Directed by Aaron Peterson

This is a family camping story told by my son Josiah. The film takes place during a 10-day canoeing and camping trip to the Slate Islands of Ontario, Canada on Lake Superior. It was scripted from campfire conversations about life, climate change and the natural world that we shared during this and other trips. The film was originally produced in 2018 but not released because I didn’t think it was finished, but in August 2019 Josiah passed away due to a fungal brain infection contracted during treatment for leukemia. He was 10 years old. Now the film has become a memorial to my best friend and adventure buddy, a very special kid that experienced more in his decade than many do in a full life. I ache to know what he would have become, but find joy in all that he was.

Directed by Ben Masters

Combining stunning scenery with insightful commentary on the state of river conservation from Senator Tom Udall, Theodore Roosevelt IV, American Rivers president Bob Irvin, Rio Grande waterkeeper Jen Pelz, river guide Austin Alvarado, and others, this is a powerful call to action for protecting our country’s remaining wild rivers for future generations.

Directed by Jennifer A. Berggren

“A Change of Practice: Leadership in Medicine for the Underserved” is a half-hour documentary film that follows third- and fourth-year LMU students as they help residents in Flint navigate the lead water crisis and the insidious impacts of poverty. LMU students learn they are called to be more than physicians; their role is to change the practice of medicine. As one of the LMU students says in the film if they don’t advocate for patients, who will?

Directed by Kate Arpke Houle

A look at the competitive sport of lumberjacking, its history, its people, its growing diversity, and how logging has uniquely defined the Midwest for over the past century.

Directed by Will Sardinsky

Lani Malmberg, a self-identified “gypsy goat lady”, brings life back to the land with her herd of 500 goats.

Directed by Eric Becker Producers: Susan Purvis, Nolan Anderson, Graham McDowell, & Eric Becker

A Higher Crawling is a film starring two titans of climbing. Shelby and Reyka are the rising stars of the under-6-month-old age bracket. This story tells the tale of friendship through competition, adversity, and the utter necessity of diapers.

Directed by Paulius Neverbickas

A Nordic Skater is a very first film about this little known sport. It features Per Sollerman, a photographer who has been skating on frozen lakes and fjords for the past 10 years. During 6 captivating minutes, the viewer is transported to the region of Oslo to have a peek at a story of a man who uses every sense he has to travel on thin ice. Per tells the story of how the little known sport of nordic skating came to play a big part in his life. “It is rooted deep in our bones that we need to be out in the nature,” he says.

Directed by Mathieu Le Lay

A vast silence swallows the sound. A kingdom of mountains rise majestically toward the heavens. A call of the wild to a wandering soul.

Directed by Miranda Fox

A Tale of Two Cities tells the story of two very different Michigan communities, small-town Evart and industrial Flint, that have found their futures inextricably linked by a threat to the one thing that all life requires: water.

Directed by Darby McAdams

This film is all about big whitewater and where a woman’s place is; wherever the hell she wants it to be.

Directed by Jake Strassman

Professional skier Banks Gilberti drops in on Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Directed by Pablo Durana

Ricky Jones converted his van into his home, spends his nights in nature, and during the day makes a living making a difference — collecting data from the backcountry to help scientists, and helping others to do so as well. “Why wouldn’t you want to do your part to give back to the community?” he asks. “And that community being the entire world.”

Directed by Jess Colquhoun

Akuna tells the story of Will Robinson, an Iraqi war veteran who after being discharged from service with severe injuries and PTSD, took up hiking on the Pacific Coast Trail in 2016. Once he started walking, Robinson didn’t want to stop, conquering the 2,200 mile Appalachian Trail and setting his sights on the Continental Divide trail which spans 3,100 miles between Mexico and Canada. This film aims to give audiences an insight into Will’s healing process by providing glimpses into his PTSD, the traumatic memories associated war, and the steps he’s taking to heal.

Directed by Patrick Noyes

A postmodern love song to Lake Michigan, and a call to make the best with what you got, this film was made by a human with some assistance from machines.

Directed by Max Lowe

Bare Existence gives a behind the scenes look into the plight of the polar bear and the biologists on the front lines of protecting these species as they battle against the effects of climate change threatening their existence. This film presents a drastic cry for immediate attention and instills our viewer with hope, illuminating present-day efforts for a brighter future.

Directed by Harrison Mendel & Robb Thompson

Beautiful Idiot takes you on a ride through the mindset and motivations of those who feel driven to pursue greatness, how it can feel to fall short, and the consequences of reaching a lofty goal when the struggle to get there has defined you for so long. Featuring professional freeride mountain bike rider Brett Rheeder.

Directed by Palmer Morse & Matthew Mikkelsen

For most of his life, Gordon Hempton has been in pursuit of nature’s myriad and multi-faceted soundscapes as an Emmy-winning acoustic ecologist. During that time, he has become a master of a skill that is inarguably a dying art: listening. In Being Hear he shares insights on the constant and nuanced communications of nature, the alarming extinction of places unaffected by human activity, the way quiet can open our eyes to the larger picture and the benefits of simply paying attention to place. Silence, as he puts it, “is the think tank of the soul.”

Directed by David Morton

As parents, how do we teach our kids that there is a world beyond social media, standardized tests and soccer practice? Join Eddie Bauer athlete David Morton and his seven-year-old son Thorne on a week-long stand up paddle boarding journey down the Karnali and Bheri Rivers in Western Nepal. “There’s a basic paradox to parenting,” says David. “You have to keep your kids safe, but you have to teach them to take risks and follow curiosity. Life is undeniably richer with a little bit of daring.”

Directed by Emily Thomas

At the height of American political polarization hundreds of Iraqi Christians living in Detroit face deportation from the President they helped elect. Blessings of Liberty follows two families from the community awaiting their fates as they question everything they thought they knew about America.

Directed by Andrew Wyton

In the film, the world’s freshwater supply has become too toxic to support mass human life. A lone survivor is mystically transported back in time to the present day, where he and his surf pals were still able to enjoy the greatness of the lakes before the toxifying effects of agricultural and industrial pollution reached a tipping point.

Directed by Aly Nicklas

Fresh off training wheels, a four-year-old growing up in Valdez, Alaska begins to push her boundaries and explore what’s possible on her bike, her eyes naturally drifting to the mountains. We dive into the world of her fantasy and explore the mountains, glaciers, and rivers of Valdez by fat bike with a crew of boundary-pushing female athletes hailing from Alaska and beyond.

Directed by Benjamin Drummond & Sara Joy Steele

Blue carbon is carbon that is captured and stored by coastal wetlands, helping to mitigate climate change. This film is about mud and the multiple benefits that estuaries provide for us. “You never go into a wetland and just restore one benefit,” says wetlands ecologist John Rybczyk. It improves water quality, provides salmon habitat, protects our shorelines, and also benefits our climate. Restore America’s Estuaries recently lead a first-of-its-kind study in the Snohomish estuary to quantify the climate benefits of estuary restoration. Set in the Snohomish, this film helps to build awareness of blue carbon as a climate mitigation tool and to encourage more investment in wetland restoration at local, state, and federal levels.

Directed by Jordan Halland

A dash of spelunking. A pinch of ice climbing. A sprinkle of semi-psychedelic light show. This brief recipe is just right for a short feast.

Directed by Tyler Wilkinson-Ray & Colin Arisman

Since 1973, the National Brotherhood of Skiers has overcome barriers by bringing soul and smiles to the mountain. Formed during the height of the black power movement, the organization is dedicated to creating a welcoming space for people of color on the slopes and supporting black youth in snowsports. Today, the NBS hosts the largest gathering of black skiers in the United States and represents 53 ski clubs with over 3,000 members across the country.

Directed by Agathe Bernard

Atypical for her time, Mary Vaux defies all gender roles, mountain weather, and traditions to spark the first glaciology study in North America. Her perseverance brings her back to the same glacier for five decades.

Directed by Krystle Wright

For the past 20 years, Australian photographer Nick Moir has been chasing weather systems throughout the world. Nick journeys through the famous Tornado alley that stretches through the American Midwest that produces catastrophic yet beautiful storms that earn the appropriate nickname, monsters on the plains.

Directed by Amanda Bluglass

Loch Hourn on the Knoydart peninsula in the Western Isles of Scotland is one of the last wildernesses of Europe. Access to sea lochs is difficult. Salt water mingles with fresh water as it runs off the mountains, icy even in high summer. This mesmeric film immerses us in the physicality of cold water swimming, asking why we put ourselves in the path of discomfort and risk; why does the search for adventure take us to ever more remote and inhospitable places? Join the originators of the UK’s Outdoor Swimming Society, ‘swim twins’ Kate Rew and Kari Furre, as they set out to chase the sublime.

Directed by Chema Domenech

Clay Bolt is a natural history and conservation photographer for World Wildlife Fund and has been featured in prominent magazines such as National Geographic. Affectionately referred to as the bug guy, Clay explains how and why he focuses on 99% of life on earth that is smaller than your finger.

