Mountainfilm announces 2016 film lineup

After several months of hard deliberation and several hundred hours of film watching, Telluride Mountainfilm is thrilled to announce its 2016 film lineup. This year's program is comprised of a wide range of compelling films that take us around the world and is marked by two notable trends: a record number of world premieres and the preponderance of remarkably good short documentaries.

Still from Almost Sunrise

Several of those premieres are feature-length, including Almost Sunrise, a beautifully made film about veteran reintegration, moral injury and a pair of Iraq veterans who walk across America to heal themselves after their harrowing service, and Sea Gypsies, a nautical documentary about a rambunctious crew of wanderers who sail through some of the most challenging waters on the planet (also a Mountainfilm Commitment Grantee). Mountainfilm is also looking forward to screen several feature docs that won grand prizes at other festivals. Among these: The Great Alone, (Banff) about multi-time Iditarod winner Lance Mackey; Jim, (Sundance) about the murdered journalist James Foley; Do Not Resist, (Tribeca) an exposé of the frightening militarization of America's police force; and Life, Animated (multiple festivals), which tells the story of an incredible family that used Disney films to communicate with their autistic son.

“Our lineup this year is particularly stellar, and I find it gratifying that we’re premiering more and more documentaries as filmmakers understand that Mountainfilm is a terrific place to launch their labors of love,” said David Holbrooke, festival director of Telluride Mountainfilm. “Aside from the knockout features, the quality of our short films exceeds anything I’ve ever seen in my time programming the festival. We’re particularly excited to show docs by filmmakers who sat in our audience and were inspired to make films of their own.”

On top of these offerings are a multitude of exceptional adventure, climbing and environmental films, not to mention a few that were just too damn good not to play. See the full list of 2016 Mountainfilm film selections.

Presenter Pasang Lhamu Sherpa Akita

“In addition to films, a hallmark of our festival is our special guests, and I’m excited to announce that Travis Rice, who is widely considered the best all-around snowboarder of all time, will speak at Mountainfilm for the first time,” program director Katie Klingsporn said. “To add him to the mix of people we’ve already announced — people like Paul Nicklen, Sarah Marquis, Pasang Lhamu Sherpa Akita, Terry Tempest Williams, Pete McBride and Kevin Fedarko — is huge.” Check out the 2016 Mountainfilm festival guests.

The programming team has worked carefully to make sure festival attendees can see the films and speakers on their priority lists. “We really want our audience to have an outstanding experience at the festival, so we made some improvements in scheduling, including adding film screenings during the day on Friday,” Holbrooke said. “We’ve also tweaked some of the theater operations, adding a Queue Team (who will wear red vests and hold red umbrellas) to help manage lines because we want that to go more smoothly. It’s important, however, for our growing audience to understand that it’s likely impossible that to see everything. Just remember: It’s all kick-ass,. and you can’t really go wrong.” To maximize your Mountainfilm experience, we strongly recommend downloading the Mountainfilm app.

Mountainfilm is anticipating a sold-out festival this year. A limited number of Sunshine passes are still available (or call: 970-728-4123 x29 to purchase passes).