With the motto, "Celebrating indomitable spirit,"
it make sense the Telluride Mountain Film
Festival has primarily screened adventure
films and environmental documentaries.
But in 2015, it widened its aperture,
adding civic and cultural films to its bill,
including political profiles and a look at Afghani women
who put their safety at risk to ride a bicycle.
We visited the festival to learn more.
[music playing]
Our mission at Telluride Mountain Film
is to have an impact, is to change people's perceptions,
to deepen what they think about the world,
and really inspire them.
We got started as a rock climbing festival in 1979.
We've evolved way beyond that into other adventure sports,
then environmental issues, human rights issues.
But we're also looking for films and people
that move us, that we feel are making a difference
in the world, that can really impact our audience's
way of looking at the planet.
This is my favorite film festival in the world.
Not only is it sort of my tribe of people
that I get to be speaking to, but it's considered
up there with other filmmakers
Industry people, influential people,
have a special place in their hearts for mountain film.
There's a confluence of just a beautiful setting, one
of the most beautiful small cities in the world,
combined with an environmental festival and an adventure
festival.
The fact that I've had a couple films chosen
has been so meaningful to me.
I'm drawn to passionate people who
are risking their lives oftentimes, or risking
aspects of their lives, to do what they're passionate about.
And this story is that to a T.
"Afghan Cycles" is a feature-length documentary
that looks at the brave women who
are daring to ride in Afghanistan right now.
Cycling is still taboo for women.
And every time get on a bike, they do get many threats.
They've been run off the road.
But their love for the bike, and their love
for what the bike can represent, is worth it for them.
The very act of pedaling is called a revolution.
I mean, how cool is that?
So we're actually watching these women kind
of pedal their own revolution.
Not only can they run errands efficiently,
and get to school safely, and get to work safely,
they don't have to be reliant on a man
to do that, which is, of course, why it's so
controversial in that country.
"A Line in the Sky" is a movie about Tommy Caldwell and Alex
Honnold, two of the state greatest climbers
of our generation, teaming up to make
the first ascent the Fitzroy Traverse,
which is in Patagonia, Argentina.
And it's one of the most iconic mountain
formations in the world.
The full Fitz Traverse is the biggest project
waiting to get done.
Seven beautiful summits, all lined up in one straight ridge.
We climb all of those peaks in one go.
It's an objective that has been talked about for a long time.
You know, who's going to do it?
Tommy?
You mean the rock climber?
Oh!
It's really funny.
They're really funny.
And it's so cool to have that, because underneath
you're, like, so aware that what they're doing
is so incredibly dangerous, difficult, and challenging.
That's right where we were, right where that came down.
It's a very, very serious place that
should not be taken lightly.
Whoa!
These are some of the greatest human achievements.
They're in, like, the most beautiful remote places
on Earth.
Woo!
It was very much action/adventure.
But the question is, what action and adventure
are we embarking on?
Those people who travel into dangerous areas,
they're taking great risks.
Life is always risks.
Well, I started off a few years back
making a film about my father who
died in December, 2010 working for President Obama. he
actually collapsed in Hillary Clinton's office.
And he was a special representative
for Afghanistan and Pakistan.
His name is Richard Holbrook.
He's been a lifelong diplomat.
And I realized he had lived this--
he was an historical figure.
And it was a story that I needed to tell.
When people talked about him, they would say,
did you see what Holbrook did?
Did you see with Holbrook said?
He was so intent upon making his case.
And I push open the door to the ladies room.
And he follows me in!
It would be more energy every time he walked in a room.
He was brilliant, and demanding, and petulant,
in the course of an hour.
This was a big part of who he was.
This film is a political film.
It's a personal film.
It's a love letter to diplomacy.
It's a son trying to understand his father better in death
than he did in my life.
And I felt my father had more to say.
This is probably one of the most lit up audiences
in the entire United States in terms
of the environmental movement.
I think it's dawning on us now that this is the big one.
Just about everything endangered in the world
is for sale in China.
Look at this stuff-- endangered, highly endangered,
highly endangered.
The more illegal it is, the more you
have to go to the back rooms.
We're definitely not welcome here.
Oh my God!
There's things going on that are probably not
safe to talk about.
"Racing Extinction" is, really, I
think it's the biggest story of our time.
And what I wanted to do is make a film
that would grab the attention of young people.
And we're dumping so much carbon in the oceans
it can't take it anymore.
Oh!
The film is like "The Avengers", but it's real.
It's a film about what could be the end of the Earth,
and some superheroes coming to help try to save it.
I mean, that's a little bit aggressive.
It's an eco-thriller.
It doesn't feel like a traditional documentary.
It's not a spectator sport anymore.
Everybody has to become active somehow.
The idea is to inspire people.
I call this kind of filmmaking a weapon of mass destruction.
Art coupled with a mission is the best way
to change the world.
I think that the art of storytelling is so important.
And it has been important forever.
I think everybody needs to create.
Everybody on this planet needs to create art in some way.