Directed by Dorian Warneck

Zoe Keller is a graphite artist creating large-scale, highly detailed drawings. Using the traditions of scientific illustration, she weaves complex visual narratives about at-risk species and wild places. Collapsing Time takes a look at the motivations behind her work. Made by production company Person People.

Directed by Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee & Adam Loften

Zuni farmer and museum director Jim Enote is rethinking map-making. After all, who’s to say that north has to be at the top, geographic features must be to scale or roads have to appear at all? Through his Zuni Map Art Project, he works with Zuni artists to create maps that convey stories of place, heritage and history — helping them reclaim the stories of their lands. The results are both beautiful and profound. “We limit ourselves if we think of maps as only two-dimensional,” he says. “There are maps in songs, and in prayers, there are maps that are etched into stone, woven into textiles and painted on ceramics.”

Directed by Mariano Carranza

The cholita climbers of Bolivia have been subverting the culture of machismo since 2015 by climbing mountains. Not content to stay in their traditional roles as high-mountain cooks, these 11 escaladoras wanted to see for themselves what it felt like to go to the top. Pairing the traditional cholita garb of colorful skirts, shawls, bowler hats and brooches with ice axes and crampons, these women climb for the same reason many others do: that feeling of freedom that comes with standing on the summit.

Directed by Alex Horner

Along with amazing wake skating imagery, you get to learn how cranberries get harvested. No berries were destroyed while making this. Cranberries are tough as hell, there was zero waste of food. As far as sanitation goes, it’s an open body of water. A few dudes in wetsuits won’t hurt a thing.

Directed by Tahria Sheather

Nature has a rhythm – it just takes one to tune into it. Jess Kilroy – musician, climber, and conservationist – travels to wilderness areas around the West creating music from the natural sounds she finds there, with the goal of sparking people’s love for these wild lands. Creek Sessions follows Jess on a sensory journey to create music in Utah’s Indian Creek, reminding us that wild places are worth protecting not simply for their landscapes, but for their soundscapes too.

Directed by Anna Callaghan

At age 9, Dawa Yangzum Sherpa told her teacher she wanted to climb Mount Everest. It may have seemed improbable then, but she’s long smashed notions of what’s probable. The first woman from Nepal’s Rolwaling Valley, – a valley where dozens of men work on Nepal’s highest peaks – certified by the International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations, Dawa is one of only about 100 women among IFMGA’s nearly 7,000 guides. “Who I am now is just because I climb,” Dawa says modestly, as images of peaks she has summited flash on screen — K2, Yala Peak, Lobuche, Chekigo, Kanchenjunga, Cho-Oyu, Ama Dablam — and, of course, Everest.

Directed by Palmer Morse & Rachel Weinberg

Detroit Hives follows Tim Paule and Nicole Lindsey, a young couple from East Detroit, who are working hard to bring diversity to the field of beekeeping and create opportunities for young Detroit natives to overcome adversity. It is estimated that Detroit has with well over 90,000 empty housing lots to date. In an effort to address this issue, Tim and Nicole have been purchasing vacant lots and converting them into bee farms. Detroit Hives explores the importance of bringing diversity to beekeeping and rebuilding inner-city communities one hive at a time.

Directed by Elliot Kennedy

Development is a short film by Elliot Kennedy following the story of Matt, a young boulder developer, who is working on a new problem. The film is told through an interview with Matt as he expresses how he got interested in rock climbing and how he discovered the art of cleaning boulders.

Directed by Ryan Peterson

A woman quits her mid-career job as a scientist to become a commercial fisherman. A humorous story of her unlikely mentorship within a gang of young party dudes. Set in the world’s biggest, rowdiest salmon fishery of Bristol Bay, Alaska.

Directed by Siobhan Landry, with assistance from Garth Evans & Leila Philip

The film, based on the book, Water Rising, by Garth Evans and Leila Philip, interweaves poems from the book read by the Philip, conversation with the authors of Water Rising and music by the composer, Shirish Korde. In addition, the film includes photographs taken by the authors of their local landscape along with recorded environmental sounds and images of the production of three watercolors as they evolve.

Directed by DJ O'Neil & Oliver Hamilton

Artists find a unique way to raise awareness about plastic waste.

Directed by Finn Ryan

In 1989, a small group of athletes set out on a Healing and Solidarity run to bring peace and healing to the communities impacted by conflicts over recently affirmed Ojibwe treaty rights to spear fish in the ceded territories around the central Great Lakes. The run began as a reaction to a specific issue, but evolved to address challenges faced by communities along its route.

