Sage Cattabriga-Alosa, Mike Foote & Erika Flowers
3–5 PM Happy Hour & Athlete Chat
SUNDAY
10 AM–NOON Hike or Trail RunBear Creek with TNF athletes Sage Cattabriga-Alosa, Nina Williams, Mike Foote, Conrad Anker & Erika Flowers
NOON–1:30 PM Join the 4DWN crew to learn some new skate tips and tricks, plus a free giveaway at the Town Park skatepark
1 PM–3 PM Hike or Trail Run - Jud Wiebe with TNF athletes Mike Foote, Erika Flowers & Nina Williams
3–5 PM Happy Hour & Athlete Chat
Along with the films, presentations, panels, hikes, book signings and art walks, Mountainfilm squeezes a few events, parties and special surprises into the mix. Special events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted..
WOODWELL PARTY
THURSDAY, 8 PM–11 PM
SMUGGLER’S BREWPUB
225 S PINE ST
Join Mountainfilm’s partner, Woodwell Climate Research Center, to kick off the weekend celebrating 35 years of Woodwell’s collaborative, transformational research and education to combat climate change and safeguard the future of life here on Earth.
BOOK SIGNING
WITH GUEST DIRECTOR
BILL MCKIBBEN
FRIDAY, 5 PM–6 PM
HOTEL MADELINE GREAT ROOM
Join Guest Director Bill McKibben for an intimate gathering and book signing of some of his iconic works spanning his decades-long career. McKibben is the author of the 1989 book The End of Nature, one of the first books written on climate change for a general audience.
Copies of We Are Better Together and Falter will be available, along with his most recent work The Flag, the Cross and the Stationwagon: A Graying American Looks Back on His Suburban Boyhood and Wonders What the Hell Happened
BIPOC FILMMAKERS
AND FESTIVAL GUESTS
FRIDAY, 7 PM–8:30 PM
THE RIDE LOUNGE
135 E COLORADO AVE
BIPOC filmmakers, festival guests and allies can meet up for an evening of networking and conversation.
Cash bar
FRIDAY, 8:30 PM–10:30 PM
THE LAST DOLLAR SALOON
100 E COLORADO AVE
A wild world is a healthy one — so let’s celebrate those protecting and restoring the wild! Join the team behind the film Patrol for drinks and plant-based appetizers as we celebrate the six-year effort to expose the illegal beef industry’s threats to Indigenous peoples, forests and wildlife in Nicaragua. Drink tickets and cash bar
SATURDAY, 2 PM–3:30 PM
COLORADO AVE (MAIN STREET)
It’s called the Ice Cream Social, but there’s much more than scoops of free frozen treats. One of the weekend’s favorite events, this afternoon street party is a place to meet up with fellow Mountainfilmers and discuss which films and speakers have blown your mind. Make sure to stop by and say hello to our festival sponsors stationed along Main Street. This year’s Ice Cream Social will feature a photo opportunity and casual chat with a beyond-human subject.
SATURDAY, 2 PM–4 PM
AH HAA SCHOOL
155 W PACIFIC AVE
Join The Redford Center in celebrating the fourth cohort of Redford Center Grantees: 12 exceptional teams of filmmakers, exploring the complex challenges and nuanced solutions of the climate and environmental crises. Featuring an exclusive first look at the new films supported by The Redford Center’s environmental impact documentary grant program, this is an opportunity to meet the creatives behind the work. These films highlight narratives that honor ancestors, safeguard the present and reimagine the future.
SATURDAY, 5 PM–7 PM
JAGGED EDGE
223 E COLORADO AVE
From the Kangshung Face to the depths of the Black Canyon, from first ascents in the Northeast to the mega classics of the desert Southwest, Ed Webster was a step ahead of his generation. Most climbers never met him, but all have aspired to repeat his routes. Please join special guests and the Mountainfilm climbing community in celebrating the life of this legendary man.
LGBTQ+ FILMMAKERS AND FESTIVAL GUESTS
SATURDAY, 6 PM–7:30 PM
THE RIDE LOUNGE
135 E COLORADO AVE
LGBTQ+ filmmakers, festival guests and allies can meet up for an evening of networking and conversation.
Cash bar
DANCE PARTY
SATURDAY, 8 PM–11 PM
COLORADO AVE (MAIN STREET)
The North Face, YETI and Woodwell Climate Partners invite the community to gather on Main Street for a night of celebration and dancing, honoring local legend Hilaree Nelson. Catch up with friends, meet some new ones and boogie the night away with DJ Alex Cruz . All are invited to this dancin’in-the-street bash.
Drink tickets and cash bar
MOVEMENT AND MINDSET: ADAPTIVE OUTDOOR ADVENTURE AND DEFINING YOUR 100%
SUNDAY, 5 PM–7 PM
JAGGED EDGE
223 E COLORADO AVE
Climber and filmmaker Timmy
O’Neill hosts a conversation with adaptive athletes, adventurers and film stars André Kajlich (No Legs. All Heart.), Trevor Kennison (Full Circle), Erik Weihenmayer (Soundscape) and Caleb Swanepoel ( And yet, I remain.) about being survivors, the joys and challenges of adaptive sports and being leaders for the disabled community.
MONDAY, 1 PM–4 PM
AWARD CEREMONY STARTS AT 2:30 PM
TELLURIDE TOWN PARK
500 E COLORADO AVE
Wrap up the festival with a delicious vegetarian lunch from La Cocina de Luz and the festival awards in the park. Don’t forget to cast your vote for the Audience Choice Award for your favorite feature and short (see How to Mountainfilm page 9 for instructions). The picnic is free for all passholders, except Wasatch. Individual tickets will be for sale at the entrance for $30. Food and drinks are included
MONDAY, 7 PM–9 PM
PALM THEATRE BLACK BOX (THE BOB)
This live storytelling event hosted by Telluride Theatre features ingenious, hilarious, outrageous and moving tales by Mountainfilm guests and local presenters.
Festival awards are announced at the Closing Picnic and Awards Ceremony which takes place in the Telluride Town Park on Monday from 1 PM–4 PM
$5,000
This juried award celebrates exceptional filmmaking for feature films (over 40 minutes in length).
Funded in part by Tully & Elise Friedman
BEST SHORT FILM $1,000
This juried award celebrates exceptional filmmaking for short films (under 40 minutes in length).
Funded in part by Tully & Elise Friedman
$4,000
The winner of this award will be decided by Mountainfilm attendees who can vote for their favorite feature film during the festival.
Funded in part by Tully & Elise Friedman
AUDIENCE CHOICE: SHORT $1,000
Mountainfilm attendees vote for their favorite short film to determine the winner of this award.
Funded in part by Tully & Elise Friedman
Charlie Fowler was a world-class climber and Telluride crag pioneer who died on a 2006 expedition in China with his partner Christine Boskoff. This juried award goes to the best adventure film.
Funded by the Fowler family
MOVING MOUNTAINS $2,500
This award honors films that focus on social justice and impact, and supports both the filmmaker and the film’s associated nonprofit.
Funded in part by Tully & Elise Friedman
WOMEN IN FILM $2,500
This award is presented to an outstanding woman in the film industry who shows excellence and indomitable spirit either in front of or behind the camera.
Funded by Riccarda de Eccher & Bill Goldston
High school students from the immersive Mountainfilm for Students program select the film they think will best inspire their generation.
Funded by Telluride Academy
Alaskan sculptor R. Nelson Parrish’s tactile, dynamic pieces represent a fusion of natural and synthetic, sculpture and painting. His work aims to disengage the viewer from the peripheral and focus on the present moment, eliciting a calm that is rare in today’s chaotic world.
