Telluride Mountainfilm on Tour

UCSB Arts & Lectures presents the annual screening of Telluride Mountainfilm on Tour on Wed., Oct. 18, at 7:30 p.m. at UCSB Campbell Hall. Returning to Santa Barbara for the sixth year in a row, Mountainfilm is a Fall favorite for Santa Barbara’s adventure junkies and thrill seekers.

Telluride Mountainfilm was launched more than 30 years ago by a group of climbers and friends dedicated to educating and inspiring audiences about issues that matter, cultures worth exploring, environments worth preserving and conversations worth sustaining. Still true to the core idea that friends, adventure, passion and powerful ideas are as tantalizing as ever, Mountainfilm hits the road offering a six-senses experience of art, adventure, culture and the environment in an eclectic and exciting program of 14 thrilling short films. (136 minutes)

Watch the Telluride Mountainfilm 2017 teaser.

The show is emceed by a Mountainfilm presenter who guides the audience through the program, often sharing personal stories from his or her interactions with the filmmaker or the film’s subjects.

Films in the UCSB Arts & Lectures program will explore badassery of all stripes, including incredible athletic feats, stunning remote wilderness, overcoming impossible odds, staying true to ourselves and more – not to mention some pretty adorable dancing owls.

Santa Barbara Lineup: 

Ascend

After being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, Jon Wilson had his left leg fully amputated. The loss of a limb stopped the cancer, but it didn’t stop Wilson from enjoying his favorite pastime of mountain biking. This short film celebrates the indomitable spirit that keeps him zooming through singletrack. “If I don’t ride a bike, I will lose my mind. It’s because I need to find that spiritual place, that spiritual channel on the trail,” Wilson says. “The simple answer is that it brings me joy.” (Simon Perkins, 6 min.)

Denali’s Raven

Like a raven on an updraft, Leighan Falley soars above the glaciers and peaks of the Alaska Range with her daughter Skye strapped into the backseat of her de Havilland Beaver. Born of a desire to see more of the dramatic landscape and a need to supplement her career as a mountain guide, Falley now works as a commercial pilot in Talkeetna, Ala. She comes from a long line of aviators and finds inspiration working with other women in the high alpine. Denali’s Raven is a glimpse into the life of an Alaskan pilot, skier, alpinist and mother. (Renan Ozturk, 9 min.)

John Shocklee: A Fairy Tale

He lived with his parents until he was 26, took a minimum-wage guide position at the age of 39 and at 52 still hasn’t landed what society would deem a real job. But refusing to grow up has worked out well for John Shocklee, who splits life between ski guiding at America’s rowdiest ski mountain, in Silverton, Colo., and rowing dories down the ultimate river, The Grand Canyon. He lives in an alley shack, wears Teva sandals like they’re going out of style and doesn’t make much money. But he doesn’t want to. John Shocklee: A Fairy Tale taps into Shocklee’s fountain of youth. Hint: It involves mountains, snow and ’90s hip-hop.(Ryan Heffernan & Grayson Schaffer, 7 min.)

Owl Dance-Off: Part II

Owl Dance-Off Part II is the much-anticipated follow-up to wildlife photographer Megan Lorenz’s award-winning internet sensation Owl Dance-Off. (Megan Lorenz, 2 min.)

Cowtown

The oldest weekly professional rodeo in the United States is a place called Cowtown, located in the unexpected eastern state of New Jersey. Here, third-generation proprietor Howard “Grant” Harris, a former bull rider and lifelong cowboy, strives to keep his birthright intact, running horses, producing a weekly show and fending off exorbitant offers to purchase and develop his prime land. He could cash out, but in his mind he’s already got all the treasures he needs. “What we do is what we are,” he says. “We don’t know how to do anything else.” (Greg Kohs, 11 min.)

The High Five

On Oct. 2, 1977, Dusty Baker hit his 30th home run of the season for the Los Angeles Dodgers. As Baker rounded the bases, an excited rookie named Glenn Burke met him at home plate, raised his arm in the air and slapped Baker’s hand. It was the first high five recorded in the history of sports. A year later, Burke was forced out of baseball amid rumors of his sexual orientation. This fast-moving short by Mike Jacobs uses the conception of the high five as a foundation to explore the larger issue of what it means – then and now – to be gay in professional sports. (Michael Jacobs, 11 min.)

The Perfect Flight

The perfect flight for a falcon is the one that yields a kill. And food. For falconer Shawn Hayes, the perfect flight arcs higher: It shares with others the love and awe he feels from partnering with a wild animal – sharing with kids and helping keep them away from a life of trouble. (Joshua Izenberg, 6 min.)

Tatum Monod

Tatum Monod is the embodiment of grace and steeze as she threads down pillowed slopes, steep spines and bold backcountry lines in this 2016 season edit. (Josh Berman, 4 min.)

Waking Dragons

In January of 2017, Telluride Helitrax was hired to do avalanche control work by dropping bombs on Ajax Peak, the iconic mountain that overlooks downtown Telluride, Colo. Lucky for us, filmmaker Brett Schreckengost was there to capture it from an airborne vantage. This short film is an ode to the beauty and power of the San Juan Mountains in winter. (Brett Schreckengost, 5 min.)

GoPro: Line of the Winter

What does it take to win GoPro’s Line of the Winter title? Bird calls, huge air, a dicey route through the woods, a little rock wall tap and an enormous level of stoke. (Leo Taillefer, 2 min.)

My Irnik

In the Canadian Arctic, in the remote community of Kuujjuaq, a young father and mother are raising their irnik (son) with an emphasis on shared adventures, connection to the land, the heritage of dog sledding, learning from the environment and experiencing all that is the Far North – the dark rawness of the winter, the thaws of springtime, the seal soup of summer and the caribou hunting of the fall. My Irnik is about familial lines, ancestral culture, the generational transference of knowledge and the individual’s path to seek his or her own dreamscapes. (Francois Lebeau & Matthew Hood, 16 min.)

Where the Wild Things Play

Friday night at the local watering hole and… where the ladies at? Answer: BASE jumping from high desert cliffs, performing tricks on slacklines, climbing granite routes, shredding singletrack, skiing backcountry lines and generally leaving you fellas behind. This rowdy ode to female athletes by leaves no doubt about the state of women in today’s outdoor world: badass.(Krystie Wright, 4 min.)

The Time Travelers

In 2016, members of the U.S. Men’s Rafting team hatched an incredible challenge for themselves: to attempt to break the speed record for 277 miles of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon by rowing the entire stretch in only 34 hours. The Time Travelers follows their extraordinary mission, which entailed designing and building a 48-foot-long Millennial Falcon of rivercrafts, swapping out customary paddles for oars and training intensely for eight months until launch day in January 2017. What could have been a purely physical challenge turned into something much more: a lesson in camaraderie, perspective and the power of a wild river. (Brendan Leonard & Forest Woodward, 24 min.)

La Langosta

Most people would consider sending a 70-foot waterfall pretty epic. Not Rafa Ortiz, who decides to ditch the kayak for a pool toy. (Rush Sturges & Ben Marr, 2 min.)

Telluride Mountainfilm on Tour is presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures. Media sponsor: Santa Barbara Independent.

Tickets are $15 for the general public and $10 for UCSB students and youths 18 & under (Current ID required). For tickets or more information, call UCSB Arts & Lectures at (805) 893-3535 or purchase online atwww.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu.