The Perfect Flight
The perfect flight for a falcon is the one that yields a kill. And food. For falconer Shawn Hayes, the perfect flight arcs higher: It shares with others the love and awe he feels from partnering with a wild animal — sharing with kids, especially, to help keep them away from a life of trouble.
Fishpeople
Keith Malloy’s lyrical ode to the ocean is comprised of portraits of six people who virtually live in, on or beneath the water. Some are endurance and extreme athletes, like deep sea free diver and spear fisher Kimi Werner and big wave surfer Matahi Drollet. Others, like marine photographer Ray Collins and social worker Eddie Donnellan, are devoted to introducing people to the transformative power of the sea. All have found their purpose in the water.
The Last Honey Hunter
In the mist-shrouded mountains of Nepal’s Hongu River valley, the Kulung people carve their lives out of the land and practice an ancient form of animism structured around the god Rongkemi. There you will find a wiry and unassuming man named Mauli Dhan Rai, who is believed to be chosen by the gods for the perilous rite of honey harvesting. The task, which involves climbing rope ladders up sheer cliffs to cut down combs made by the world’s largest honeybee (before collecting the poisonous honey within), is extraordinarily dangerous. But it’s a spiritual pursuit soaked in myth that the Kulung believe taps directly into the gods. And with roads, technology and market forces, it may not be around for long. This film, a 2016 Mountainfilm Commitment Grant winner directed by Ben Knight, puts a spotlight on a remarkable practice under threat of modernity.