Opal H. Bennett is an Emmy-winning film producer, curator and programmer, and a leader in the independent documentary community. She is on the programming teams for Aspen ShortsFest, Athena Film Festival and DOC NYC, and has served on numerous grant selection committees and juries. Bennett is the producer of “POV Shorts,” the public television series dedicated to short-form nonfiction films, where her first season curating shorts won the IDA Award for Best Short Form Series. A Columbia Law School grad, Bennett has a master’s in media studies from the London School of Economics and received her B.A. from New York University.
Doug Blush is an award-winning director, producer, editor, writer and cinematographer whose work includes over 130 feature and television projects. Credits include the Critics’ Choice Award and 2022 Peabody Award-winning Mr. Soul!, the Academy Awardwinning Period, End of Sentence., the Academy Award-winning Icarus and, as supervising editor, the Oscar winner 20 Feet From Stardom. Recent projects include Justice, which premiered at Sundance 2023 and The Elephant Whisperers, which won the 2023 Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.
Zana began in the documentary space early in her career, interning for esteemed NYC documentarian Marc Levin at Blowback Productions. She has spent the last nine years on the Netflix documentary film team, working with a wide array of filmmakers across various projects, including the doc series, “The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez”, and the doc feature, Becoming, which took an intimate look at the life of Michelle Obama. Most recently, Zana oversaw the feature doc film Pamela: A Love Story, an intimate authorized portrait of Pamela Anderson, and documentary features, such as Civil: Ben Crump, Stutz, Orgasm Inc., Britney Vs. Spears and Girl in the Picture.
SHEILA NEVINS
Sheila Nevins is the foremother of documentary filmmaking, earning countless Oscars, Peabody and Emmy awards over the course of her 50-plus-year career. Nevins joined HBO in 1979 and served as the network’s president of documentary and family programming from 2005-2018. She oversaw more than 1,000 documentaries during her tenure at HBO and is now the head of the MTV Documentary division of MTV Studios.
An Academy Award-winning short-documentary director and entrepreneur, Ben Proudfoot is the creative force behind Breakwater Studios. The studio’s work has been recognized by the Academy Awards, The Emmys, The Peabody Awards, Critics Choice Documentary Awards, The James Beard Awards, the Sundance Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival and the Tribeca Film Festival, among others. Proudfoot was named one of Forbes “30 Under 30” for his leadership and innovation in the brand-funded documentary space. He hails from Halifax, Nova Scotia, and is a graduate of the University of Southern California. Proudfoot is an accomplished sleight-ofhand magician and has performed at The Magic Castle in Los Angeles.
Tracy Rector is a filmmaker, curator, community organizer and programmer. Currently, she is serving as the managing director of storytelling at Nia Tero, a nonprofit committed to supporting Indigenous governance and guardianship. She has directed and produced over 400 shorts, the Reciprocity Project series and a number of feature films, including the award-winning Outta the Muck. As an impact producer, Tracy served on the team for the Emmy Award-winning feature documentary Dawnland, which premiered on Independent Lens’ to 2.1 million viewers in its opening week. Her work has also been featured in National Geographic, imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, Cannes Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and the Smithsonian’s Museum of the American Indian.
Susan Wrubel is the executive and artistic director at Aspen Film. She is a film executive with over 25 years of experience in film acquisitions, sales, production, financing and distribution. After 11 years in the New York art-house world, Wrubel became vice president of acquisitions and co-productions for Paramount Classics in 2004. Wrubel returned to New York in 2010, consulting for several internationally focused companies in content acquisition and aggregation, as well as packaging and securing production finance for independent producers. She is an executive producer on Maggie’s Plan, I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead, and the Oscar-winning Still Alice. Wrubel is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.
ALAN FORMANEK
Alan comes from Slovakia (former Czechoslovakia) and remembers being mesmerized by the peaks of the High Tatras since his very first visit. He started climbing at the young age of 14 and was soon leading dubious rock routes using homemade climbing shoes, pitons and knitted ropes. Formanek was one of the pioneers of modern free climbing in Europe in the 1980s. He is credited for freeing many milestone multi-pitch rock routes in the area. He graduated with degrees in electrical engineering and comparative literature. He has been directing the Vancouver Intl Mountain Film Festival since 1998 and the Mountains and City Festival in Bratislava, Slovakia since 2000.
