Something New, Something Blue

6 films in this block • 64 minutes

Block Description

There may be fear in exploring the unknown, but it’s a journey worth taking. Check out these fine films all about trying something new. Figure out your true self with “Changing Course,” and learn how to be a swimming warriors in conquering those self doubts with “Why Not Now” and “My Big White Thighs.” Check out uncharted territory with “Frontier of Firsts,” or try a new activity as a couple (“Engaging the Curve”). Or maybe, take a look up at something certainly not new, but definitely worth your time (“A New View of the Moon”).


The Films

Changing Course

  • Year 2017
  • Country USA
  • Runtime 8 min
  • Director Ryan Heffernan & Grayson Schaffer

Clare Gallagher was headed toward medical school, until she realized the path everyone else wanted her to take wouldn’t make her happy. So she took one step back, 100 miles forward, and went in a new direction.

Frontier of Firsts

  • Year 2018
  • Country USA
  • Runtime 12 min
  • Director Tyler Allyn

True wilderness is hard found in an era of social media and geotagging. These kayakers won’t settle for second descents, and with enough effort and determination, they’re able to find a Frontier of Firsts.

Why Not Now: Vivian Stancil

  • Year 2017
  • Country USA
  • Runtime 3 min
  • Director Riley Hooper

Blind and afraid of water, Vivian Stancil learned to swim at 48. “I heard that blind people can’t swim,” Stancil says, followed by: “Oh, yes they can!” Two hundred and twenty-one medals later, at half her former body weight, Stencil is still at it.

Engaging the Curve

  • Year 2017
  • Country USA
  • Runtime 12 min
  • Director Graham Zimmerman

As a couple, Ultimate frisbee world champion Shannon McDowell and professionalclimber Graham Zimmerman decided they needed a new sport that they could learn together, on an even playing field. What they found was the adventure of a lifetime and a deeper appreciation for their adventurous relationship, along with a lot of wipeouts! Follow along as they engage the learning curve and leave the training wheels at home.

My Big White Thighs & Me

  • Year 2017
  • Country United Kingdom
  • Runtime 25 min
  • Director Hannah Maia

A youngish woman has fallen out of love with her own body. Frustrated, she wishes they didn’t have to hang out quite so much. Committed to making a change she sets herself the simple goal of swimming in open water at least once a month for a year. As she braves the elements throughout the seasons to swim in wild places she also begins to appreciate the quiet heroism of a female life and it’s body. A story about womanhood, miscarriage, healing, loving your own skin & freezing your bum off in cold water.

A New View of the Moon

  • Year 2018
  • Country USA
  • Runtime 4 min
  • Director Wylie Overstreet

Wylie Overstreet was hanging out in his L.A. apartment one night and, out of boredom, decided to take his high-powered telescope out to the street to peer at the moon. Pretty soon people began wandering up and asking him what he was up to. When he showed them, they nearly fell over in awe. A New View of the Moon is just the reminder we need to keep looking up. Because as Galileo said, back in 1610, “it’s a beautiful and wondrous sight to behold the body of the moon.”