Mountainfilm on Tour, a collection of top-of-the-line outdoor adventure films from the annual Mountainfilm Festival in Telluride, Colorado, is returning to Lees-McRae this winter as part of the college’s High Country Adventure Film and Speaker Series.
Mountainfilm’s mission is to use the power of the film medium to inspire audiences to create a better world. To achieve this, they collect the most inspiring, culturally rich, and adventurous documentary short films each year to share with a national audience. Mountainfilm on Tour will come to Lees-McRae on Saturday, Feb. 8, and the films will be screened in Hayes Auditorium. The doors open at 6 p.m., live music starts at 6:15pm, and the films start at 7:00pm.
The following is this year’s film line-up.
Leaving a Tread by Maxwell Frank
As the popularity of mountain biking grows across Mexico, riders like Israel Carrillo work to blaze the trail — literally. Carrillo shares the challenges athletes face in a growing sport, financially and otherwise, while showing off his hometown of Guanajuato. (USA, 2023, 6 min.)
Asking Less by Pete McBride
The Colorado River is one of America’s most valuable and iconic rivers. Photographer and author Pete McBride has been following this river for over two decades. He shows us the stark reality of our water crisis within this river and the remarkable beauty and resilience of this ephemeral source of life. (USA, 2024, 4 min.)
Re by Iz La Motte
Twenty years ago, Re forged a new path in the outdoor sports community as one of the few womenin her field. As an action sports photographer, she is dedicated to working with and showcasing the strength and individual personalities of female athletes. Re landed the first cover shot of a woman for Backcountry Magazine and the first all-female cover shot for Skiing Magazine. She views her work as a catalyst, fostering a social shift in the perception of female athletes in popular culture. (USA. 2023, 6 min.)
Planetwalker by Dominic Gill & Nadia Gill
In 1971, John Francis (Mountainfilm 2008) witnessed an oil tanker collision in the San Francisco Bay. The sight of oiled birds on the shoreline caused him to give up motorized transport and speaking, convinced that listening was the way forward. He spent the next 17 silent years earning the name Planetwalker. Over the many miles, his idea of environmentalism was changed by the people he met, talked to and broke bread with. At 77 years old, Francis now both talks and rides in cars. A Symphony of Tiny Lights recounts much of his interior journey and explores the weblike and sometimes deeply personal consequences of his decades of pilgrimage. This film was shortlisted for an Academy Award this year for Best Short Documentary. (USA, 2024, 31 min.)
Intermission
Bicycle Island by Mitra Ghaffari
This contemporary mosaic of Havana explores the bicycle as a reclaimed mobility tool and a critical resource for the island’s future. The film follows Cuban bike enthusiasts as they use the basic yet profound power of two wheels as a way to assert their independence, control their transportation and a solution to scarcity. (USA, Cuba, 2024, 15 min.)
The Rock Pool Waltz by Marlon Denning
Directed and created by 14 year-old Marlon Denning, The Rock Pool Waltz is the story of the unlikely friendship Marlon discovers while looking to nature for connection during the solitude of COVID. (Australia, 2021, 8 min.)
Near the River by Darby A. McAdams
In the tourist town of Livingstone, Zambia, a group of local men who make their living portering kayaks aspire to become safety kayakers on the Zambezi River. However, the proposed Batoka Gorge Hydroelectric Scheme threatens to flood the famous rapids of the Zambezi and eliminate river-related jobs. (USA, 2023, 11 min.)
Ascend by Kathryn Francis, Campbell Brewer
This documentary follows the inspiring story of a group of young women from Afghanistan who pursued their passion for climbing and mountaineering despite facing grave risks. But when the Taliban seized power, they were forced to flee their homes and start anew in the United States. Members of the Yosemite Search & Rescue team learned about the women’s plight and invited them to spend a week in Yosemite, where they could safely reunite and find solace in the climbing community. Through this heartwarming tale, viewers witness the strength and resilience of these young women as they adapt to life in a new country and forge new friendships with fellow climbers. (USA, 2023, 20 min.)
Freya by Natasha Brooks
Leo Houlding’s daughter, Freya, uses climbing as a practice to lean into discomfort and fear to help navigate her neurodiversity and harness its strengths. (USA, 2023, 4 min.)
Tickets for the college’s screening of Mountainfilm on Tour are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased online or in person at all Footsloggers locations for a discounted rate. Same-day tickets will also be sold at the Hayes Auditorium box office prior to the screening.
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