A New Trail

4 films in this block • 53 minutes


The Films

Wild Side

  • Year 2021
  • Country United States
  • Runtime 13 min
  • Director Brian Hansen

After competing in 3 Olympics for speed skating, this is my story of retirement and discovering a new side of the sport.

Pedal Through

  • Year 2020
  • Runtime 14 min
  • Director Analise Cleopatra and Aly Nicklas

Pedal Through invites us into the world of director-lead Analise Cleopatra as she discovers the healing and joy of mountain biking. Analise had never camped or ridden a bike off the pavement when she decided to plan a week-long mountain biking adventure with an all Black female team: her best friend and fellow newcomer to the sport, DeJuanae Toliver, and professional mountain biker Brooklyn Bell. Together, they traverse the Oregon backcountry on an adventure full of exploration, curiosity, waterfalls, old growth forest, sparkling starscapes, and deep healing. With raw authenticity, Analise shares all the intimate foibles, fear, fun, and beauty of discovering her place in the outdoors. The landscape opens to greet her as she learns to lean into uncertainty, accept support and trust herself on this wild ride.

Bløm | From Farm to Fourth Ave.

  • Year 2020
  • Country United States
  • Runtime 4 min
  • Director Tim Whalen

Filmmaker in Attendance

After a gluten allergy shook up a brewer’s career, him and his wife turned to a new fermentation project using all local ingredients from Michigan; Bløm Meadworks in Ann Arbor, MI was born.

DURGA: Forging a New Trail

  • Year 2021
  • Country Nepal
  • Runtime 20 min
  • Director Emily Hopcian

Staff Pick, Filmmaker in Attendance, Has Subtitles

“DURGA: Forging a New Trail” tells the story of 34-year-old Durga Rawal, the only guide of any gender from her village in northern Nepal. In a country where boys receive an education, men seek employment in larger cities and girls and women are often left to work on family farms and within their homes, Durga’s is a story of defying cultural, societal and familial expectations to pursue an independent life. It is a story of female empowerment and gender equality about a brave young woman who is forging her own trail.

“DURGA” explores and celebrates bold dreams and the unwavering strength it takes to overcome doubt, discrimination and harassment to break free from the narratives that are put before us and intentionally reach for a life that is uniquely ours.