- Friday, November 30th
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In 2008, Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin and Renan Ozturk completed a first-ascent of one of the most difficult and saught after routes in mountaineering: a granite buttress called the Shark’s Fin on the 6,310-meter peak Meru Central in India.
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Remember the guy on the slackline who nearly stole the spotlight from Madonna during last year’s Super Bowl? That was “Sketchy” Andy Lewis, professional slackliner, base jumper, and highliner. A lovable bohemian, pioneering athlete and fearless maniac, Andy has pushed the edge of slacklining, turning it into a breathtaking acrobatic sport.
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For 50 years, some of the world’s best climbers have raced each other up El Capitan, the massive 3,000 foot vertical granite monolith in Yosemite National Park. This film follows Dean Potter and Sean Leary as they risk life and limb to set a still standing record on the perilous “nose” route.
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Welcome to Helmcken Falls, British Columbia, a surreal and frozen place that defies the rules of technical ice climbing. Ice Revolution follows extreme climbers Will Gadd and Tim Emmett as they pioneer a radical route through a field of unstable hoarfrost ice spikes, created by waterfall spray on a massive, inverted rock face.
- Plus Short Films: Racing The End Silvia, Ian McKillick
- Guest Speakers:
~ WILL GADD, the extreme ice climber, filmmaker, activist, star of ICE REVOLUTION.
~ ANDY LEWIS, the world's greatest slack liner and star of SKETCHY ANDY.
~ CONRAD ANKER, one of the most esteemed, versatile mountaineers, star of SHARK'S FIN, via Skype.
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Celebrate Throckmorton Theatre Mountainfilm with live music, wine, and hors d'oeuvres.
- Saturday, December 1st
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featured guest speakers: Andy Lewis of SKETCHY ANDY and Will Gadd of ICE REVOLUTION
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This hauntingly poetic documentary features some of the most oddball misfits imaginable living in the isolated town of Darwin (population 35) on the edge of Death Valley, California. Propelled from society by quirky and sometimes tragic turns, Darwin’s inhabitants must find ways to coexist in a place without government, church, jobs or children.
- Plus Short Films: A Desert Life Ernest Island
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Guest Speaker:
~ NICK BRANDESTINI, director of DARWIN, via Skype from Switzerland.
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Americans use 60,000 plastic bags every five minutes; single-use disposable bags that we mindlessly throw away. But where is "away?" Where do the bags and other plastics end up, and at what cost to our environment, marine life and human health? Bag It follows "everyman" Jeb Berrier as he investigates the question: "Is your life too plastic?"
- Plus Short Films: Dark Side of the LensBlue Obsession
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Guest Speaker:
~ JEB BERRIER, the everyday “Joe” who became the ultimate seeker of plastic enlightenment and star of environmental awareness documentary BAG IT.
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In the spring of 2005, acclaimed environmental photographer James Balog headed to the Arctic on a tricky assignment for National Geographic: to capture incredible time-lapse images that tell the story of Earth’s changing climate.
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For 12 years, Judith Selby and Richard Lang have collected plastic trash on a beach near their home in Northern California...and produced art with it! Their sculptures and abstracts were recently on exhibit at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Be sure to check out their art in the Theatre lobby!
- Plus Short Films: Season's Winter Moonwalk
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Guest Speakers:
~ TERRY ROOT, Nobel prize winning climatologist and Stanford professor, who appears in our environmental activism films CHASING ICE and BIDDER 70.
~ MICHAEL JAMES SALINGER, lead researcher for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Nobel prize winner and Stanford professor.
~ERIC SLATKIN & TESS THACKARA, filmmakers behind ONE PLASTIC BEACH.
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At 7518 meters high, Saser Kangri II was the second-highest unclimbed mountain in the world. It was climbed in 2011 by this film’s stars Mark Richey, Steve Swenson, and Freddie Wilkinson. One of the highest first ascents ever accomplished in alpine style, it is especially notable because Richey and Swenson were in their mid-50s at the time.
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The ultra-inspiring story of Josh Dueck, an up and coming pro-skier who suffered a ski accident in 2004 that paralyzed him from the waist down. Within 1 year he was back on snow doing what he loved - extreme “free-ride” skiing - and winning a silver medal in mono-skiing at the 2010 Paralympics.
