Mountainfilm 2026 Festival Awards Announcement

Telluride, Colorado (May 26, 2026) — Audiences gathered in Telluride's box canyon this Memorial weekend for the 48th annual Mountainfilm Festival to screen films that span the spectrum of environmentalism, social justice and adventure, and to celebrate indomitable spirit.

On Monday, May 25, Mountainfilm awarded over $34,000 in cash prizes, celebrating remarkable films including: Nuisance Bear (James Balog Creative Vision Award - $5,000); Your Attention Please (Student Choice Award - $2,000); La Tierra del Valor (The Home of the Brave) (Women in Film Award - $3,500); A Storied Landscape (He Moʻolelo Wahi Pana) (First Peoples Award - $2,500); Rainbow Rider (LGBTQ+ Impact Award); Fletcher Street and its associated nonprofit Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club (Moving Mountains Award - $2,500); The Grandfather Puzzle (Best Documentary Short Film - $5,000); Kikuyu Land (Best Documentary Feature - $5,000); Teeth to the Wind (Charlie Fowler Best Adventure Film - $2,500); Submitting Tigers (Audience Choice Short - $1,000); and Best Day Ever (Audience Choice Feature - $5,000).

Mountainfilm also presented the inaugural Hilaree Nelson Lifetime Adventure Award to Jim Morrison and the Golden Heart Award to Mandy Horvath.

Special Jury Mentions went to Panther Pat (Best Documentary Short Film) and Submitting Tigers (Charlie Fowler Best Adventure Film).

The Best Documentary Feature jury consisted of Carrie Lozano, Claudia Puig and Raúl O. Paz-Pastrana. Jury members for Best Documentary Short Film were Christie Marchese, Faridah Gbadamosi and Tim Horsburgh, while jurors for the Charlie Fowler Best Adventure Film were Jodie Nelson, Nikki Smith and Philip Henderson. The First Peoples Award jury comprised Inuk Jørgensen, Len Necefer and Loren Waters.

Reflecting on the festival, Mountainfilm Executive Director Sage Martin said “We were honored to share an extraordinary collection of films this year. These stories stretched across genres, perspectives and continents, yet all carried the power to transport us beyond the boundaries of our everyday lives. These films reminded us why storytelling matters. We proudly celebrate our award winners and every filmmaker and film that lit up our screen this year.”

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 synopses of this year’s winning films: 

James Balog Creative Vision Award — Nuisance Bear, directed by Jack Weisman and Gabriela Osio Vanden. Along the shores of Hudson Bay, a polar bear must navigate tourists, wildlife officers and hunters as climate change delays the freeze. When this sacred predator is branded a "nuisance," it becomes unclear who truly belongs in this shared landscape.

Student Choice Award — Your Attention Please, directed by Sara Robin. As Big Tech's "attention economy" co-opts our focus for profit, a coalition of parents, Gen Z reformers and tech whistleblowers swings back. An urgent exploration of digital autonomy, posing the ultimate question: can we rebuild the tools of our time to serve humanity, or will we remain captive to the scroll?

Women in Film Award — La Tierra del Valor (The Home of the Brave), directed by Cristina Costantini. As ICE raids turned Los Angeles upside down, the singer NEZZA stepped out into Dodger Stadium on No Kings Day and did something both simple and defiant: she sang the national anthem in Spanish. A poignant act of protest and a declaration of belonging that gave hope to the city's Spanish-speaking immigrants when they needed it most.

First Peoples Award — A Storied Landscape (He Moʻolelo Wahi Pana), directed by Kuʻulei Keakealani and Kapena Liu. He Moʻolelo Wahi Pana breathes life into an ancient Hawaiian moʻolelo, tracing the migration of two sisters from lush Puna to the arid shores of Hawaiʻi Island as they seek husbands and confront the forces of love, jealousy and legacy. The film explores how place names anchor identity and how ancestral stories shape the present.

LGBTQ+ Impact Award — Rainbow Rider, directed by Georgia Krause. Shelle Lichti, a long-haul trucker and an unapologetically lesbian woman, drives the "Rainbow Rider," a towering 18-wheeler wrapped in rainbow colors that can be spotted from miles away. On the open road, that visibility is powerful and dangerous. From slurs on the radio to sabotage and gunfire, Lichti has seen what hate can do, but she also knows what visibility can spark.

Moving Mountains Award — Fletcher Street, directed by Jannat Gargi and David Darg. In the heart of North Philadelphia, where violence and instability are a daily reality, the Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club offers a safe haven, using the power of horses to teach discipline, compassion and self-worth. But gentrification and development are closing in, threatening this sanctuary. A moving portrait of a community where love, mentorship and horses change lives.

Best Documentary Short Film — The Grandfather Puzzle, directed by Ora DeKornfeld. When a jigsaw-puzzle-obsessed Holocaust survivor refuses to discuss his past, his granddaughter travels to photograph the Hungarian castle where he grew up and turn it into a puzzle. What starts as a simple mission to connect with her grandfather becomes a darkly comedic exploration of identity, belonging and the untidiness of historical memory.

Best Documentary Feature — Kikuyu Land, directed by Andrew H. Brown and Bea Wangondu. When Nairobi journalist Bea Wangondu returns home to investigate the multinational corporation controlling Kenya's tea fields, she and former plantation resident Mr. Mungai uncover a web of suppressed evidence, buried histories and family secrets that reshape how their community understands its past. Together, they search for the justice to heal and restore lands and legacies.

Charlie Fowler Best Adventure Film — Teeth to the Wind, directed by Drew Smith and Ben Knight. Before Michael Gardner's death in Nepal in 2024, he and his climbing partner Sam Hennessey had started a film project about their friendship. Remarkable alpinists but reluctant filmmakers, the two realize their original vision: a joyful and unassuming glimpse at what they called "the spirit."

Audience Choice Award Short — Submitting Tigers, directed by Luke Kellerhouse. After surviving childhood trauma and rising as a professional MMA fighter, Julija Pajic faces a crossroads when instability threatens her career. She finds unexpected healing, connection and purpose among the street fighters and orphanages of Tanzania, discovering what it means to feel strong and safe in her own body.

Audience Choice Award Feature — Best Day Ever, directed by Ben Knight and Berne Broudy. In the rugged hills of Vermont, adaptive riders Greg Durso and Allie Bianchi aren't just navigating disabilities; they're rewriting the rules of the trail. Through grit, humor and a heavy dose of attitude, they dismantle ableism one berm at a time, turning mountain biking into a blueprint for independence and belonging and proving that when we build for everyone, every day can be the best day ever.
 

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.