The Mountainfilm festival travels year-round and worldwide to show the best short films selected from the annual festival in Telluride, Colorado. Every year, they present a multitude of showings, which are hosted by an assortment of organizations, corporations, schools and universities.
This year, Quinnipiac will host the film festival in the Mount Carmel Auditorium on April 4 at 7 p.m. The festival will “enrich the filmmaking efforts by the students and faculty within the school,” according to the Mountainfilm website.
“I think it’s a great opportunity and it shows the larger emphasis that they are putting towards the film program,” President of the Quinnipiac Film Society Connor Carey said. “It’s kind of putting us on the map to have such an event. People are kind of taking notice how good our film program actually is.”
Because the festival allows for the vendor to choose the price of tickets, Quinnipiac will allow students free admission into the event.
“Our fee-based structure gives local organizers the ability to set ticket prices, sell local sponsorship packages and conduct raffles to achieve financial and fundraising goals,” the Mountainfilm website said.
The film organization provides the event with a presenter who walks the audience through the films, often adding in personal accounts of their experiences with the filmmakers.
Quinnipiac’s presenter will be Jessica Galbo. Galbo worked extensively with Mountainfilm as their assistant tour director and director of education programs. She currently works as the choreographer for the Telluride Aids Benefit Fashion Show and is a presenter for Mountainfilm on Tour.
Mountainfilm on Tour is able to reach over 70,000 people in over 150 locations across the world, according to its website. Its intent is to help spread filmmakers’ inspiring content to those who wouldn’t normally have the opportunity, by bringing the festival to them.
Mountainfilm features documentaries on environmental issues, adventures, politics and humanitarian causes. Over 100 films were selected to be shown in the 2017 annual festival in Telluride last May. Of those feature presentations, 13 will be screened on April 4.
Now playing at Mountainfilm…
“Ascend”
A film which follows a man who continues to pursue his dream of mountain biking after losing his leg during his battle with cancer. “If I don’t ride a bike, I will lose my mind. It’s because I need to find that spiritual place, that spiritual channel on the trail,” Wilson said. The director Simon Perkins’ interest in film started during his time as a a fly-fishing and bird-hunting guide in Vermont.
“Edges”
After being thrown out of her car windshield at 80 and surviving a stroke at 85, Yvonne Dowlen continues to ice skate everyday at 90 years old. “It is easier to skate than walk,” Dowlen said in the film. “You push with one foot and you stand on the other one. And you don’t have to keep moving your feet all the time.” The nine minute film reflects on the decades of elegance she showed on the ice.
“Joe Lahout”
The movie is named after the man who owns America’s oldest ski shop, Joe Lahout. The film is described as “the story of an old-timer who still believes in skiing’s simple roots: speed, freedom, and the great outdoors,” the synopsis of the movie read. The movie was directed by Nick Martini who grew up outside of Boston, Mass. but spent his childhood skiing in Northern New Hampshire.
“Denali’s Raven”
Leighan Falley travels through the Alaskan range with her daughter Skye buckled into the backseat of her de Havilland Beaver, a single propellor plane. Following a long line of aviators, Falley now works as a commercial pilot to meet her desire to capture breathtaking landscapes. She finds inspiration from the women she works alongside with everyday. Denali’s Raven peeks in to the life of an Alaskan pilot, skier, hiker and mother.
“The Time Travelers”
The U.S. Men’s rafting team decided they were going to try and break the speed record for 277 miles of the Colorado RIver through the Grand Canyon in only 34 hours. The mission demanded the team to design and build a 48-foot-long raft, swapping out paddles for oars and intense training for eight months. The film follows their journey as they attempt to beat the odds.
“Zain’s Summer: From Refugee to American Boy”
Zain and his family fled Pakistan to start a new and American life, free from violence and persecution. The film follows the young boy as he joins a six-month summer program that helps prepare young immigrants for the start of school in the United States.
Visit mountainfilm.org for the full list and summaries of films on tour this year.
