Indomitable Spirit Shorts
This collection of short films taps into Mountainfilm's ethos of celebrating indomitable spirit.
A Concerto Is a Conversation
Tackling themes of race, family and belonging, A Concerto Is a Conversation is a poetic conversation between Emmy-winning composer Kris Bowers and his 91-year-old grandfather. The emotional and touching connection between the two bridges a generational divide, and tracks their family's lineage from Jim Crow-era Florida to the Walt Disney Concert Hall.
Moving Meditation
Eric Johnson is a professional skateboarder who infuses his passion and talent into an app he created to bring skaters together across the world. To him, skating is a moving meditation and impromptu problem solving, a gladiator sport that helps you learn from every mistake. Skating teaches you to be accountable for every false move you make and then do it better. After being racially profiled in a subway station, nearly spending 13 years of life in prison and losing all his savings, Johnson radiates hope and ambition in his entrepreneurial efforts to bring people together through SK8SPT, a virtual community that normalizes, informs and empowers skateboarders globally.
World Premiere
Lion on the Mat
Vietnamese-American Mai Nguyen is a single mother with a painful past. But when she steps on the jiujitsu mat, all her troubles melt away. “When I fight with people, I don’t feel the pain,” she says. This film follows Nguyen as she pours herself into training, juggling responsibilities and understanding herself through martial arts.
Colorado Premiere
Mighty Waters
Bahamian sport fishing legend Ansil Saunders guided Martin Luther King, Jr. through the mangroves on a fishing trip just days before King was assassinated in 1968. Even though King went to the Bahamas to relax and write, he left an indelible mark on the country and Saunders. Now 88 years old, Saunders reflects on how King inspired his interest in politics as he helped lead the island nation’s subsequent fight for independence and desegregation.
Colorado Premiere
From My Window
In the ableist world of outdoor adventurism there is a deep-seated resistance to expect that those with a disability might also want to challenge themselves in the rugged and risky outdoors. Erik Weihenmayer, a blind adventurer, knows that this belief is tragic on several levels. A person with disabilities might internalize this perceived limitation and begin to underestimate their potential. And the world misses out on witnessing these athletes’ true life force being unleashed during those cathartic breakthrough moments that can only happen by pushing oneself to the absolute limit in the wild. Mentored by Weihenmayer, Melissa Simpson sets out to conquer something greater than the Colorado peaks she has seen from her window her whole life.
World Premiere
The Seeker
A man in his late teens finds himself so enchanted with the Amish way of life that he sells his truck, buys a team of horses and switches faiths — from his Pentecostal upbringing to a new existence. In rural Maine, he raises a family, works the land and builds furniture by hand, but he finds himself with more questions than answers. The poetic nature of The Seeker opens us all up to questions of faith, family, community, purpose and human good.
In-Person World Premiere
You And The Thing That You Love
Nick Mullins was a teenage skate punk on the brink of turning pro when a benign-seeming accident led to catastrophic illness. He survived, but went blind in the process. And just like that, he lost everything. This is the incredible story of how he fought like hell to get it back.