ACE KVALE
Ace Kvale is a Minnesota native who landed in Telluride in 1975. Seeking ever-bigger mountains and challenges, he roamed the world for the next four decades, eking out a living as an adventure photographer before becoming a dedicated desert rat. Kvale has been a friend of Mountainfilm since its humble origins, participating in many films and gallery shows throughout the years. Although he now lives in a small town in the desert southwest, he still calls Telluride home to friendships that last a lifetime.
Dani Reyes-Acosta is an alpinist and storyteller aiming to inspire individual action and collective communion through self-care and self-determination in the outdoors. A graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara and la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Dani’s roots are in Playa del Rey, California and Ortiz, Colorado. Her first film, OUTLIER: Trust, debuted in late 2022 in Banff, Canada. Honored by Protect Our Winters as Alliance Member of the Year for her advocacy, she is also an Explore Fund Council Member for The North Face.
LUKE MEHALL
FRIDAY, MAY 26 AT NOON
Between the Covers
BILL MCKIBBEN
FRIDAY, 5 PM
Madeline Hotel Timber Room
Following Speaker Series at High Camp
BETH MOON
FRIDAY, 7:30 PM
Between the Covers
Following the Art Walk
MARK SEDON
SATURDAY, 9:30 AM
Between the Covers
Following Coffee Talk
LAURIE SEGALL
SATURDAY, 11:30 AM
Between the Covers
Following Speaker Series
ABRAHM LUSTGARTEN
SATURDAY, 5 PM
Between the Covers
Following Speaker Series
BROOKE WILLIAMS & JEDIDIAH JENKINS
SUNDAY, 9:30 AM
Between the Covers
Following Coffee Talk
ANDRÉ KAJLICH
SUNDAY, 1 PM
Between the Covers
Following Screening of No Legs. All Heart.
CARROLL DUNHAM & NALINI NADKARNI
SUNDAY, 5 PM
Between the Covers
Following Speaker Series
CHERYL STRAYED
MONDAY, 10:30 AM
Between the Covers
Following What Now?
Anonymous • pattie adler • Ruth E. Bender
Cathe & Chip Dyer • Dr. Hill & Bettie Hastings
Sage & Alex Martin
Anonymous (2) • Katherine Borsecnik & Gene
Weil • Stuart & Joanna Brown • The Dalton Family
Foundation • Nancy Donohue & Diane Elam
Bruce & Bridgitt Evans • Erik & Josephine Fallenius
Elizabeth Farrar & Craig Echols • Tully & Elise
Friedman, Honorary Trustees • The Kelly Family
Casey & Megan McManemin • High Meadows
Group • Casey & Margaret Olson • Elizabeth R.
Patterso • Dick & Susan Saint James Ebersol,
Honorary Trustees • Jim & Joanne Steinback Sheryl & Daniel Tishman • Missy & Mike Young
Michael Goldberg & Ashley Hayward
Beth McLaughlin • Debbie & Jeff Resnick
Ann & Rich Teerlink, Honorary Trustees
Anonymous (3) • Darlene & Jeff Anderson
Ruth Bender & Dan Sheline • Shushana & Jack Castle
John & Elizabeth Cleveland
Steve & Kendall Cieciuch • Chip & Cathe Dyer
Bill Goldston & Riccarda de Eccher • Joseph & Lynne
