Mountainfilm Festival in Telluride, Colorado

Mountainfilm, the film festival based in Telluride, Colorado, takes place each Memorial Day weekend. This festival is an event for independent films dealing with world cultures, adventure and the environment. The 2007 festival begins with the Moving Mountains Symposium on Energy on May 25 and is followed by a host of activities and leading independent films from around the world.

Among the films officially accepted for this year’s 29th annual festival are:

The Alps – Featuring some of the most spectacular giant-screen imagery ever seen, the film celebrates the unsurpassed beauty of the Alps and the unvanquishable spirit of the people who live there. The emotional and exhilarating territory of THE ALPS is the latest film for IMAX® theatres and giant screen cinemas from two-time Academy Award®-nominated producers MacGillivray Freeman Films.

God Grew Tired of Us – explores the indomitable spirit of three “Lost Boys” from the Sudan who leave their homeland, triumph over seemingly insurmountable adversities and move to America, where they build active and fulfilling new lives but remain deeply committed to helping the friends and family they have left behind.

Sharkwater – For filmmaker Rob Stewart, exploring sharks began as an underwater adventure and grew to be a beautiful but dangerous life-journey into the balance of life on earth. Sharkwater explores the most shark-rich waters of the world, exposing the exploitation and corruption surrounding the world’s shark populations in the marine reserves of Cocos Island, Costa Rica, and the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador.

Whose presenting?

Josh Bernstein: Explorer, author, and wilderness educator Josh Bernstein is best known as host of the hit adventure/archaeology series “Digging for the Truth” on The History Channel. Earlier this year, Josh joined Discovery Channel to host and executive produce specials and series focusing on anthropology, archaeology and environmental issues.

Christo and Jeanne Claude: Internationally acclaimed environmental artists Christo and Jeanne Claude, in a lecture made possible by the Telluride Gallery of Fine Art, will speak about works in progress: “Over the River, Project for the Arkansas River, State of Colorado”; and “The Mastaba of Abu Dhabi, Project for the United Arab Emirates.”

Paul Hawken: Paul Hawken is an environmentalist, entrepreneur, and author. Starting at age twenty, he dedicated his life to sustainability and changing the relationship between business and the environment. His last book, Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution (co-authored with Amory Lovins), is published in fourteen languages and was referred to by President Bill Clinton as one of the five most important books in the world today.

For more information on guest presenters, go to www.mountainfilm.org/festival/2007/weekend/guests.asp.
For more information on film selections, please go to www.mountainfilm.org/festival/2007/weekend/films.asp.

Early bird passes for the 2007 Mountainfilm in Telluride festival are available at a discount until May 1, so get it fast. For more information or to buy a pass, please visit www.mountainfilm.org/festival/passes/index.asp.

This really sounds like my cup of tea. Maybe I need to arrange to be in Telluride for work that weekend…