Mountainfilm Festival Announces Film Line-up For 2010

With the 2010 Mountainfilm Festival drawing ever nearer, organizers of the event have unveiled an epic line-up of adventure films that will be screened at this year's event, which will be taking place on May 28th-31st in Telluride, Colorado.

You can checkout the list of films by clicking here. As you can imagine, there are a number of very intriguing and thought provoking film on the docket for this year, including the much lauded The Cove, which garnered a lot of attention last year. Most of you have probably already heard of, and possibly seen, that film, which took an in depth look at the annual dolphin slaughter in Japan. The film returns to the festival this year following a single, surprise showing last year.

But there are plenty of lesser known films that will hit the screening room as well. Some of the movies that caught my eye include Barefoot to Timbuktu, which follows Swiss-American artist Ernst Aebi on his 2008 return to the Araouane oasis in the Sahara where he once lived for three years helping inhabitants build a series of wells and gardens until he was forced out by civl unrest. The highly anticipated The WIldest Dream will also be shown. It's the Conrad Anker/Leo Holding project in which they attempt to climb Everest in vintage gear from the Mallory/Irvine era. Finally, I'm hearing great things about Restrepo, which was shot over 15-months at an advanced army base in Afghanistan that is amongst the most dangerous places on the planet for an American solider. The film is said to be an intimate and challenging look at what life is like on the front lines for the soldiers stationed at the base.

There are plenty more films to be screened of course, and the Mountainfilm blog, The Conversation, is posting trailers to some of them on a regular basis. Like the one below which is for a film called Eastern Rises, which follows a group of fishermen to The Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, where they explore remote rivers that have never been fished before.

Eastern Rises: Trailer from Mountainfilm in Telluride on Vimeo.

Tweet

Mountainfilm Announces Special Guests For 2010

The Mountainfilm Festival may still be more than two months away, but the annual event held in Telluride, Colorado continues to get even more enticing. The organizers of the festival, which skillfully blends art, culture, adventure, and environmental activism, have announced a number of special guests who will be on hand to make this the best Mountainfilm ever.

Aside from the previous guests who were announced for the Moving Mountains Symposium, the film fest has added the likes of Three Cups of Tea author Greg Mortensen, environmental activist Tim DeChristopher, and everyone's favorite mountaineer, Ed Viesturs, amongst others. To check out the full list of guests, click here.

Mountainfilm is scheduled to take place from May 28th to the 31st, and while they haven't announced the line-up of films just yet, you can bet it will be an impressive list of adventure movies that will span many different topics, including climbing, mountaineering, paddling, and more. Keep your eyes peeled on this page on the Mountainfilm website for updates on the full list, which will be coming in early May.

Tweet

Mountainfilm Photo Contest Continues, More Gear Up For Grabs!

The Mountainfilm Festival is one of the premiere events in the adventure film community. Held in Telluride, Colorado, the festival has grown into an annual event that combines art and a passion for outdoor adventure, while focusing on pressing social and environmental concerns as well.

This year's festival is set to run from May 28th through the 31st, and in the weeks leading up to the event, the organizers have been running an online photo contest on the festival's blog, The Conversation. In the second round of the contest, they're seeking submissions of photos that exemplify the festival's mission statement, which simply reads: "Mountainfilm is dedicated to educating and inspiring audiences about issues that matter, cultures worth exploring, environments worth preserving and conversations worth sustaining."

Photos can be wide ranging in their subject matter, with beautiful landscapes, snapshots of amazing places, images that capture the essence of a culture, and so on. They'll post weekly winners on the blog, and each month they'll select one of the photos to win a prize. For March, they're giving away a sweet looking Mazama backpack, courtesy of Jansport. They'll also throw in a Men's Woody Jacket and a Woman's Skylar Jacket from Horny Toad. That's not all! For a grand prize, they're also giving away a "VIP Festival Package" that includes lodging for the festival, allowing you to experience one of the best adventure film fests in the world first hand.

To enter the contest, simply upload your photos to the Mountainfilm Flickr Pool. Be sure to include a title and description when you complete the upload. That's all there is to it, and if you have a great photo, you may be on your way to Telluride at the end of May. Good luck! (Note: The contest is for U.S. residents only)

Tweet

2010 Mountainfilm Festival Symposium Theme is The Extinction Crisis

Each year the Mountainfilm Festival, held in Telluride, Colorado, is amongst the top events for the outdoor adventure community. The four-day long event, which runs from May 28th-31st this year, is a showcase of art, film, culture, and while promoting environmental responsibility.

Now in its 32nd year, the Mountainfilm Festival has grown in size and scope and continues to offer a variety of activities for attendees. One of the centerpieces for the event is the day-long Moving Mountains Symposium that kicks off the festival. Each year the symposium selects a topic, and then invites a number speakers and dignitaries from the outdoor adventure community to weigh in on the subject. The result is a series of presentations, Q&A sessions, and panel discussions that are both fascinating and informative to attend.

This year, the subject of the symposium is The Extinction Crisis. This rather broad, but enormously important, topic is something that all of us should be aware of. On the symposium website it says that scientists estimate that by the end of this century, more than half of the species on this planet will extinct. That's a pretty sobering assessment of the situation. Why this is happening and what can be done about is will be the subject of many discussions.

Some of the speakers that are lined up for the symposium include Greg Carr, who is working to rebuild a national park in Mozambique, Paul Nicklen, a photographer and journalist, and Cristina Mittermeier, who works with the League of Conservation Photographers (ILCP) who try to put a visual face on the beauty of our world and the dramatic ways it is changing.

Each week leading up to the festival the Mountainfilm Blog will be spotlighting one of these speakers. The first is up now and it is with mountaineer and environmental activist Rick Ridgeway who talks about what drove him to seek out adventure in his life, his thoughts on the extinction crisis, and what we can do to start to change the situation for the better. It's a good interview, and definitely sets the tone for this very important topic.

