OutdoorType

Twenty-nine years ago, a group of climbers had the idea of presenting a festival of mountain films in the climbing mecca of Telluride, Colorado. Today, Mountainfilm in Telluride is one of the world’s most prominent festivals of films on mountain sports and conservation, and is now sponsored in part by National Geographic.

Some quick thoughts on tonight…

A. I didn’t actually know half the people in the (sold out, standing room only) audience, but it sure seemed like it. While still driving down M Street I ran into Cathy at a red light and before I could even get my tickets I bumped into one her friends standing in the lobby. I’d gone maybe five feet into the auditorium when I saw Jody who invited me to sit with her and Brian and Liza.

Then across the hall I spied none other than the hosts for next week’s art show Kristin and Shane who were with still more friends Tom and Deb. Meanwhile Cathy’s posse had seemingly taken over the entire front middle section of the place. Later I was introduced to other people whom I’ve probably taken photos of at races. I say probably because no one quite looks the same when dressed in clothing not made of spandex and lycra. In any case, it was great seeing all the familiar faces (exactly the opposite feeling from the week before).

B. After much socializing and a great intro movie showing highlights from previous films (mostly spectacular, gut wrenching, flinch inducing crashes and falls) actual movies were played…

(really quick synopsis and reviews after the jump)

Trial and Error: Progression (Canada/2006/ 10 min)… Ryan Leech pushes his mountain bike skills in an old-growth forest slated for destruction.

– This movie was just plain sick. The trials course created by Leech and his ability to ride it was just amazing and the location… beautiful. To get an idea about the kind of riding involved you have to check out their website.

Rita (USA/2006/6 min) A daughter of adventurous parents recalls a family vacation to Mount Everest.

– Cute autobiographical movie. The MC tonight mentioned how the director, Alison Blehert-Koehn, was a hit at Telluride, even though she wasn’t exactly dressed for the spring snows (and now I know why, she’s super cute - and you know, a talented film maker… a nice combo for sure).

Good Riddance: Air Pollution (Australia/2006/5 min)… Award-winning animator Nick Hilligoss uses humor to examine an environmental problem and an alternative energy source.

– A clever claymation piece reminiscent of Wallace& Gromit.

Running Down the Man (USA/2007/18 min) One man’s quest to tame Baja’s elusive rooster fish on foot with a fly rod.

– This was the best piece of the night. Gives new meaning to “adventure fishing.” Can’t say I’m big on fishing, and I’d never heard of either the Rooster Fish or Frank Smethurst before, but Smethurst’s enthusiasm was infectious.

Everything’s Cool (USA/2006/65 min) A “toxic comedy” that explores how climate change will affect America.

– Flipping through the channels after coming home tonight I stopped on Al Gore’s slideshow movie. I only watched about 7 minutes (the final 7 mins), but he basically summarized the main points of Everything’s Cool in that short amount of time. Still, the movie was interesting and well done, but it’s sort of like being second runner up at the beauty pageant.

Shack Therapy (USA/2006/45 min) The world’s top surfers search for undiscovered perfection in exotic locations around the world.

– Ugh. From a cinematography stand point this movie was nice. But it lacked a cohesive narrative and after 45 minutes of watching guys riding tubes I felt a little bit like I’d been worked over by some of the bigger waves featured in the movie. It was as if the plan of the film makers was to show the beauty of surfing through sheer repetition… A process not unlike learning your times tables. Wrote memory didn’t do much for me when I was 8 and it’s not going to help me see the beauty of surfing now. This movie could have used some serious re-editing.

I will say however, that towards the end, I did recognise the feelings displayed by the surfers upon finding a perfect set of breakers in an unnamed South Pacific paradise. Their unrestrained joy has to be similar to the feeling I get when I’m walking about with my camera and the light changes into that perfect magic hour light and I just know that the photos are going to work, that I can’t hardly go wrong. And just like catching the perfect wave, or snagging a Rooster fish, or rocking out on your trials course, being enveloped by the magic light and having a camera in your hand is more than a little addictive. And so yeah, I know what fuels these people.