Join the Maine Outdoor Film Festival and the Grand Summit Hotel at Attitash for an evening of outdoor adventure and conservation films shown under the stars on the mountain at Attitash.
– The film program will last about two hours, including a 10-minute intermission and is subject to change.
– Please bring your own chair for comfort and safety.
– Picnic lunches/refreshments are allowed.
– This event will adhere to the prevailing State and Local Safety Guidelines (including social distancing, crowd limits and face mask recommendations).

Scheduled Program:

CRAFT – 11.5 minutes – by Mattias Evangelista – from Washington – Short synopsis: Professional skiers, Micah Evangelista and Zack Giffin, have based their lives and careers around the mountains, but it’s their passions off the hill that keep them balanced and grounded.

ABOVE THE LAW – 14 minutes – by Bryony Dunne – from Ireland – Short synopsis: Above the Law links the routes of migratory birds with the journeys of people who traverse the same bodies of land and water. Unfolding atop a pigeon coop in Cairo, across bird watching towers on a Greek island as well as the border in Northern Ireland, these parallel journeys depict the laws of nature vis-à-vis the rule of man, reminding us that geopolitical are irrelevant to some species. The film features a literal bird’s-eye view as eagles, carry cameras on their backs, becoming instruments of surveillance, capturing nature, both human and nonhuman.

WINTER SWIMMING – 3 minutes – by Art Bell – from Vermont – Short synopsis: Maybe the best medicine in winter in the Northeast, is regular swimming in the frozen northern lakes of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.

RIDING THE RAILS – 10.1 minutes – by Evan Kay – from Vermont – Short synopsis: Using a bicycle modified to ride on abandoned train tracks, pro mountain bike rider Alex McAndrew and his wife Ella head out into the unknown in search of remote fishing, camping, biking, and adventure.

MARDI & THE WHITES – 11.45 minutes – by Paula Champagne – from Massachusetts – Short synopsis: Mardi has a rich relationship with nature that has evolved and deepened throughout her life. In the last 20 years she’s dedicated much of her time to exploring the landscape in the White Mountains (unfortunately coined “The Whites” by New Englanders) on Abenaki land. In that time Mardi summited all forty-eight 4,000 footers multiple times, often as the only Black person on the mountain. She has experienced great joy from communing with this landscape, but the overwhelmingly white hiking community that is so seeped in white supremacy and colonialism complicates her experiences. Recently, she has focused on creating more opportunities for Black folks to join her in appreciating this magnificent wilderness. Enjoying this land with her community has been a liberating balm that has strengthened her sense of identity as an outdoorswoman.“Mardi & the whites” is a peek into Mardi’s relationship with the White Mountains, the great outdoors, and the community that surrounds them; Above all, it’s a celebration of Black liberation in the wild.

TIERRA DEL FUEGO – 6.5 minutes – by Oleksandr Lozytskyi – from Ukraine – Short synopsis: Film from an exciting expedition to Tierra del Fuego in Chile and Argentina in November 2021.

MANDATORY GEAR – 15.7 minutes – by Emily Hopcian – from Michigan – Short synopsis: Three women and one man challenge history and stereotypes in adventure racing, competing as a reverse co-ed team in Expedition Oregon, North America’s toughest race.

THE STORY OF A TROUT – 12 minutes – by Gareth Leah – from Alaska – Short synopsis: How do you measure the success of one’s life? Though often hard to swallow, the reality for most people is that material wealth is the yardstick to which they justify their existence. A belief that excess equals success. But to the lucky ones, they understand that a life well lived is measured by the positivity of your impact on those around you. A proverbial life after death and the birth of a legacy. Curt Trout was one of those lucky few. In this film, we take a look into the life of a fishing legend and explore how one person’s passion can have a profound effect on a community, a sport, and a river. This is the story of a Trout.

SPIRIT OF THE PEAKS – 41.25 minutes – by Connor Ryan, Tim Kressin – from United States – Short synopsis: Produced in partnership with REI Co-op Studios, Wondercamp and NativesOutdoors, and co-directed by Hunkpapa Lakota skier Connor Ryan, “Spirit of the Peaks” is a film about the struggle for balance between two worlds. For Connor, skiing in Ute Territory has always raised questions about being in reciprocity with the land and its people. As a skier who connects with the land through sport, he empathizes with the injustices that have displaced the Utes and ongoing colonization, erasure and extraction impacting the Ute people. This story connects conflicted pasts to an awakening in cultural awareness that can create an equitable future for Indigenous people and skiers. Connor’s mission with the film is to do his part in restoring balance with all inhabitants of these mountains by illuminating the Utes’ culture and traditional knowledge that can benefit everyone in the fight to preserve the land and dissipating snowpack.