Telluride's Mountainfilm announces more presenters for 33rd annual event

10 Apr Telluride's Mountainfilm announces more presenters for 33rd annual event

Timmy O'Neill leads the faithful, 2010

After record attendance and extraordinary critical acclaim last year, Mountainfilm in Telluride is poised for yet another bumper year. Even prior to the announcement of officially accepted films, the festival is garnering more interest, inquiries, support and sales than ever, according to Executive Director Peter Kenworthy. He predicts that the Memorial Day weekend event will sell out this year and attributes the event’s growing popularity, in large part, to the programming prowess of Mountainfilm’s festival director, David Holbrooke.

“David has an unusually extensive network of connections in diverse worlds – those of independent
filmmakers, writers and artists, foreign policy experts, media personalities, activists and athletes – that
he draws on," explains Kenworthy. "And he has a great eye both for compelling films and for mixing and matching guest presenters so that they fully engage and complement each other. It’s a winning combination and we’re definitely seeing the benefit.”

Holbrooke today announced the following guests who will join previously confirmed presenters such
as Tim DeChristopher, Greg Mortenson and Terry Tempest Williams.

Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis are the co-creators and stars of the Peabody-winning PBS documentary
"King Corn," as well as "The Greening of Southie" and "Big River." Ian and Curt earned their degrees from
Yale University and now collaborate through the Brooklyn-based organization they founded, Wicked
Delicate. Ian and Curt will speak at the Moving Mountains Symposium about the new school garden
program they are launching called FoodCorps. Ian’s new feature documentary about the night sky,
"The City Dark" will screen at the festival, along with the duo’s charming short, "Truck Farm," which
explores the potential of urban agriculture. 

David de Rothschild has traversed the continent of Antarctica and sailed across the Pacific on a
boat made almost entirely from plastic bottles. In 2006, he became the youngest Brit to reach both
geographical poles. He is also an author and an organic farmer. David's Plastiki Expedition – to sail a catamaran made out of 12,500 reclaimed plastic bottles across the Pacific – successfully arrived in
Sydney Harbour on July 26, 2010. Mountainfilm marks his first presentation about that project. David's passion is educating youth on the subject of climate change.

Invisible Children is a movement to end the longest running conflict in Africa. It started when three
young American wanderers traveled to Uganda to make a film and discovered the story of the
displaced child soldiers in Joseph Kony’s guerilla army. Mountainfilm screened the original "Invisible
Children" film in 2006 and a follow-up short entitled "Emmy: The Story of an Orphan" in 2007. Now,
filmmaker and musician Kenny Laubbacher presents at the Moving Mountains Symposium, the theme of which is Awareness into Action.

Hilton Kelley was helping evacuees from Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans find clothing, shelter, and
food as Hurricane Rita bore down upon his hometown of Port Arthur, Texas. He was inspired to return
home, where he found Community In-Power and Development Association, a group working to
improve conditions in the once-thriving city that is now faced with severe economic and environmental
degradation. Hilton speaks at the Moving Mountains Symposium about his grassroots efforts and
how they can translate to every community.

Chris Korbulic was born and raised along the Rogue River in southern Oregon and has been on the
river since before he could walk. He's now one of the most accomplished expedition kayakers in the
world, as well as an internationally published photographer, cinematographer, and sponsored athlete
for our presenting sponsor, Eddie Bauer First Ascent. Chris was recently part of the highly publicized
and tragic expedition to the Congo during which guide Hendri Coetzee was killed in a crocodile attack.
He shares some of his photographs from that expedition in Moutainfilm's Gallery Walk.

Bill McKibben is an American environmentalist and writer who frequently writes about global
warming, alternative energy, and the risks associated with human genetic engineering. His first book,
"The End of Nature," is regarded as the first book for a general audience about climate change. It has
been printed in more than 20 languages. In 2009, Bill led the organization 350.org, which
coordinated what Foreign Policy magazine called "the largest ever global coordinated rally of any
kind," with 5,200 simultaneous demonstrations in 181 countries. Bill presented at Mountainfilm for the
first time the same year. He is a scholar in residence at Middlebury College.

Vali Nasr was featured on the front page of the Wall Street Journal, quoted by Senator John Kerry on the
floor of the U.S. Senate, and described as a “national resource” by Dr. Richard Haass, President
of the Council on Foreign Relations. Vali Nasr is one of America’s leading experts on globalization,
foreign relations, the Middle East, and the Islamic world. Internationally renowned, he has influenced
critical public debates and policy decisions on both sides of the Atlantic, and advised presidents,
kings, prime ministers, and business leaders.

Timmy O'Neill is one of America's most accomplished climbers – and the funniest. He has set speed
climbing records from Yosemite to Patagonia and been at the cutting edge of the sport for over
20 years. Tommy is a world-class slackliner, renowned building solo climber, class 5+ kayaker and
dangerously fast mountain biker. While Timmy is known as an outrageous funnyman, he has also
been slowly trying to change the world. He will be presenting with Geoff Tabin about a recent trip to
Ethiopia.

 
About Mountainfilm: Established in 1979, Mountainfilm in Telluride is dedicated to educating and
activating audiences on critical environmental, cultural and social issues. Working at the nexus of
filmmaking, adventure and activism, its flagship program is the legendary Mountainfilm Festival—a
combination film festival, ideas summit and jamboree. Mountainfilm also reaches audiences year
round through its worldwide tour, on Outside Television, with its online Minds of Mountainfilm
interviews and in classrooms through its educational outreach initiative, Making Movies that Matter.
Mountainfilm has the power to change lives. To learn more, visit the website. To join the conversation,
please visit the blog, follow us on Twitter, and become a fan on Facebook.