Horning • Johnson Family Foundation Richard & Charlotte Jorgensen • John & Peiper Kirkendoll
John & Bridget Macaskil
The Mannion Family • Donald E. Novak
Anu & Michelle Parekh • Virginia & Roy Richards
Mark & Torri Savoff • Dinny Sherman
The Spitzer Family • Spencer Stewart & Stephanie
Ansin • Tom & Donna Stone • Terry Tice
Missy & Mike Younge
Anonymous • Dan & Liz Caton • Patti & Chris Arndt
In honor of Bonnie & Louis Cohen • Allen & Elizabeth
Cutler • Dr. Hill & Bettie Hastings
Lisa Hogan • Jim Johnson & Paul Hokemeyer
Yale & Shanti Jones • Kyle Koehler • Tom & Ellie
Lawrence • The Markley Family • Diane L. Max
Scott J. Petty • Rankin Family • Anita & Prabha
Sinha • Elliot Steinberg • Ellen Yarrell
Anonymous (2) • Lynn Brubaker & Richard Cornelius
Jeff & Allison Goldberg • Jon Jones & Laurie Segall
Garrett Gruener & Amy Slater • The Lehman-Stamm
Family Fund • Laura & Chris Pucillo
Laura Welch & Mike Lundgren
Anonymous • Suzanne & James Balog
Kerri & Richard Bartlett • Lydia & George Bubolo
Scott Chambers • Durfee Day • Riccarda de Eccher & Bill Goldston • Amy Slater & Garrett Gruener
Lisa & Peter Kraus • Mary Beth Mueller & Jon Tukman
Raynier Institute Foundation • Reese Henry & Company • Catherine Yrisarri & Jospeh Yrisarri
Carli Zug & Steve Szymanski
Anonymous • Michael J. Bauer • Paul Beckett
Wendy Brooks • Jordan Campbell • Mark Contreras
David Craige • Harrison Doyle
Suzanne Dyer Wise • Amy Fordham
Keri Yoder & Kevin Geiger • Ellen M. Greubel
Dylan Hoos • PJ Hovey • Kimberley Jordan on behalf of Zak Danielson & Sarah Glatfelder
Elyn & Jeff Kronemeyer • Olivia & Daniela
Kronemeyer • Brody Larson • Brooke Larson
Payton Larson • Rebecca Martin
Sage & Alex Martin • Shane Matthews
Tina & Byron McNew • Dane Merritt
Sarah L & Morgan Smith • Lisa & Victor Nemeroff
John O’Malley • Chris Paine • Francesca Perry
Christopher Reap • Rick Ridgeway
Ashley Coady Smith • Wendy & Allen Solomon
Tamara & Max Strang • Stronghouse Brew Pub
Margaret L. Taylor • William C. Valaika
Aleta & Paul Zoidis
Rebecca Abraham • Joanna Bates • Betty & Joel
Bechtol • Elisabeth Bohlen • MacKenzy Brewer
Todd Brown • John & Jill Burchmore Adam Casey
Deborah Cohen • Sam Cole • Mark Contreras
Rebecca Cook • Evan Dodge • Robert Donaldson
Rose Edwards •Monica Emricko • Dan Ewing • Rube
Felicelli •Carolyn Finney • Andrea Garbarini • Kenny
Goldman • Barb Grice • Lea & Rian Grisemer
Mary Ann Guilinger • Gail Hansen • Tim Harrington
Morgan Harrow • Ed Healy • Mercedes Hickey
Lisa Horlick • Tony Howl • Craig Jackson
Louise Jamail • Amy Janice • David Jemison
Cheryl & Bill Jensen • Shirley Johnson • Tim Johnson
Sami Khan • Michelle King • Fred Kittler
Oza Klanjsek • Kate LaCroix • Caroline Lajoie
Jane Lerner • Amy Levek • Rachel Levine • Jim & Sue
Lincoln • Randy Lipton • Marie Luna • Bert Martin
