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Join us for a legendary weekend this March!

San Juan Citizens Alliance is excited to bring you the epic Durango stop of the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour.

Join us for a night (or two!) of some of the most inspiring and exhilarating films from around the world. This year’s screening will feature a thoughtful mix of action, environmental and adventure mountain films.

All proceeds benefit San Juan Citizens Alliance and our mission to advocate for pure air, clean water, and healthy lands & wildlife in the San Juan Basin (our backyards!).

When: March 8th and 9th, Doors open at 6:00 pm, Films start at 7:00 pm
Where: Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College, 1000 Rim Dr., Durango, CO 81301

TICKETS: $18 for one day or $31 for both. If you choose both nights, the $5 discount will be applied automatically at checkout.

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Film Schedule

FRIDAY, MARCH 8TH

Cross Countries

2023, France, 8 min // Filmmaker: Pierre Henni, Kilian Bron

From the roots of mountain biking in the USA, to the dense Canadian forests and rock slabs of British Columbia, mountain biker Kilian Bron goes on another tour, this time on some of the most beautiful North American trails.

The Ascension Series: Morag Skelton

2023, United Kingdom, 5 min // Filmmaker: Matt Pycroft, Matt Harmer, Harriet Sykes,
Coldhouse Collective

Morag Skelton doesn’t let anything stand in the way of her love of nature. As a deaf climber, she is constantly pushing the limits of what is possible on the mountainside.

School of Fish (Best Short Film)

2022, USA, 19 min // Filmmaker: Colin Arisman, Oliver Sutro, Wild Confluence Media, Orvis

Indigenous people and salmon have been intertwined for thousands of years in Bristol Bay, Alaska. For the last century, corporations have sought to extract the wealth of this rich region and now Pebble Mine threatens to pollute its pristine headwaters. Can the next generation step up to defend the most prolific salmon run left on earth.

Chronoception (Tour Edit)

2023, France, 41 min // Filmmaker: Guillaume Broust, Picture Organic Clothing

Thomas Delfino, Léa Klaue and Aurélien Lardy embark on an ambitious expedition in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan to ski the Kokshaal-Too range. This skilled team, accompanied by renowned guides Hélias Millerioux and Jean-Yves Fredriksen, finds themselves propelled into a space where time seems to have suddenly come to a halt.

To Be Frank

2023, USA, 12 min // Filmmaker: Anna Wilder Burns, Morgan Sliff

Frank Paine is a 73-year-old South Bay icon and humble local legend whose life orbits around a two-block stretch of beach. His unforgettable moustache is what most first notice, but his magnetic spirit and unwavering passion are what keeps the Hermosa Beach surf community connected and whole.

Going Greenland

2023, USA, 23 min // Filmmaker: Erich Roepke, Jessica Baker, Rachael Burks,
Going Greenland Production

What happens when you combine a renewable energy sailboat with an arctic ski expedition in Greenland for the first time ever? Athletes Rachael Burks and Jessica Baker put the idea to test, and endure a both harrowing and inspiring journey along Greenland’s West coast fjords and towering mountains.

Well Worn Life with Dani Reyes-Acosta

2022, USA, 6 min // Filmmaker: Daniel Mitchell, Kelsey Ferguson, BLK ELK Media

Meet Dani Reyes-Acosta: a mountain athlete, land cultivator, and storyteller whose path consistently seeks the limits of her possibility.

Reel Rock: DNA

2023, USA, 23 min // Filmmaker: Josh Lowell, Zachary Barr, Reel Rock

French sport climber Seb Bouin has been quietly working his way through elite grades, culminating in his attempt to establish a long pitch through an overhanging cave in the Verdon Gorge of France – possibly the most difficult route in the world!

Film Schedule

SATURDAY, MARCH 9TH

Desert Wings

 2023, USA, 4 min // Filmmaker: Nathan McBride, NVisualMedia

Paramotoring is a niche, largely undocumented, and little-known flying sport. This piece brings it to light in a rightfully epic way. Shot over 6 days, with multiple paramotor pilots, Desert Wings highlights some of the most dramatic desert landscapes in the American Southwest.

