{"id":59718,"date":"2019-06-07T19:08:55","date_gmt":"2019-06-08T02:08:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=59718"},"modified":"2019-06-07T19:08:55","modified_gmt":"2019-06-08T02:08:55","slug":"woman-powered-short-films-from-mountainfilm-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/news\/woman-powered-short-films-from-mountainfilm-festival","title":{"rendered":"11 Woman-Powered Short Films from the 2019 Mountainfilm Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"cb-itemprop\" itemprop=\"reviewBody\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mountainfilm, a festival of film, art and adventure founded in 1979 and hosted annually in Telluride, Colorado, came alive last month for its 41st year. This year, festival director Suzan Beraza and her team made a concerted effort to program films, panels, art and events to celebrate the changing face of the outdoors. \u201cIt is a priority for Mountainfilm to feature stories by and about women as we celebrate and honor diverse voices,\u201d she said. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This year\u2019s heroes looked a little different from years past. Instead of striving for the highest peak, the hardest summit or the most remote location, the subjects in these films overcame barriers internal and societal. These films help broaden the concept of the hero, and the definition of adventure. Many of the films were directed and produced by women, or shared stories of women. Here are 11 (we couldn\u2019t stop at just 10) short adventure films to watch in 2019:<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/291608352\">The Litas<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Directed by: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">William Desena<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Starring<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Gevin Fax<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Run time: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">7 minutes <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>See it if:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> You like to go fast!<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThis is a story about women who live like rushing wind,\u201d says Gevin Fax, the subject and voice of \u201cThe Litas\u201d by William Desena. The film greets the audience at a meeting of women who ride motorcycles, and then dips back into Fax\u2019s life story, providing a look at the moment she first fell in love with dirt bikes. It continues detailing moments from Fox&#8217;s life, all the way up through when she discovered The Litas, the largest all-female biker collective in the world.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.themysteryofnow.com\/\">The Mystery of Now<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Directed by: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Audrey Buchanan<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Starring<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Douglas Miles, Douglas Miles Jr., Di\u2019orr Greenwood and the athletes of Apache Skateboards<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Run time: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">17 minutes<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>See it if: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You like films that destabilize traditional historical narratives; you\u2019re a fan of hip hop<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In \u201cThe Mystery of Now,\u201d director Audrey Buchanan reveals the story of Apache Skateboards, founded by Douglas Miles. In part, the film focuses on Di\u2019orr Greenwood, a team rider and member of the Din\u00e9 Tribe. If you hung around the skatepark in Telluride during the festival, you could catch sight of Di\u2019orr flying around the bowl. This film works to destabilize the problematic notion that Native American communities exist in the past, rather than the present. It also includes a bumping soundtrack, a bold approach to graphics and vivid stories of life on the <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mountainfilm.org\/media\/lost-world\"><strong>Lost World<\/strong><\/a><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Directed by: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kalyanee Mam<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Starring<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Vy Phalla<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Run time: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">16 minutes<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>See it if: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You\u2019re interested in stories of globalization; you\u2019re inspired by strong women activists.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In \u201cLost World,\u201d Kalyanee Mam brings us along on a journey as one woman, Vy Phalla, witnesses the world she knows change. Phalla spends most days shelling crabs with other fisherwomen and hunting for snails in the mangroves with her family in Koh Sralau, Cambodia. But nearby, barges from Singapore dredge millions of metric tons of sand to help Singapore expand its own landmass. The film reveals how, as a result, mangrove forests, estuaries and coastline beaches are disappearing in and around the island of Koh Sralau. Livelihoods and homes are under threat\u2014and this film asks us to consider how we treat the planet and to what end.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/MFXnnrcDzrw\">Mi Mam\u00e1<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Directed by: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jade Begay and James Q. Martin<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Starring<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Nadia Mercado<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Run time: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">6 minutes<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>See it if: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You\u2019re moved by stories of close family bonds.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This film hangs on a powerful subject, Nadia Mercado, as she reflects on the time she spent in Arches National Park with her mother. In the course of the film, Mercado realizes that she shares her mother\u2019s same strong spirit; in fact, it\u2019s a part of her legacy. During the festival, Nadia delivered a message of the importance of empowering women storytellers to share much-needed, historically overlooked stories. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mountainfilm.org\/media\/cracking-ice-ceilings\"><strong>Cracking Ice Ceilings<\/strong><\/a><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Directed by<\/b>: Mariano Carranza<\/li>\n<li><b>Starring<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: The Cholita Climbers of Bolivia<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Run time: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">3 minutes<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>See it if: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You love mountains; you like stories that shake up the status quo.