Directed by Julia Kwan

In moments of rawness and realness, we find our true selves. While dealing with one of the darkest times of her life, processing family trauma and recovering from injury, Azzah becomes captivated by the question, “what do you want to do before you die?” Although she has never seen herself as much of an adventurer, she realizes she’s capable of more than she ever imagined.

Directed by Alexandra Lazarowich

Fast Horse follows the return of the Blackfoot bareback horse racing tradition in a new form: the Indian Relay. Siksika horseman Allison RedCrow struggles to build a team with second-hand races and a new jockey, Cody Big Tobacco to take on the best riders in the Blackfoot Confederacy at the Calgary Stampede.

Directed by Chad Terpstra

Father The Flame follows Lee Erck, a world-renowned pipe maker from Negaunee, as he travels the globe to explore the nearly forgotten art of tobacco pipe making.

Directed by Tucker Gragg & Austin Gardner

Anyone who has kayaked whitewater knows that it can be scary. The idea of kayaking serious rapids without being able to see? Terrifying. And the notion of kayaking the entire length of the Grand Canyon, blind? Almost unthinkable. And yet, people do it. The first of them was Lonnie Bedwell. Bedwell lost his vision in a hunting accident and emerged from an ensuing period of intense self-examination determined to take back his independence and his identity. That he has accomplished. In spades. Just to add some glory to the guts, Lonnie now dedicates himself to helping wounded vets learn how to kayak and, in the process, to regain some freedom. And some fun.

Directed by David Freid

A visitor’s guide to America’s great big border wall. Originally proposed as an international peace park with Mexico, Big Bend, Texas has a unique relationship with its southern neighbor. For the past 40 years, Mike Davidson has been ferrying tourists across the Rio Grande for a little taste of Mexican life — but now a great big border wall might divide the park.

Directed by Brandon Rieck

Enjoy the mesmerizing contrast of flame and ice as two fire spinners work their magic around the grand island ice caves during a chilly winter night.

Directed by Liam Kaiser

Fishtown is the story is about commercial fishing on the Great Lakes and a small family that’s operated a business for five generations.

Directed by Will Parrinello

LeeAnne Walters led a citizens’ movement that tested the tap water in Flint, Michigan, and exposed the Flint water crisis. The results showed that one in six homes had lead levels in water that exceeded the EPA’s safety threshold. Walters’ persistence compelled the local, state, and federal governments to take action and ensure that residents of Flint have access to clean water. Narrated by Robert Redford, Flipping the Switch shows how ordinary people can effect extraordinary change. LeeAnne was a winner of the prestigious 2018 Goldman Environmental Prize.

Directed by Chris Prescott

In 2011 Steve Bate was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, a severe form of tunnel vision that is slowly robbing him of his sight. At the age of 34, Steve was forced to give up his dream of becoming a mountain guide, lost his driving licence and was registered disabled through visual impairment. Focus documents Steve’s life since his diagnosis, exploring how the knowledge that his sight could disappear entirely at any moment has affected his outlook on life. The burden of blindness has manifested into an almost obsessive drive to achieve his ambitious dreams, from attempting to solo El Capitan to cycling in the 2016 Paralympic Games. The film follows Steve as he participates in the Rovaniemi 150, a gruelling self-supported fat bike race through the Arctic tundra of Finnish Lapland, where temperatures can drop below -35°C and 80% of participants don’t make it to the finish line. With the long hours of darkness testing his limited eyesight even further the race gives Steve one of his greatest challenges to date.

Directed by Bradley Tangonan

While GM plants in Flint closed in the 80s, unemployment, crimes & drugs skyrocketed. Then after years of government missteps there was the water crisis. But Flint entrepreneurs aren’t hopeless. Although not an easy route, they continue to make their own small businesses successful for their families & their town.

Directed by Brendan Leonard & Fitz Cahall

The first time Frank Sanders saw Devils Tower was in the sudden brilliance of a lightening strike. It sent a wave of anxiety through him, but the next day he climbed The Tower. Forty-three years later, he’s repeated that act more than 2,000 times and learned a thing or two about going up and not growing old.

Directed by Adam Rifenburgh & Ethan Sperber

A short film highlighting the 906 Adventure Team, its mission, and why it’s so important.

Directed by Brandon Rieck

Each year, in the remote desert outside Moab, highliners and spectators gather to enjoy a week filled with highlines,rope swings, base jumps, aerial arts, workshops and much more during the week of Thanksgiving. See the wild, jaw dropping adventures along the 400 foot cliffs and learn how organizers and volunteers have helped ensure the protection of the desert environment while accommodating for the growing crowd.

Directed by Aaron Peterson

Tom and Max Werkman are Werkman Outfitters and they chase trophy cold water and warm water species on the Grand River including the unique urban fishery of the city’s bustling downtown.