Soundscape (Creative Excellence Award)

 2023, USA, 14 min // Filmmaker: Timmy O’Neill, Sarah Lee Steele, Well Travelled Collective

Soundscape features Erik Weihenmayer, a global adventure athlete and author who is fully blind, as he ascends a massive alpine rock face deep in the Sierra Nevada.

The Blackcountry Journal (Best Film: Snow Sports)

2023, USA, 10 min // Filmmaker: Mallory Duncan, Patrick Elmore, Uhuru Mountain Collective

A skier contemplates his connection to skiing and the mountains. As he hurries through the streets of L.A., his path takes a turn after bumping into a jazz musician who helps him discover the correlation between jazz and skiing—an expression of art, skiing, and black culture.

Georgia Astle: Flip The Switch

2023, Canada, 3 min // Filmmaker: Scott Secco, Scott Secco Films

Watch Georgia Astle explore some of British Columbia’s most striking landscapes, on a search for terrain to push her riding, inspired by a rising tide of female freeriders around the world.

Canada Vertical (Tour Edit)

2023, Canada, 35 min // Filmmaker: Laurent Poliquin, Nicolas Roulx

Follow a team of highly motivated Quebeckers on one of the longest wilderness expeditions ever documented. Stage one involves skiing in relentless polar conditions from Ellesmere Island to the Northwest Passage. Cue canoes for a 2,000 km journey across Nunavut and North West Territories until they get on bikes and pedal 4,000 km to Point Pelee in Ontario.

Leo & Chester (Best Film: Mountain Culture)

2022, Canada, 8 min // Filmmaker: Andrea Wing, Aline Mayerhoffer, MMGY Origin

Leo, a sought-after rock star with a promising career, turns his back on the industry to pursue a life on the land with a herd of buffalo.

Earthside

2023, USA, 33 min // Filmmaker: Kaki Orr, Rob Wassmer, Aidan Haley, Christina Lustenberger, The North Face

In 2022, Hilaree Nelson, Emily Harrington, Christina Lustenberger, and Brette Harrington embarked on an expedition above the Arctic circle. What they found was a celebration of where they’ve been and of where they’re going – and the trip’s success was contingent not on what they skied but the time they had together.

Near The River

2023, USA, 11 min // Filmmaker: Darby McAdams, Ashley Peel, Rush Sturges, McAdams Films

In the tourism town of Livingstone, Zambia, a group of local men who make their living portering kayaks aspire to become safety kayakers on the Zambezi River. The proposed Batoka Gorge Hydroelectric Scheme threatens to flood the famous rapids of the Zambezi and eliminate river related jobs.

El Gavilán

2022, USA, 20 min // Filmmaker: Bronwyn Hodgins, Savannah Cummins, Savy Media

Rising out of the arid Mexican desert lies a 900 ft ship’s prow of elegant limestone sporting a 9-pitch 5.13 established in the 90s by Jeff Jackson. Shrouded in mysticism, the bolts rusted and the holds collecting dust until a couple of young gals from Canada decided to give it a try.

SPONSORSHIPS

A huge thank you to our generous international & local sponsors for making this event happen.

If you are interested in sponsorship opportunities, check out this sponsorship packet and contact rane@sanjuancitizens.org.

INTERNATIONAL SPONSORS

NATIONAL SPONSORS

The Lake Louise Ski Resort & Summer Gondola

Lowe Alpine

Kicking Horse Coffee

Oboz Footwear

Sierra Nevada Brewing Company

World Expeditions

YETI Coolers

Happy Yak

LOCAL SPONSORS

This event wouldn’t be possible without our amazing local sponsors. Check them out!

Recent SJCA News (More)

The End of an Era: What’s Next for the Energy Transition in Northern New Mexico

| Coal, Energy Transition, Press Release | No Comments
On August 24, 2024 the 400-foot stacks at the coal-fired San Juan Generating Station in Waterflow, New Mexico were demolished, bringing permanent closure to a facility notorious for being part of the largest single point source of pollution in the…

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| Lands Protection, Press Release | No Comments
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| Lands Protection, Press Release | No Comments
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| Coal, Energy Transition, Press Release | No Comments
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