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Deep within the vast wilderness of the Grand Canyon are secret spots and intimate tributaries rarely visited by man. In this gorgeous documentary Dan Ransom and Rich Rudow take you to these magical places.
- Plus Short Films: Towers of the Ennedi Last Light Outside the Box
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Guest Speakers:
~ STEVE SWENSON, world-renowned mountaineer, star of THE OLD BREED, successful businessman and first-ascent guru.
~ JOSH DUECK, world's most inspiring extreme chair-skier and star of FREEDOM CHAIR.
~ RICH RUDOW, Grand Canyoneer extraordinaire, star of LAST OF THE GREAT UNKNOWN.
- Sunday, December 2nd
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featured guest speakers: Steve Swenson of THE OLD BREED and George Gage of BIDDER 70
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It’s not easy to address the issue of human overpopulation, so filmmaker Mike Freedman did something clever: He told the story with mice. He uses the cautionary tale from a science experiment by John B. Calhoun to show what happens when the rodents are crowded together. It’s not a pretty sight. Mice stop weaning their young, often attack their progeny and cease normal behaviors. The conclusions of the experiment amplify the warnings of many demographic experts in this incredible, eye-opening film.
- Plus Short Film: Meet Mr. Toilet
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Guest Speaker:
~ MIKE FREEDMAN, independent writer-filmmaker, based in London via Skype, director of CRITICAL MASS.
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A 7 mile ride through the hills of Mill Valley with the filmmakers of WITH MY OWN TWO WHEELS.
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This documentary explores America’s consumption of computers and the hazardous waste we create in pursuit of the latest technology, tracing computers from creation to disposal. Using the juxtaposed & disparate worlds of a 13-year-old Ghanaian (who smashes obsolete monitors to salvage copper) and a 3,000-person video game competition in Texas, Terra Blight examines unseen realities and possible solutions to our planet’s fastest growing toxic waste problem.
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This beautiful documentary paints a portrait of a world where bikes rule. It tells the story of lives drastically changed by bikes. In Africa, a nurse sees infinitely more patients after acquiring a bike. In India, having a bike makes the difference between whether or not a child can attend school. And in America, a bike shop helps troubled kids stay off the streets.
- Plus Short Film: Industrial Revolutions
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Guest Speakers:
~ JACOB & ISAAC SEIGEL-BOETTNER, tireless (no pun intended) bike transport activists and co-directors of WITH MY OWN TWO WHEELS.
~ ISAAC BROWN, director of TERRA BLIGHT, via Skype.
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“At this point of unimaginable threats on the horizon, this is what hope looks like. In these times of morally bankrupt government that has sold out its principles, this is what patriotism looks like. With countless lives on the line, this is what love looks like, and it will only grow...” This epic documentary follows the still-unfolding story of Tim DeChristopher, recently released from prison, after being incarcerated for his daring activism.
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This feel-good documentary chronicles Norwegian Olympic speed-skating gold medalist Johann Olav Koss, as he uses the same singular determination and focus that took him to the top of his sport to make a difference in the lives of some of the planet’s most vulnerable and victimized children. Seeing opportunity where others might have seen only obstacles, Koss gave up a career in medicine for the challenges of international aid and development and created a global organization that has helped over 700,000 children in 23 countries.
- Plus Short Film: Yosemite Falls High Line
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Guest Speakers:
~ GEORGE GAGE, venerable producer & director of the controversial activism documentary BIDDER 70.
~ LINDSAY HOWER, national director of the nonprofit organization Right To Play.
~ RYAN SUFFERN, editor of RIGHT TO PLAY and BIDDER 70.
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Tom Shadyac, director of blockbuster Hollywood comedies, presents an autobiographical documentary that addresses how, despite his professional achievements and financial success, he felt unfulfilled. "I AM" is truly a larger commentary on the American Dream, questioning why we’re more prosperous today, yet apparently less happy than ever. If we are able to question our culture of consumption and find a new paradigm of connectedness and kindness, we will be truly richer for it.
- Plus Short Films:Living TinyThe Man Who Lived on His Bike
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Guest Speaker:
~ TOM SHADYAC, director of Hollywood blockbusters PATCH ADAMS, ACE VENTURA: PET DETECTIVE, and THE NUTTY PROFESSOR, and documentary I AM. He is also author of a recent book, LIFE’S OPERATING MANUAL.