Molly Martin • Mele Mason • Ann Mason • Sam
Mirpoorian • Betsy McKinney • Ronald J. McNeel
Mandy Miller • John Mills • Maria & Aidan Moran
Xan Myburgh • Susie Nancarrow-Glenn
Sara Nichols • Warner Paige • Kristen Peck-Butcher
Madeleine Pistono • Dr. Losang Rabgey
Kimmy Randolph • Barbara Ravis • Maureen Reese
Ames Risch • Julie & Ted Rolfs • Matthew Scharpnick
Sabrina Schatz • Elizabeth Shealy • Daniel Sheline
Lynn Sherlock • Colby Smith • Jack Sperber
JT Thomas • Judy Thompson • Melissa Tinney
Dr. Steven Traub • Adil Trehan • Ella van Wyk
Sara Vavra • Karen & Peter Walker • Laura & Lance
Waring • Sue White Heinz • Steven Williams
Mike Wilson • Marty Wollesen • Edwin Yeary
Richard Young • Steve Zambito
Dylan Hoos, President
Katherine Borsecnik, Vice President
Nancy Donohue, Treasurer
Erik Fallenius, Secretary
Jon Jones, At-large
Jordan Campbell
Tamara Banks
Joanna Brown
Michael Collins
Bridgitt Evans
Rebecca Martin
Juan D. Martinez Pineda
Dr. Losang Rabgey
Debbie Resnick
Conrad Anker
James Balog
Arlene Burns
Jimmy Chin
Wade Davis
Lynn Hill
Aaron Huey
Pico Iyer
Chris Jordan
Ben Knight
Ace Kvale
Frans Lanting
Maya Lin
Jeff Orlowski-Yang
Doug Peacock
Louie Psihoyos
Chris Rainier
Chip Thomas
Beth Wald
Paul Watson
Susan Dalton
Beth Gage
Mike Shimkonis
Rick Silverman
Dick & Susan Saint James Ebersol
Tully & Elise Friedman
Ann & Rich Teerlink
Sage Martin | Executive Director
Suzan Beraza | Festival Director
Hope Logan | Tour Director
Stash Wislocki
Technical Director
Crystal Merrill
Festival Producer
Lucy Lerner | Senior Programmer & Festival Manager
Kelly Sheedy
Operations Manager
Shae LaPlace
Marketing Manager
Ashley Coady Smith
Development Manager
Bella Hines
Tour Program Manager
Lauren Howie
Programming Coordinator
MacKenzy Brewer
Bookkeeper & Accountant
J. Meehan Fee | Events Manager
April Bindock
Operations Coordinator
Laura Hoover
Festival Guest Coordinator
Emily Catron
Volunteer Coordinator
Heather Sackett
Content Manager
Tim “Stuntman” Territo
Production Manager
Brady Richards
Communications Manager
Mary Molloy-Rios | Assistant
Communications Manager
Dawn Katz | Hospitality Manager
Erica Doemland
Assistant Hospitality Manager
Greg Babush | Media Manager
Ian Manson | Master Rigger
Tree Priest | Lighting Designer
Dan Gundrum
Lighting Designer
Karl K2 Marher | K2 Imaging
Gypsie Frank
Audio Technical Director
Jameson Ritter
Technical Production Manager
Tom Wardaszka
Presentation Manager
Stephen Burns
Production Coordinator
John “JY” Young
Free Range Program Manager
Michael Kirby
Assistant Events Manager
MD Famous Artist
Poster Design
Tor Anderson | Designer, Festival Signage & Program
VentureWeb
Web Design & Development
Eventive | Online Platform & App Development
Dallas Lillich
Sponsor Credit Reel
Cassy Babb • Colin Casanova
Dean Rolley • DJ Babb • Erik
Viking Cooper • Jeremy
