Mountainfilm 2025 Festival Awards Announcement
Telluride, Colorado (May 27, 2025) – Audiences gathered in Telluride’s box canyon this Memorial weekend for the 47th annual Mountainfilm Festival to screen films that spanned the spectrum of environmentalism, social justice, adventure and celebrate indomitable spirit.
On Monday, May 26, Mountainfilm awarded over $23,000 in cash prizes, celebrating remarkable films including: Mr. Nobody Against Putin (Best Documentary Feature - $5,000); Tessitura (Best Short Film - $1,000); Lost Wolves of Yellowstone (Audience Choice Feature - $5,000); The Life We Have (Audience Choice Short - $1,000); The Changebaker and its associated nonprofit By Immigrant Hands (Moving Mountains Award - $2,500); Desert Angel (Student Choice Award - $2,000); Pastrana (Charlie Fowler Best Adventure Film - $2,500); Sally (Women in Film Award - $3,500); Cecil (James Balog Creative Vision Award - $5,000); and Tiger (First Peoples Award - $1,500).
Special Jury Mentions went to Houston’s Whitebeam (James Balog Creative Vision Award) and Placekeepers (Best Short Film).
The Best Documentary Feature jury consisted of Suzan Beraza, Asad Muhammad and Beth Osisek. Jury members for Best Short Film were Taylor Rees, Chloë Walters-Wallace and Larry Laboe, while jurors for the Charlie Fowler Best Adventure Film were Malik Martin, Brendan Leonard and Hadley Hammer. The First Peoples Award jury comprised Ernest House Jr., Jade Begay and Izabella Ruffino.
Reflecting on the festival, Mountainfilm Festival Director Crystal Merrill said, “We were honored to share such a powerful selection of films spanning genres at Mountainfilm this year. They brought a sense of wonder and meaning, and transported audiences to new realms. While we proudly recognize our award winners, every film screened at Mountainfilm is a winner in our eyes.”
Juries, passholders, and students cast their votes, with award winners announced at the festival’s Closing Picnic and Awards Ceremony in Telluride’s Town Park.
Below are brief synopsis of this year’s winning films:
Audience Choice Award Feature – Lost Wolves of Yellowstone, directed by Thomas Winston, follows the intersecting stories of Alpha Female Wolf No. 5 and Mollie Beattie, the first female director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service during the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park in the 1990s.
Best Documentary Feature – Mr. Nobody Against Putin, directed by David Borenstein and Pavel Talankin, tells the story of beloved teacher Pasha who documents his small Russian school as it’s transformed by propaganda and oppression after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Best Short Film – Tessitura, directed by Lydia Cornett and Brit Fryer, features transgender opera singers as they navigate the traditional rules and constraints of their art form.
Charlie Fowler Best Adventure Film – Pastrana, directed by Gabriel Motta and Melissa Brogni, is the short story of a downhill skateboarder as she creates a tribute to her friend.
Student Choice Award – Desert Angel, directed by Vincent DeLuca, highlights the dedication of a quiet hero who embarks on search-and-rescue missions for migrants who have gone missing in the deadly desert of the U.S.-Mexico border.
Women in Film Award – Sally, directed by Cristina Costantini, is a portrait of the first American woman in space Sally Ride, who led a complicated, full and sometimes secret life beyond her groundbreaking work with NASA.
Moving Mountains Award – The Changebaker, directed by Courtney Dixon, is a picture of a Colombian immigrant, who transforms his bakery into a hub for community activism.
James Balog Creative Vision Award – Cecil, directed by Arthur Cary, is a look at the fate of a famous lion in Zimbabwe and the global controversy about trophy killing that his death provoked.
First Peoples Award – Tiger, directed by Loren Waters, is the story of Indigenous artist Dana Tiger and her family’s famous Tiger T-shirt company.
About Mountainfilm: Established in 1979, Mountainfilm is one of North America’s longest-running documentary film festivals, held annually over Memorial Day weekend in Telluride, Colorado. Mountainfilm is dedicated to using the power of film, art and ideas to inspire audiences to create a better world. The festival offers an immersive experience featuring a wide range of filmmakers, speakers, adventurers and activists in addition to screening cutting-edge, award-winning documentary films from around the world. Mountainfilm is an Academy Award® Qualifying Festival in the Documentary Short Film category. Mountainfilm on Tour also reaches audiences year-round through its global film program, and through Mountainfilm for Students, an educational outreach initiative for youth. Simply put, Mountainfilm has the power to change lives. To learn more, visit www.mountainfilm.org. To join the conversation, please read Mountainfilm’s news and follow @mountainfilm on Instagram, Threads, Facebook and LinkedIn.