Directed by Maxime Moulin & Antoine Frioux

Richard Permin is skiing on the roofs of buildings, in France! He defies the definition of skiing and turns heads as he shreds through the powder on slanted roofs. Every morning he is motivated to do something he loves, now that is cool!

Directed by John Arnold

Fly fishing for carp along the remote Lake Michigan flats of Beaver Land.

Directed by Samantha Bates & Danny Schmidt

Welcome to the southwest, where the land is wild and the women…might be even wilder. Introducing the Great Old Broads for Wilderness and their fight to keep southwestern Colorado’s wilderness an intact and restore one of its missing icons – the gray wolf. These women have come together to find their voice, and now are using it to give these lands, and the gray wolves that used to call it home, a fighting chance.

Directed by Tess Wagman

In a small town of Knife River, Minnesota, twin sisters, Pamela Matson & Patricia Canelake, make candy the old fashioned way using recipes invented by their grandfather in the early 1900s.

Directed by Jason van Bruggen

Dr. Konrad Steffen, the Swiss climate scientist whose research propelled Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” and “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power”, reveals his alarming findings around glacial melt impacts on global sea level rise, climate change, and mass migration. Greenland Melts is stunningly filmed at remote polar monitoring stations where Dr. Steffen has been tracking the melting of the Greenlandic Ice Sheet for over 25 years. Made by production company Dot Dot Dash.

Directed by Ben Moon

After serving in the Vietnam War, author and eco-warrior Doug Peacock spent years alone in the Wyoming and Montana wilderness observing grizzly bears. This time in the wild changed the course of his life. With the protection of Yellowstone grizzlies now under threat, Peacock reflects on the importance of habitat and why he continues to fight for wild causes.

Directed by Cameron Mattson & Matthew Key

Growing Freedom follows a family with humble origins turning their passion for farming into a rapidly expanding agricultural entrepreneurship. They’re bringing a new meaning to “homegrown” in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Directed by Peter Byck

A North Texas couple lets nature dictate how they graze their cattle. They are having tremendous success in regenerating their land and their lives.

Directed by Corey Robinson

Hike the Line follows two long-distance backpackers, Tenny Ostrem and Claire Wernstedt-Lynch, on the first ever thru-hike of the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border. For 175 days, these two women persevere through the most difficult adventure of their lives while gaining a unique perspective on America’s controversial immigration policies. Challenges around safety protocol and campsite selection tax the most valuable resource they have, each other. The hikers’ many encounters with activists, ranchers, Border Patrol, and migrants challenge their expectations about this highly contested region of our country.

Directed by Andrew Morgan & Nick Nummerdor

Hill Climb offers a candid look into the nearly 100 year tradition of the Mt. Garfield All Pro Motorcycle Hillclimb. The film is a snapshot of the riders, their bikes, and the enthusiasts that camp out on the shores of Lake Michigan for this exciting historic event.

Directed by Joe Fairbanks

Homecoming is a paddling adventure that raises awareness about the threat of proposed sulfide-ore copper mining near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Northern Minnesota.

Directed by David Mossop

Have you ever been that little kid sitting in the backseat of your parents car, wishing you were somewhere else? So you imagine a skier on the side of the road, your fingers commanding back flips, roof drops and improbable rail slides. Join us as we travel through the eyes of a young boy who brings professional urban skier Tom Wallisch to realization. Together, they turn an otherwise drab winter commute into a ski adventure for the ages.

Directed by Andy Maser

In Due Time showcases the physical and emotional journey of two professional endurance athletes as they set a world record trekking 105 miles across Greenland’s Arctic Circle Trail. Best Friends, Jason Antin and Mike Chambers explore thoughts of fatherhood, family, and adventure while they set a world record across the Arctic Circle in less than four days.

Directed by Tim Visser & Sander van Iersel

Back in 1980, Willem bought a remote potato farm and transformed it into a butterfly paradise. He has worked the land with shovel and scythe for almost 40 years in order to preserve the butterflies. Willem’s paradise has become one of the most important habitats in the region for these fluttering beauties, but there is a problem. Due to an overload of nitrogen in the air, a monoculture of grass slowly drives away this flower-rich butterfly paradise. Butterflies that used to be common just a few decades ago are rare these days, or have completely disappeared.

Directed by Marek Partys

In the high steppe of Little Tibet, a young boy develops an unlikely obsession: ice hockey. He fashions pucks out of stones, trains on homemade skates and worships Czech hockey icon Jaromír Jágr. And he has his heart set on an outsized dream.2

Directed by Josh LeClair

Marquette native Joe Graci show us the process around his passion: Wood sculpting.