Tweet

Sheffield Adventure Film Festival Coming March 12-14

The 2010 Sheffield Adventure Film Festival, affectionally known as ShAFF, will once again take place in Sheffield in the U.K. this March. The annual festival, now in it's fifth year, will run from March 12-14, with a host of events and activities scheduled for the entire weekend.

In addition to screening 44 of the best adventure films from around the world, there will also be a photo exhibition, and a used gear sale. Climber and author Ron Fawcett will be on hand to read from his latest book, and will be signing afterwards, and it all wraps up with the "Best of ShAFF" awards at the end of the weekend.

For information on how to get tickets for the event click here. Then check out the ShAFF trailer below to get a preview of what you can expect. The trailer has a little of everything from insane mountain biking, crazy kayaking, and some amazing climbing shots. There's even a guy in a wingsuit! What mor could you ask for?

2010 ShAFF Trailer from Matt Heason on Vimeo.

Tweet

Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour Teaser Video

The trailer for the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour hit the web today and it has some of the most amazing, and inspiring, images of nature and outdoor adventure that you could hope to find anywhere. You can scope it out for yourself below and then head over to this page to find out when the films will arrive in your area.

Thanks to Best Hike for pointing this out. Great stuff! Makes me want to make a movie.

Tweet

Submit Your Film To The 2010 Mountainfilm Festival

Filmmakers looking to enter their masterpieces to the 2010 Mountainfilm Festival, held in Telluride, Colorado, have a several submission deadlines that are fast approaching. The event is being held in on May 28-31 of this year, and will feature the top documentary and narrative films, both feature length and short, that celebrate "achievement in mountain, adventure, culture and environment."

You'll find all the information necessary for submitting your films on this page. But in short, there are some upcoming dates that you'll want to keep in mind. We've already missed the December 12 early registration, but those looking to still submit have the following deadlines to deal with according to the festivals website:

Standard ($60): January 12, 2010
Final ($70): February 12, 2010
Short Films (20 minutes or less) ($25): February 12, 2010

The 2010 winners will be announced at the annual Closing Picnic, on Monday, May 31st.

The theme for this year's Moving Mountains Symposium will be Extinction Crisis, which will also play into all of the events held over that weekend, including seminars, films, and lectures.

Tweet

Jon Bowermaster's Terra Antarctica Wins BLUE Ocean Film Festival

A hearty congratulations to Jon Bowermaster and the rest of the team behind Terra Antarctica, which won the "Best Ocean Issues FIlm" category at this past weekend's BLUE Ocean Film Festival in Savannah, Georgia.

The film is the latest from Jon and his team, and chronicles his expedition along the Antarctic coast back in 2008. The screening at the film festival was the first public showing of the one hour long movie and obviously its message about the health of Antarctica and its impact on the world's oceans stuck a chord with judges, as it made the shortlist for the top films at the five day event.

This was the first BLUE Ocean Film Fest, and the organizers had more than 200 films submitted for review, of which, 50 were selected for screening. From there, the judges narrowed their prize considerations down to Wild Ocean, a big budget IMAX film, Call of the Killer Whale, the latest project from Jean-Michel Cousteau, The Cove, which came out of Sundance with a lot of buzz, Saving Luna, which has garnered award from a number of other film festivals, and The Great Tide, which is produced by the BBC and David Attenborough. Terra Antarctica rounded out the list, and won the Ocean Issues category, while the top honor went to The Cove.

You can read Jon's thoughts on the festival as a whole and Terra winning in the latest entry to his blog, and you can also get a sneak peak at the film by catching the trailer here.

Tweet

ShAFF 2009 Begins This Week!

The 2009 Sheffield Adventure Film Festival kicks off this Friday, Feb. 27th and will run through the upcoming weekend. In its fourth iteration, the ShAFF is adding more films, activities, and guest then ever before, making it one of the premiere adventure film fests anywhere.

More than 50 films will be shown over the course of the three days that the event run. These films cover the gamut of outdoor activities, with climbing, climbing, skiing, kayaking, mountaineering, and a host of other activities well represented. Many of the films are award winners from other festivals, but some will be making their debut at ShAFF itself.

In addition to all of these great films, there is an impressive list of guests that will be making an appearance as well, including Chris Sharma, Adele Pennington, Ron Fawcett and more. Throw in plenty of live music, a climbing wall, orienteering sessions, and lots more activities, and you'll have a weekend full of fun and adventure.

Check out the trailer for ShAFF below. It gives you a good idea of what is on tap for everyone in attendance. For more information on how to get tickets click here, and for a complete schedule of events click here. I sure wish I were in the U.K. this weekend to attend. Looks like it's going to be a great time.

Tweet

ShAFF 2009 Begins February 27th

The 4th Annual Sheffield Adventure Film Festival, also known as ShAFF will get underway in a months time, kicking off the festivities on Friday, February 27th and running through Sunday, March 1st. With an impressive slate of films on tap, the festival continues to improve and grow each year, and is now one of the premiere outdoor events.

You'll find all kinds of information on the activities that will be taking place at the end of the month in Sheffield, England on the ShAFF website. For instance, there is a complete schedule of events, a listing of the dozens of films and film makers who will be on hand, as well as info and maps on the The Showroom Cinema, the venue for this year's event. You can also find ticket information by clicking here.

Those attending ShAFF in 2009 can expect more than 50 adventure films, guest speakers such as Chris Sharma and Ron Fawcett, workshops, live music, and much more. It's going to be a great event, with lots to see and do in the days leading up to the festival, and of course during that weekend as well. Outdoor enthusiasts, especially in the UK, should make the effort to attend if at all possible.

Tweet