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Festivals

[click "Play" to hear Emily Kunstler's conversation with Susan]

DTU_Poster_Final_Small "Disturbing the Universe" might be a catchall phrase to describe Mountainfilm in Telluride, an annual gathering of a tribe of people who rarely pull their punches. The regulars who attend year after year – 2010 is the 32nd annual get-together – believe the world can be changed for the better through the metastasis of ideas and images, one person, one mountain, one book, one photograph, one symposium, one film at a time.


Like many Mountainfilm regulars and guests, radical civil rights attorney William Kunstler was a man who thrived on controversy and never pulled his punches, his wild hair was always on fire about something. For better or for worse, no one can deny the man advocated change. William Kunstler's professed avatar was Michelangelo's David, the man who fought the giant Goliath. During the second half of the 20th century, Kunstler was one of the most admired lawyers in America ( largely by progressives, though not all civil rights lawyers) – and one of the most reviled (by the radical right, who wanted him disbarred).
24 May, 2010 /
[click "Play" for John Vaillant's conversation with Susan]

On Saturday, May 29, 12:15, at The Palm, Mountainfilm in Telluride guest author/journalist John Vaillant talks about his latest book,"The Tiger" (Knopf).

But "The Tiger" is not just an action-adventure tale about a big cat. The story is a variation on Vaillant's favorite theme: Man and nature at odds.

A growing body of evidence in the form of melting glaciers and extended droughts to escalating species extinction, the subject of Mountainfilm's Moving Mountains Symposium, suggests the natural world is spinning out of control. And Mother Nature is showing her extreme displeasure by biting back.
23 May, 2010 /
[click "Play", Susan and Nick Sherman are NOT silent]



Mountainfilm in Telluride waxes eloquent on the subject of silence with the inclusion of  "Soundtracker" in this year's lineup. The documentary, the intersection of science and poetry, was written and directed by Nick Sherman.

The Sounds of Silence were first immortalized in lyrics that propelled folk duo Simon and Garfunckel to fame back in 1964. Forty-six years later the sounds of silence are celebrated once again in "Soundtracker," as Sherman pursues sound recordist Gordon Hempton pursuing the few remaining quiet corners of the Earth, where deer cross a quiet country road and tall grass waves in the wind. In a way, the two media events are related: both the hit single and the documentary are responses to an assault, the first on an American president; the second, on our senses. Both tributes argue for an awakening.
22 May, 2010 /
[click "Play" to listen to Joel Sartore's conversation with Susan]

Rare_500px It's been a long and winding road from the Wichita Eagle to Mountainfilm in Telluride, where photographer Joel Sartore is a guest presenter at the opening Moving Mountains Symposium. He is also scheduled to give a talk about  the findings in his latest book. Both events focus on the crisis of extinction.

“We are living in the sixth major extinction on this planet and the first one to be caused by humans,” says Festival Director David Holbrooke. “The statistics are staggering. We’re currently experiencing the worst spate of species die-off since the loss of dinosaurs 65 million years ago. It’s estimated that a species dies off every 20 minutes. Some scientists predict that between 30 and 50 percent of all species will be extinct by mid-century. E.O. Wilson says that biodiversity is the key to life on this planet and that its collapse is the biggest threat we are facing.”

21 May, 2010 /
[Elisabeth Gick speaks to Jamyang Yeshi about "Shining Spirit", click "Play"]

Jamyang_Yeshi (editor's note: After publishing it was pointed out that this post was written by Elisabeth Gick. My apologies.)

Telluride and Tibet have more in common than alliteration. Mountain cultures nurture individuals unafraid to reach for the sky. They support shining spirits such as Jamyang Yeshi, the subject of a celluloid study, "Shining Spirit" by filmmaker Karen McDiarmid.

"Shining Spirit" is featured at the 32nd annual Mountainfilm in Telluride Festival. Jamyang is also scheduled to perform his music throughout the long weekend, May 28 – May 31, chock full of lectures (the all-day Moving Mountains Symposium on extinction is Friday), breakfast talks, art, music – and film – in support of endangered species, cultures, and ideas.

21 May, 2010 /

37th_TFF_poster_final 2 The Telluride Film Festival (September 3-6, 2010), presented by National Film Preserve LTD., is pleased to announce Pixar Animation Studios’ Ralph Eggleston as the 37th Telluride Film Festival poster artist. Eggleston will lend his talent to create the Festival’s official poster. He will also create a second special edition poster to be unveiled closer to the big weekend.

Eggleston plans to attend the 37th Telluride Film Festival to present his poster designs to the public and hold a poster signing for Telluride Festival guests. The UCLA School of Theatre, Film and Television plans a special reception to honor Eggleston at that time.

14 May, 2010 /
The 32nd annual Mountainfilm Festival will be the biggest ever with more venues in operation, more special guests and more programming. Festival Director David Holbrooke describes Mountainfilm as thriving.
 
“We are particularly excited about the festival this year,” he says. “We have a very strong and varied lineup of films, speakers and artists. We have accomplished mountaineers like Ed Viesturs and Conrad Anker, but we also have artists like Maya Lin and Chris Jordan. We have environmental activists like Dave Foreman and Tim DeChristopher but we also have civil rights activists with two Freedom Riders coming to town.”
 
Among the films to screen in Telluride at the end of May, Holbrooke highlighted the following as examples of Mountainfilm’s depth and diversity:
02 May, 2010 /

Featuring presenters drawn from science, industry, arts and the media, and in keeping with the International Year of Biodiversity, Mountainfilm launches its 32nd annual Festival on Friday, May 28, with an in-depth look at species extinction.

“We are living in the sixth major extinction on this planet and the first one to be caused by humans,” says Festival Director David Holbrooke. “The statistics are staggering. We’re currently experiencing the worst spate of species die-off since the loss of dinosaurs 65 million years ago. It’s estimated that a species dies off every 20 minutes. Some scientists predict that between 30 and 50 percent of all species will be extinct by mid-century. E.O. Wilson says that biodiversity is the key to life on this planet and that its collapse is the biggest threat we are facing.”

Noting he is still waiting to confirm several symposium presenters, Holbrooke says he is delighted with the depth of expertise he has already locked in.

30 April, 2010 /

180south
180 South

From over 600 submissions, Mountainfilm has whittled its 2010 official film selections down to roughly 75, a process that Festival Director David Holbrooke says was a "particular challenge" because there were so many strong films. 
 
“As always, we have a wide range of films on a dizzying array of subjects from exploration to environmentalism to ecstasy (the drug). Having to pick and choose what makes the most sense for us, what best connects or contrasts with our themes and sub-themes, is really tough. Saying ‘no’ to strong films and talented filmmakers is just hard, no two ways about it.”
 
However difficult the decision-making process, Holbrooke says he is excited by the quality and diversity of this year’s picks.

28 April, 2010 /