Directed by Ian Derry

Finnish freediver Johanna Nordblad holds the world record for a 50-meter drive under ice. Her love for the sport came through cold-water treatment after recovering from a mountain biking accident.

Directed by Beau Miles

Collecting thrown-out, railway-side, road-side, dumpster-filling, perfectly good wood between my train station and the office, this is a short and meaningful story of a junk-made paddle.

Directed by Hugo Manghes

La Torche shows two crazy French surfers, surfing by night the famous spot of La Torche, one of the best in France.

Directed by Cameron Mattson & Kevin Paczesny

Lakeshore’s Skiff highlights the dream of the Marquette Community Boatbuilding. Their dream? Building a 22’ St. Ayles Skiff, a Scottish four-oared rowing craft. Follow the works of Mike Potts and many other talented local craftsmen throughout the creation process.

Directed by Ben Knight & Travis Rummel

It wasn’t long ago that the small Colorado town of Fruita was solely a hub of agriculture and oil and gas development. But singletrack shredders and pizza chefs Jen Zeuner and her partner Anne Keller have helped to transform the high-desert town into a mountain biking hotspot with their Hot Tomato Café. It wasn’t always easy — some residents of conservative Fruita weren’t quite ready for their “lifestyle” at first. But the women’s delicious East Coast-style pizza — and the love they put into making it — have made them indispensable members of the community and turned the Hot Tomato into the living room of the Grand Valley’s outdoor recreation industry.

Directed by Anthony Bonello

In March 2017, former World Champion sport climber Liv Sansoz, set out to climb all 82 4000m peaks in the European Alps in a single year. As she’s learned several times throughout her life, things don’t always go as planned.

Directed by Sriram Murali

Lost in Light, a short film on how light pollution affects the view of the night skies, beautifully illustrates how the view gets progressively better as you move away from populated areas.

Directed by Jonathan Chapman

“Lure of the North” highlights the passion and intrigue surrounding the winter sport of dog sledding. Our team profiled a family of mushers from Finland, MN that live off-grid in the snowiest region of Minnesota and care for 60+ pure-bread Siberian Huskies. They have a long history of working with the breed and have competed in many long distance races such as Iditarod, Yukon Quest, and John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon.

Directed by George Knowles

Melon Kuma is probably the most unique yet simple mascot in Japan. It’s a bear with a half melon half bear for a head, that comes from Yubari (the melon rich town on the island of Hokkaido) and a bear that was frequently found on Hokkaido.

Directed by Taylor Rees

It may be tempting to think of the world of ski mountaineering as one dominated by brawn. With, admittedly, some brain requirements to help mitigate serious risk factors. But, beauty? Is there room in this burly, testosterone-fueled world for the feminine? And not just for the token female, but for many of the fairer sex? As a pioneer in this often rough-and-tough milieu, Telluride’s own Hilaree Nelson has an unequivocal answer and shows us, by her personal example, how women can do anything men can do (…and better).

Directed by Corey Rich

The concept of this film was born out of the idea that so many of us really try to make our mornings count. Whether we’re writers or artists using those early hours to tap into our creativity, or we’re parents or spouses who are trying to make the first moments of our day really count, mornings are a sacred time of day.

Directed by Colin Scott

Movements is the symphonic saga – in four parts (Rainbow, Steelhead, Musky, Striper) – of three Alaska fishing guides who road trip their way home in a 2003 Dodge Caravan (best known as ‘Van-a White’) from AK to NYC. From an Edenic paradise to a modern-day Gomorrah in a single month – arriving in Time Square on Halloween night – these four MOVEMENTS make our original symphony “Agartha.”

Directed by Jason Whalen & Chris Zuker

In October 2018, a once in a lifetime project was completed in the McCormick Wilderness Area, deep within the Michigamme Highlands in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The Nature Conservancy and the US Forest Service teamed up to tackle a trail rehab project in an inaccessible part of the wilderness. A team of Forest Service employees and their string of pack mules came to the rescue to make this project possible.

Directed by David Freid

They say that when you’re hit by the polar bug, you never leave. Don’t say we didn’t warn you. Nobody dies in Longyearbyen, or so goes the rumor. We went to the northernmost city in the world to find out why and stumbled into the first act of a science fiction flick about something deadly, long buried in the permafrost.

Directed by Shawn Malone

A northern Michigan celestial dark sky exposition from renowned night sky photographer Shawn Malone of Lake Superior Photo.