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Flowered skirts, bowler hats, shawls, brooches and ice axes\u2014this is the unlikely combination on display in \u201cCracking Ice Ceilings,\u201d by director Mariano Carranza. The film follows a group of Quechua and Aymara women who proudly bring their Cholita culture into the mountains, even as they face daily ostracism by mainstream culture, including systemic marginalization. Their joy emanates through the entire journey. (The author personally hopes the filmmakers choose to turn this into a longer piece because the audience was on the edge of their seats during these screenings.)<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_59747\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-59747\" class=\"size-article_body wp-image-59747\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/06\/Body_Mountainfilm.gif?resize=1024%2C682\" alt=\"A woman watching a film with a pensive look in a darkened theater\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-59747\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo Credit: Mountainfilm Festival<\/p><\/div>\n<h4><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mountainfilm.org\/media\/ashes-to-ashes\">Ashes to Ashes<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Directed by: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Taylor Rees <\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Starring<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Winfred Rembert and Dr. Shirley Jackson Whitaker<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Run time: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">26 minutes<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>See it if: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You love American history; you enjoy the process of art-making.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In one of two films appearing at Mountainfilm this year from director Taylor Rees, \u201cAshes to Ashes\u201d follows the friendship and creative endeavors of Winfred Rembert and Dr. Shirley Jackson Whitaker. Rees says her work on the film began when her dad casually mentioned to his friend, Dr. Whitaker, that his daughter was a filmmaker. Soon, Rees found herself pulled into a community with narratives that needed to be shared. The film traces the story of Dr. Whitaker as she plans the funeral that never took place for the many African American victims of lynching during the 19th and 20th centuries in the United States. Rembert paints and etches American history throughout the film and we learn his personal history, an unthinkable past, too closely intertwined with Dr. Whitaker\u2019s life\u2019s work.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.outdoorswimmingsociety.com\/chasing-the-sublime\/\">Chasing the Sublime<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Directed by: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amanda Bluglass<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Starring<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Kate Rew and Kari Furre<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Run time: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">6 minutes<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>See it if: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You like stories of friendship; you enjoy the cold; you\u2019re a water person.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Director Amanda Bluglass reveals the story of strong female friendship between Kate Rew, the founder of the Outdoor Swimming Society (OSS), and Kari Furre, a sculptor, swimmer and self-proclaimed OSS muse. Rew and Furre seek both freedom and discomfort in their lives by swimming the rivers and lakes of Scotland. Among other details, we learn that even the founder of the Outdoor Swimming Society hesitates in the moment before she dives into a cold body of water.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/annacallaghan.com\/dawa-yangzum-sherpa-outside-shootereditor\">Dawa<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Directed by: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Anna Callaghan<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Starring<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Dawa Yangzum Sherpa<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Run time: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">3 minutes<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>See it if: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You\u2019re looking for inspiration; you\u2019re a mountain person (or you aim to be).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Clocking in at just three minutes, this short by Anna Callaghan introduces us to Dawa Yangzum Sherpa, the first Nepalese woman to receive an International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations (IFMGA) certification. With all the energy of the mountains, \u201cDawa\u201d feels like a snapshot of a life in the midst of a beautiful transition.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mec.ca\/en\/explore\/facing-sunrise\">Facing Sunrise<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Directed by: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Julia Kwan<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Starring<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Azzah<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Run time: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">9 minutes<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>See it if: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You\u2019re wondering where you fit in the outdoors; you\u2019re in the process of overcoming.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We join director Julia Kwan on a sunrise hike with Azzah, who once stated, \u201cI don\u2019t know why you would want to climb something to see a view.\u201d Her hiking and a fateful bucket list set her on a new path in life, helping her to fight grief and depression. Now, she sets intentions as she seeks new summits.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.southernexposurefilms.org\/films\/the-accidental-environmentalist-catherine-flowers\">The Accidental Environmentalist: Catherine Flowers<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Directed by: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ellen Esling<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Starring<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Catherine Coleman Flowers<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Run time: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">10 minutes<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>See it if: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You&#8217;re interested in how history affects the present; you want to see how one woman can make a huge difference.