Throckmorton Mountainfilm Festival Celebrates 8 Years with an Exceptional Lineup of Films and Events
The adventure documentary film festival features over 30 films from electrifying adventures to conservation efforts to palm-sweat inducing athletic feats, guest speakers, live performance and more.
The three-day festival kicks off Friday, September 20th with an incredible lineup of films. Mountainfilm presenters Suzan Beraza and Marissa Mattys will guide the audience through the program providing interesting insights on the films, filmmakers and subjects. Joining us for Opening Night is world-class athlete, member of U.S. Men's Rafting Team, and star of film (people) of water, Rob Prechtl.
Friday, September 20
OPENING NIGHT SCREENING & PARTY
7:00 PM
FILMS
A Grand Journey
Directed by: Amon Barker
“On my drive to school in the morning, I would see the Grand,” says Jackson, Wyo. native Kira Brazinski. “And then learning, as I got older, that people could climb up, that was just mind-blowing.” Born with a rare birth defect, Brazinski uses a prosthetic leg for walking. “My parents did an awesome job of never telling me I was different, or that I couldn’t do something,” says the former competitive freerider. When knee pain curtailed her skiing, it could have spelled the end of outdoor pursuits. Instead, she doubled down, setting the grandest of objectives
Feel of Vision
Directed by: Tucker Gragg, Austin Gardner
Anyone who has kayaked whitewater knows that it can be scary. The idea of kayaking serious rapids without being able to see? Terrifying. And the notion of kayaking the entire length of the Grand Canyon, blind? Almost unthinkable. And yet, people do it. The first of them was Lonnie Bedwell. Bedwell lost his vision in a hunting accident and emerged from an ensuing period of intense self-examination determined to take back his independence and his identity. That he has accomplished. In spades. Just to add some glory to the guts, Lonnie now dedicates himself to helping wounded vets learn how to kayak and, in the process, to regain some freedom. And some fun.
The Explorers: Casey Brown
Directed by: Ryan Heffernan, Grayson Schaffer
“Am I a crazy person?” downhill mountain biker Casey Brown asks in this short film. Decide for yourself as you watch her negotiate the massive drops, huge gaps and puckering lines of southern Utah.
Mentors: Hilaree Nelson
Directed by: Taylor Rees
It may be tempting to think of the world of ski mountaineering as one dominated by brawn. With, admittedly, some brain requirements to help mitigate serious risk factors. But, beauty? Is there room in this burly, testosterone-fueled world for the feminine? And not just for the token female, but for many of the fairer sex? As a pioneer in this often rough-and-tough milieu, Telluride’s own Hilaree Nelson has an unequivocal answer and shows us, by her personal example, how women can do anything men can do (...and better).
Queen Maud Land
Directed by: Taylor Keating, Cedar Wright
Antarctica is cold, unfriendly, remote, breathtakingly beautiful and, by virtue of those characteristics, rife for expeditions. That’s exactly what draws a dream team of climbers to decamp for three weeks to Queen Maud Land, a chain of outrageous rock spires that leap out of the frozen continent’s snowy expanse. Alex Honnold, Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin and the others venture out onto these spires, where they encounter massive off-width cracks, crumbly rock, big-wall style objectives, bone-chilling cold and a reminder that even suffer fests at the bottom of the world can offer an unforgettable good time.
(people) of water
Directed by: Forest Woodward
Following an attempt to break the Grand Canyon speed record — chronicled in The Time Travelers (Mountainfilm 2017) — the U.S. Men’s Raft Team continues to explore the limits of what can be done on water. This time, they turn their focus to outrigger canoeing — an ancient form of travel with its own sets of rites, history and cultures. Told through team member Rob Prechtl, (people) of water follows the rafters as they delve into this rhythmic, spiritual and age-old form of connection — discovering that it’s much more than a means of travel.
+ Post-film Q&A with Film Subject Rob Prechtl
Up to Speed
Directed by: Zachary Barr, Peter Mortimer, Nick Rosen
Climbing — the fringy, grungy sport of dirtbags — is headed to the biggest athletic stage on Earth: the 2010 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Disciplines will include lead climbing, bouldering and ... speed climbing? Yes, it’s a thing. This new film by Sender introduces us to the blistering subdiscipline, a much-scoffed at world of interesting warm-up dances, powerful vertical sprinting and competition that’s nothing to joke about.
GUEST SPEAKERS
Rob Prechtl
Film Subject, (people) of water
A member of the U.S. Men’s Raft Team and an accomplished water athlete and adventure videographer, Rob Prechtl is the subject of the film (people) of water (Mountainfilm 2019) and The Time Travelers (Mountainfilm 2017).
OPENING NIGHT PARTY
Help us kick-off the start to an epic festival weekend with good company, drinks and nosh! All festival pass-holders, sponsors and opening night ticket holders invited.
Mountainfilm Festival Passes & Tickets
ALL-ACCESS FESTIVAL PASS | $110
- Admission to all film screenings and guest speaker seminars
- Early access priority seating all festival weekend
- Transferable