Directed by Ali Rogers

With over 75,000 feet of elevation change, unpredictable weather, and endless wilderness, Minnesota’s North Shore is a treasured terrain for ultra runners of all kinds, but especially those who seek to reunite with the wild. This film reminds us what we’re made of and what we’re made for. We’re wired for the wilderness and we’re wired to overcome challenge; to continually come home to the powerful nature within.

Directed by

In June of 2011, The Okee Dokee Brothers canoed the Mississippi River from St. Paul, MN to St. Louis, MO. During their month-long journey down the river, they camped, paddled, and composed the songs that make up the GRAMMY Award-winning album, Can You Canoe?. This 40-minute movie details their adventure with interviews, music videos, and other shenanigans set along the Mississippi River.

Directed by Andrew Chesworth & Bobby Pontillas

An ambitious young girl aspires to become an astronaut with the support of her humble father.

Directed by Eric Ebner & Aaron Ebner

Julio Hancco is a guardian of biodiversity, critical to the survival of humanity. He represents a people, a culture, and way of life that is being lost to modernization. Will their culture survive? Or will it all be lost with the last Potato King?

Directed by Liam Kaiser

Trail Building is a art in itself. Palmer Woods follows trail Builder Matt Belic as he creates new paths in Leelanau, Michigan.

Directed by Liam Kaiser

Papa Jacks Cottage is a short story documenting the eroding shoreline on Lake Michigan and it’s affect it has on the landscape . The films conception and narration was sparked from a friendly voicemail from Papa Jack to his grandson Liam about the rising waters around his cottage. This short but sweet story serves as a monument to places we hold dear to our hearts.

Directed by Heart of the Lakes

Michigan has a wealth of tourism each year that utilizes our lakes and rivers – leveraging the outdoor recreation businesses that facilitate us with the gear to enjoy a day on the lake has the undeniable potential to increase Michigan’s economic impact. However, with an increase of footprints in the sand, means coastal conservation is essential in keeping our water clean and accessible. Many of Michigan’s outdoor lifestyle brands and businesses have already made this connection and advocate for coastal conservation.

Directed by Jack Cronin

With a perspective at once granular and cosmic, this gorgeously shot, immersive tone poem cpatures the ebb and flow of seasons along Michigan’s Upper Peninsula lakeshore.

Directed by Finn Ryan

In 1971, A.B. LeBlanc set a gill net in Pendills Bay on Lake Superior. The Michigan DNR arrested LeBlanc and he was later convicted of fishing commercially without a license and for fishing with an illegal device. This story highlights the treaty challenge and struggle for the Bay Mills Ojibwe community to maintain their identity through treaty reserved rights asserted in the signing of the 1836 treaty with the United States.

Directed by Darren Durlach & David Larson

“I like the tuba because it reminds me of my life, it’s the underdog.” That’s Richard Antoine White, whose biography reads like a manual in how to overcome odds. White grew up intermittently homeless on the streets of Baltimore, and went on to become a world-class symphony musician, professor and the first African American in the world to receive a Doctorate in Music for Tuba Performance. He’s got music in him, yes. But he’s also got a drive rarely seen, even in the most competitive artistic circles. As he puts it, “the only thing that will stop me from being successful is death.”

Directed by Justin Clifton

Garret Eaton just doesn’t fit into a box. Which makes him a great subject for a short film. Especially for a filmmaker like Justin Clifton, who has a natural empathy for everyday heroes like Garrett and who knows how to let people – and places – tell their stories through his lens. The result: In the space of mere minutes we get to not only meet a man worth knowing but to become fully vested in his rich story.

Directed by Colin Arisman & Connor Gallagher

“Rock-Paper-Fish” takes audiences deep into the rainforest of Southeast Alaska where life is inseparable from the age-old rhythms of the Chilkat River. Every year, all five species of salmon return to the Chilkat, drawing the world’s largest gathering of bald eagles, insatiable grizzly bears, and fascinated tourists. The salmon also define life for two communities: The ancient Tlingit village of Klukwan, and a scrappy commercial fishing town, Haines.

Directed by Morgan Heim & Jenny Nichols

Discover the daily work, hope, and perspective of one professional female tree-planter in Oregon — from an early start with coffee, through planting countless saplings in the Willamette River Valley with her team, Ash Creek Forest Management. A new analysis says forests are shrinking on state and private land in Oregon, where an estimated 522,000 acres of forest cover have disappeared since 2000. This project was conceived and funded by reforestation nonprofit One Tree Planted.

Directed by Heart of the Lakes

Sarah and Liz are Dogsledding guides for Nature’s Kennel Sled Dog Racing and Adventures. Moving to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula from San Francisco and Chicago, they consumed some amazing experiences — but these adventures in the snow-covered U.P. are threatened by climate change.