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lowndes County was once known as \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/nyupress.org\/9780814743317\/bloody-lowndes\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bloody Lowndes<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u201d There, the legacy of African American disenfranchisement came to a head during the Civil Rights era, and the historic Selma to Montgomery Civil Rights March cut across Alabama in 1965. The residue of racial inequity remains, and Catherine Coleman Flowers finds it and fights it every day. In this short film by Ellen Esling, we meet a woman advocating on behalf of justice, and discover where public health and environmentalism intersect.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mountainfilm.org\/media\/perspectives-india-featuring-micayla-gatto\"><b>Perspectives: India Featuring Micayla Gatto<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Directed by: <\/b>Scott Secco<\/li>\n<li><b>Starring<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Micayla Gatto<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Run time: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">5 minutes<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>See it if: <\/b>You love vivid visuals; you like riding bikes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Between the lush colors and the rich soundscape this film that forgoes dialogue manages to speak volumes. Secco\u2019s bold approach to storytelling reveals a sense of place and offers a visceral look at life in a small village in India, relayed partially from the view of mountain biker Micayla Gatto.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Women played a vital role in the 2019 Mountainfilm festival in addition to showcasing films. Here are a few more artists and writers worth checking out:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Art by<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/favianna.com\/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Favianna Rodriguez<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Words by<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/carolynfinney.com\/about.html\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dr. Carolyn Finney<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hikes with<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/jennybruso.com\/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jenny Bruso<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of Unlikely Hikers <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Written Words by <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/genevieve-allison.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Genevieve Allison<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and photos by Elliot Ross in<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/elliotstudio.com\/american-backyard-full-book\"> <i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">America\u2019s Backyard<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p>To catch one of these films at a screening near you, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mountainfilm.org\/tour\">the Mountainfilm tour schedule<\/a> and subscribe to their feed.<\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mountainfilm, a festival of film, art and adventure founded in 1979 and hosted annually in Telluride, Colorado, came alive last month for its 41st year. This year, festival director Suzan Beraza and her team made a concerted effort to program films, panels, art and events to celebrate the changing face of the outdoors. \u201cIt is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":72,"featured_media":59738,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[685],"tags":[727,1882],"internal-tag":[],"class_list":["post-59718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-latest-posts","tag-mountainfilm"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/news\/woman-powered-short-films-from-mountainfilm-festival","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"11 Woman-Powered Short Films from the 2019 Mountainfilm Festival","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/news\/woman-powered-short-films-from-mountainfilm-festival","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/news\/woman-powered-short-films-from-mountainfilm-festival"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/06\/Hero_Mountain-Film_Photo-Credit_Mountain-Film-Festival.gif?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/06\/Hero_Mountain-Film_Photo-Credit_Mountain-Film-Festival.gif?fit=2000%2C1065"},"articleSection":"News","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jessica Bernhard"}],"creator":["Jessica Bernhard"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["latest posts","mountainfilm"],"dateCreated":"2019-06-08T02:08:55Z","datePublished":"2019-06-08T02:08:55Z","dateModified":"2019-06-08T02:08:55Z"},"rendered":"<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"wp-parsely-metadata\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"headline\":\"11 Woman-Powered Short Films from the 2019 Mountainfilm Festival\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.rei.com\\\/blog\\\/news\\\/woman-powered-short-films-from-mountainfilm-festival\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.rei.com\\\/blog\\\/news\\\/woman-powered-short-films-from-mountainfilm-festival\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rei.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/Hero_Mountain-Film_Photo-Credit_Mountain-Film-Festival.gif?resize=150%2C150\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rei.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/Hero_Mountain-Film_Photo-Credit_Mountain-Film-Festival.gif?fit=2000%2C1065\"},\"articleSection\":\"News\",\"author\":[{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Jessica Bernhard\"}],\"creator\":[\"Jessica Bernhard\"],\"publisher\":{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"name\":\"Uncommon Path \\u2013 An REI Co-op Publication\",\"logo\":\"\"},\"keywords\":[\"latest posts\",\"mountainfilm\"],\"dateCreated\":\"2019-06-08T02:08:55Z\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-06-08T02:08:55Z\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-06-08T02:08:55Z\"}<\/script>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/rei.com\/p.js"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/06\/Hero_Mountain-Film_Photo-Credit_Mountain-Film-Festival.gif?fit=2000%2C1065","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/72"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59718"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59718\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60538,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59718\/revisions\/60538"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59738"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59718"},{"taxonomy":"internal-tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal-tag?post=59718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}