Knickerbocker • Mike Babb
Scott Upshur • Tim Vierling
Vicki Phelps • Wanashe Frank
Amy VanDerBosch • Ben Kerr
Catlin Lee-Covert • Dean
Bubolo • Henry Martin • Jake
Martin • John Rosenberg
Kathleen Morgan • Kimberly
Collins • Lyndon Bray • Mariah
Grover • Mitchell “Mishky” Key
Natalie Price • Peter Lundeen
Ron Borrego • Samantha
Doerage • Sandy McLaughlin
Sherry Brieske • Steve Buchanan
Susan Ensor • Takeo Hiromitsu
Tyler Miller
BOX OFFICE COORDINATORS
Brooke Warren
Catherine Cypher • Erin Cain
Hugh Finnerty • Jack Nelson
Julie Chalhoub
STAGE MANAGERS
Arabella Galbo • Erika “EK” Kae
Lochlan Boling • Niko Cvitnic
Quillen Kimleigh
Rowen Warren • Wyatt O’Brien
Aimee “May” Schaefer
Alex Fountain • Brandon Theige
Chris Brendenberg
Jeremy Spracklen • Kelli Fox
Kelly Youngstrom • Kirk Futrell
Luci Reeve • Matt Jones
Meredith Fox • Michael Edwards
Peter Halter • Talia Kopecki
Travis Bird
Alina Simone • Ashley Boling
Beth Kelly • Brenda Avila-Hanna
Brendan Madigan
Charlie Turnbull • Jennifer Julia
Jessica Galbo • Joanna Spindler
Kristen Milord • Laura Shaunette
Lindsey Campbell
Lollie Lavercombe
Michael Brody • Naani Sheva
Robin Robinson • Rory Cowie
Rosemerry Trommer
Sasha Cucciniello • Seth Berg
Angela Mallard • Brad Forder
Cameron Brooks • Jane Julian
Joanne Feinberg
Lindsey Campbell
Robin Robinson • Sean Volk
Bianca Darby-Matteoda
Gracie Gilbert • Gus Gusciora
Kelly Youngstrom • Nora Bernard
WEBSITE & PROGRAM WRITERS
Anna Brones • Jennifer Julia
Sabrina Davis • Heather Sackett
Kellyn Wilson
SCREENING COMMITTEE
Alice Bouvrie • Allen Cutler
Amy DeLuca • Andrea Estevam
Ben Kerr • Chase Dyer • Davene
Kaplan • Elizabeth Smith • Jeff
Hauser • Jen Knopp • Jenna
Cichanski • Jim Womeldorf
Judy Kohin • Kristin Kwasniewski
Lane Scarberry • Lexi
Tuddenham • Lynne Chauncey
Mark Plantz • Rachel Yanover •
Rob Schultheis • Sally Rowe
FESTIVAL HOSTS
Betsy Rowbottom • Cameron
Brooks • Candice Good • Claudia
Garcia Curzio • Daiva Chesonis
Jane Julian • Jasper Daniel
Jennifer Winter • Kristin
Kwasniewski • Lance Waring
LOCAL LEGENDS & STEEP
THRILLS PROGRAMMER
Kellyn Wilson
KIDS KINO PROGRAMMER
Lauren Howie
COFFEE TALK MODERATORS
Jedidiah Jenkins • Jon Tukman
Julia Caulfield • Laura Colbert
Sarah Steele
DOCTALK MODERATORS
Bianca Darby-Matteoda
SPEAKER SERIES MODERATORS
Laurie Segall • Rachel Havrelock
PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS
Dennis Green • Jake Martin
Sam Galbo
FESTIVAL PHOTOGRAPHERS
Ben Eng • Hannah Sourbeer
Melissa Plantz • Rhianon Brown
Sebastian Jelen
Tatiana Alexandra
MOUNTAINFILM HOUSE BAND
Douglas Chard • Heather Flaker
John Fitzgerald • Patrick Hiester
2023 FESTIVAL AWARDS
R. Nelson Parrish
INTRO EDITORS
Bella Hines • Carly Latcham
Dallas Lillich • Elena Levin
Lucy Lerner
Addie Mandeville
Addison Wood
AJ Swenson
Alan Ream
Alexa Glickman
Amanda Galloway
