MOUNTAINFILM ANNOUNCES FIRST WAVE OF FILMS & WORLD PREMIERES OF SURF NATION, CHASING, AND THE HOLLY
The festival has announced early festival highlights and jury and poster reveal as they gear up to celebrate one of North America’s oldest film festivals 44th edition.
Telluride, Colorado (April 19, 2022) – One of North America’s oldest film festivals, Telluride’s Mountainfilm, has announced its first wave of film titles and festival highlights. Festival-goers can look forward to more than 120 inspiring, heart-stopping and adventure-packed films as the festival takes over Telluride’s majestic box canyon Memorial Day weekend, May 26-30, 2022. Known for its intimacy and relaxed vibe (aptly named one of the ‘Coolest Film Festivals in the World’ by MovieMaker Magazine), the festival will include 31 features and nearly 100 shorts that tackle some of the most relevant issues of our time.
Mountainfilm 2022 will highlight 80+ North American, US, and Colorado premieres. From an in-depth look at China’s quest to achieve Olympic gold in the world premiere of Surf Nation (Producer Diane Quon — Minding the Gap, Mountainfilm Best Feature & Audience Choice Awards 2018), to a personal story of a 20-year quest to find answers about a mother’s disappearance, during the U.S. premiere of Director Reed Harkness’ Sam Now, Mountainfilm’s Friday night films will leave attendees awe-struck and inspired. Also celebrating world premieres are the highly-anticipated documentary, The Holly, based on the seven-year investigation into the high-profile shooting in Denver’s Holly neighborhood (film subject Terrance Roberts in attendance), and Chasing, a gripping tale of a 3,000-mile rowing race across the Atlantic Ocean (film subject Jason Caldwell in attendance).
The festival also boasts 18 world premiere short films traversing some of the most pertinent issues of the day — from the climate crisis to inclusion to border walls — while also providing film-goers with a dose of the adrenaline-packed, edge-of-your-seat excitement they crave from Mountainfilm.
“After over two years that have hit filmmakers and creatives particularly hard, Mountainfilm is honored to again be showcasing some of the strongest and most inspiring work of the past year, live and in-person! In our carefully curated film selections, we continue to move toward our goal of gender parity and uplifting distinct, underrepresented and emerging voices,” explains Festival Director Suzan Beraza.
This year’s guest director is filmmaker and activist Jeff Orlowski-Yang, known for his films Chasing Ice, Chasing Coral (screening at Mountainfilm as part of a retrospective) and The Social Dilemma. He will be hosting free talks and conversations throughout the weekend and mentoring the next generation of filmmakers as part of Mountainfilm’s DocTalks workshops series. Additional featured special guests include author Cheryl Strayed, director Tom Shadyac, Native activist Len Necefer, surf legend Gerry Lopez, career documentary director Stacy Peralta, internationally acclaimed multi-instrumentalist Kishi Bashi, and world-class athletes from The North Face team, including Conrad Anker, Renan Ozturk and Jess Kimura, along with over 200 filmmakers, speakers and special guests.
“This year’s lineup is unmatched and will inspire and push you to explore new perspectives through impactful storytelling.” states Executive Director Sage Martin, “We look forward to welcoming returning and first-time festival-goers to Telluride to experience that special magic of Mountainfilm.”
This year’s jury members are powerhouses. Casting the votes for Best Documentary Feature this year will be Oscar, Peabody and Emmy Award-winning producer Sheila Nevins; Co-Founder and Co-President of Roadside Attractions’ Eric d’Arbeloff (Super Size Me, Manchester By the Sea and The Peanut Butter Falcon); and Oscar-nominated, Emmy and Peabody award-winning producer Kathryn Everett. Jury members for Best Short Documentary include Mountainfilm Best Short Film winner and Oscar-nominated filmmaker Skye Fitzgerald, known for 50 Feet from Syria (Mountainfilm 2016), Lifeboat (Mountainfilm 2018) and Hunger Ward (Mountainfilm 2021); Firelight Media Fellow, Film Independent Documentary Lab Fellow and director of Duty Free (Mountainfilm 2021), Sian-Pierre Regis; and Senior Vice President of Member Relations and Awards at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Tom Oyer. Judges for the Charlie Fowler Best Adventure Film include writer, filmmaker and climber Pete Takeda; Shelma Jun, filmmaker and Founder of Flash Foxy; and Joanna Croston, Director of the Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival and World Tour.
In addition to the incredible lineup and juries, Mountainfilm is pleased to unveil the official 2022 poster created by artist and longtime friend of the festival, Anna Brones. In blending the mediums of paper cutting and watercolor, she captures the essence of the interwoven relationship between humans and nature. Brones’ goal for this year’s poster was to “create a piece that embodies the interconnectedness of everything experienced and felt in nature.” To get a sneak peek at this year’s poster, visit Mountainfilm’s Instagram account using the handle @mountainfilm.
Those without a weekend pass need not fret as Mountainfilm remains true to its community roots by kicking off the festival with its first of four nights of free films at Base Camp, the state-of-the-art outdoor theater in Telluride’s Town Park. Attendees are encouraged to don their down, dress warmly and bring their camp chairs. Once Friday hits, the free events will be everywhere you turn: the Friday Gallery Walk, through downtown venues; Saturday’s Ice Cream Social on Colorado Avenue; and Coffee Talks and Free Range outdoor adventures throughout the entire weekend.
Passes for the festival are still available at www.mountainfilm.org. Palmyra, Ama Dablam and Patron passes include After the Fest Online access. For those unable to attend this year’s in-person festival, $99 After the Fest passes are available online, giving film lovers online screening access to nearly all films from May 31 through June 7, 2022.