Mountainfilm Blogs: May 2012

Mountainfilm in Telluride opened Base Camp Outdoor Theatre — sponsored by Horny Toad — last year. It was a rousing success with large audiences showing up in Telluride Town Park for the free films.

This year, Base Camp will have extended hours and more films. We’ll kick off the first of six nights on Wednesday, May 23, with Dogtown and Z-Boys, a film from the festival's vault by Stacey Peralta that documents the birth of skateboarding.

After that showing from Mountainfilm’s 2002 archives, we’ll continue with nightly screenings from the current 2012 program through Monday evening, May 28. Chasing Ice will show on Thursday. This documentary about photographer James Balog chronicles the collapse of glaciers around the world and won an Excellence in Cinematography Award at Sundance in February.

World Premieres, Free Shows, Art and Workshops

Telluride, Colorado (May 15, 2012) – Audiences from around the world come to Mountainfilm, but it’s still a homegrown event that inspires the Telluride community. As evidenced by the number of local premieres each year, regional filmmakers look forward to screening at Mountainfilm, and the festival, in turn, supports a few special events and programs that are geared toward locals. This year’s Telluride focus includes film premieres, free films in Town Park, an artist in residence, awards from Bone Construction and an educational workshop for teachers.

Ten Films That Will Move You

Telluride, Colorado (May 15, 2012) –Mountainfilm in Telluride will hold its 34^th annual festival over Memorial Day Weekend, May 25-28, with a program of roughly 70 films and,as always, an eclectic roster of scientists, artists, writers, adventurers and filmmakers. True to the festival’s roots, there are plenty of films about life in the mountains, but there are also a host of films about the greater world.

“With the symposium theme of population, we have several outstanding films that look at critical environmental, cultural and social issues that will blow people away,” said festival director David Holbrooke. “And then, sometimes there are films that don’t fit any particular genre, but they have a place at Mountainfilm because they’re outstanding and celebrate indomitable spirit.”

It’s May, summit month on Everest. This season several expeditions are particularly connected to the Mountainfilm in Telluride community.

Eddie Bauer/First Ascent’s team consists of Jake Norton, David Morton, Brent Bishop and Charley Mace and they are tackling the West Ridge route pioneered by Americans Willi Unsoeld and Tom Hornbein. Norton is featured in the film Wild Love: Jake Norton and Wende Valentine, which will screen at this year’s festival and is about life, love and risk in the mountains.

The environment, social issues and adventure are three of the big themes at Mountainfilm in Telluride, and like many of this year’s guests at the festival, best-selling author Dan Buettner encompasses all three seamlessly into his work.

Buettner wanted to understand why certain people in particular areas of the world lived longer, healthier and happier lives, so he traveled across the planet to get answers. The result is The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who’ve Lived the Longest, which examines how people live and how lifestyle affects lifespan. The book focuses on four areas — Okinawa, Japan; Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica; Sardinia, Italy; and Loma Linda, California — and demonstrates that everyday factors were involved, such as food, friends and perspective.

2012 Special Guest List Available On-Line

Telluride, Colorado (May 1, 2012) – Mountainfilm in Telluride will hold its 34th annual festival over Memorial Day Weekend, May 25-28, with a program full of inspiring films and special guests. Among the 75 films slated to screen, at least 10 will be world premieres. Special guests are drawn from the leading edges of adventure, art, science, sports and media.