Amy Cannon
Ana Pumayalli
Andrea Osorio
Andrew Dougherty
Andrew DeJong
Angela Dye
Anne Poirot
Annie Martin
Anya Crawford
Bart Hero
Bethany Headrick
Bill Leenheeer
Bob St George
Brad Donaldson
Brandon Katzanek
Brenden Goetz
Caitlin Van Buskirk
Caleigh Gearheart
Camilla England
Carl Miller
Carlos RodriguezGarcia
Carmen Bechtel
Carole Richter
Caroline Araiza
Carolyn Fisher
Charlene Ellingsen
Charlene Hovey
Cindy Magid
Claire Gomba
Claire Aguilar
Clifford Pastor
Colleen Trout
Connor Steffy
Courtney Pryor
Crystal Merrill
Curtis Beutler
Dana Egleston
Dana Conneally
Daniel Pastel
Danny Smith
David Cale
Denise Traylor
Denise Greenwald
Dia Rabin
Dorothy Norbie
Doug Bagge
Dusti Young
Eileen Barrett
Elaine Lai
Ellie Moller
Elliot Whitehead
Erin Weingarten
Erin Bostic
Eve Mills
Gloria Miller
Hallie Geise
Hegon Maciel
Irene Rosen
Jake Jordan
James Van Hooser
Jamie Gibbons
jan Runge
Jeanette Deupree
Jen Kirst
Jennifer Ream
Jenny Primm
Jessie Paul
Jim Gribin
Jo Kopke
Joanna Devane
John Verbeck
Jordan Erdie
Joseph Czajka
Joseph Trog
Joseph Holway
Josie Sinwell
Judy Townsend
Kaiulani Schuler
Karen Brown
Katherine Charbonneau
Katherine Martin
Keith Nichols
Kerri Sadoff
Kimmy Randolph
Kristen Plonsky
Laurel Myers
Lija Miller
Liliane Brantes
Lindsay Faulkner
Lisa Schaffer
Lizzy Brown
Lucia St George
Mackenzie Gorman
Madeleine Pistono
Maggie Mitchell
Mark Miller
Mark Rigler
Matthew LaJoy
Max Duchow
Megan Burke
Megan Ferguson
Mercedes Hickey
Michael Rodriguez
Michael Fraenkel
Michael Schoenfeld
Michele Worm
Mike Wison
Mindy Hyatt
Monica Emricko
Nancy Youell
Naomi Guy
Natasha Carlson
Nicola Kerr
Nikk Boltz
Nina Riggio
Paige McNamara
Pamela Niemeier
Patty McIntosh
Paul Crawford
Peggy Redford
Peter Vanicek
Phil Taylor
Phyllis Guardiano
Quinn Parker
Rakhee Vemulapalli
Rebecca Ward
Robert Sanders
Robert Allen
Robin Richter
Rod Rinholm
Roni Deckard
Rosemary Dempsey
Rozlyn Wilder
Rube Felicelli
Ruby Linkhart
Sabrina Schatz
Sam Cole
Sara Bruya
Sarah Maronn
Sarah Rasmussen
Sarah McMullen
Scout Donovan
Shannon Boltz
Shelby Bertolozzi
Soleil Gaylord
Sophia Mason
Soraya Padilla
Stephanie Carter
Stephen McCurry
Steven Green
Susan Holland
Susanne Wood
Suzanne Myers
Tanya Shenk
Tim McDougall
Timothy McGovern
Timothy McNamara
Tova Davis
Tracye Lederer
Travis Fischer
Tucker Magid
Valerie Child
Vidur Gopinath Volunteer Coordinator
Wade Davis
Wendy Cox
Wolf Gumerman
Yvonne Pirwitz
Zach Bartel
PAUL BOSCH
VINCENT BUBOLO
NOAH COWAN
JENNY FARMER
DAVE FOREMAN
LORRIE GARDNER
SHERYL JAMESON
TOM LUDDY
BRAD MCMILLON
AMMON MCNEELY
JEREMY NOBIS
JACK MILLER
HILAREE NELSON
JEFF PASSEHL
BILL PENCE
CURT ROUSSE
JEFF & DEEANN SALEHI
STEVEN ABBOTT SMITH
ALLEN STECK
CAMP II SPONSORS
ACCOMMODATIONS IN TELLURIDE
FAIRMONT HERITAGE PLACE FRANZ KLAMMER LODGE
NEW SHERIDAN HOTEL
BASE CAMP SPONSORS
VICTORIAN INN • LODGING IN TELLURIDE