Directed by Dana Saint

Traveling with a baby is an interesting thing. They add all sorts of challenges to any trip . Long flights, strollers, nap schedules, and car seats all seem to pile up and complicate what is supposed to be a relaxing vacation. Sometimes, you may even find yourself wondering…is all this effort worth it for a baby who won’t even remember the trip? All these experiences and memories will eventually disappear, like a fading dream. So is it worth it?

Directed by Aaron Peterson

Meet the time-tested crew of blue collar trailblazers handcrafting a twisting, turning maze of old school singletrack through the iron-rich dirt of Negaunee and Ishpeming, Michigan.

Directed by Chris Burkard & Renan Ozturk

Sometimes the greatest risk is to not follow your passion. Part pilot, part artist, this is the story of Chris Dahl-Bredine who built an experimental aircraft in his garage to help immerse himself in the landscapes he loves. For Chris the ‘ultralight trike’ isn’t just a tool for exploration, it’s a way of filtering a complicated world. Through his camera Chris has been able to bring us visions of earth seldom seen by way of aircraft or helicopter.

Directed by Audun Fjeldheim & Sindre Kinnerød

British artist Simon Beck walks with purpose through the snow, counting his paces and humming a tune. But Beck isn’t en rout to a typical winter adventure: Using snowshoes and a ski pole, he’s meticulously stomping elaborate geometric patterns in the pristine white of Norway’s mountain meadows.

Directed by Candide Thovex

Ski innovator Candide Thovex has been busy searching the globe for gorgeous, otherworldly, and undiscovered places to shred. If you assume that means wintry wonderlands, you’re mistaken.

Directed by Andrew Morgan & Nick Nummerdor

The year was 1977 and the custom van craze was at full-tilt-boogie. At the center of everything was a van club called Midwest Vans Ltd. Armed with scrap wood, nails, and hammers they set about building a ramshackle resort town around a small pond they christened “Sleeze Lake”. They expected a decent crowd and a good time, but when over 6000 vans and upwards of 20,000 people showed up, that’s when the shi*t hit the fan. Sleeze Lake is the story of the greatest party you’ve never heard of!

Directed by David Ruck

In 2006, hypoxic water entered the water intake at Cleveland Water, turning the water supply yellow for its millions of customers. What happened and why? And what can technology do to help us prevent a crisis like this in the future?

Directed by Henna Taylor

Experience fear and emotion alongside climber Jenny Abegg as she ascends a route while fighting the self-criticism and doubt from that little voice we all have in the back of our heads.

Directed by Torrin Grange

Lake Superior acts as an inland ocean harboring steelhead and salmon, springtime brings a short window in which they occupy pursuable areas for anglers. Record snow in the Upper Peninsula provides a prolonged run and high water as the Peninsula Pursuit team spends every minute possible chasing these illusive creatures. Superior Steel 1 was the beginning of what will be a lifetime pursuit of chasing steelhead on “Gitchi Gumi” (Lake Superior).

Directed by John Rodosky

Surf photographer Ben Thouard spends his days underwater, floating on blue-green Tahitian waves. In a quest to find an original angle for ocean photography, he waits on a weather window for perfect conditions that happen just a few times a year. Sometimes it’s a lot of preparation for nothing. But occasionally, a rare compression of waves on the reef offer a fleeting window to a new and crystal-clear perspective of the place where sea becomes surface.

Directed by Bobby & Maura Marko

Maura and Bobby Marko are impassioned outdoor explorers. After becoming parents they knew that passing on a love and respect for the wilderness would be a major priority for their family. The family attempted a bold traverse of the Arrowhead of Minnesota traveling from the Mississippi River to Lake Superior by bicycle, canoe, and foot; all with their 3-year-old son and 9-month-old daughter along for the adventure.

Directed by John Chester

The Biggest Little Farm chronicles the eight-year quest of John and Molly Chester as they trade city living for 200 acres of barren farmland and a dream to harvest in harmony with nature. Through dogged perseverance and embracing the opportunity provided by nature’s conflicts, the Chesters unlock and uncover a biodiverse design for living that exists far beyond their farm, its seasons, and our wildest imagination. Featuring breathtaking cinematography, captivating animals, and an urgent message to heed Mother Nature’s call, The Biggest Little Farm provides us all a vital blueprint for better living and a healthier planet.

Directed by Jacob Dimiters

This documentary features the difficult and time-consuming process of making a traditional expanded dugout canoe using mostly traditional hand tools and techniques. The woodworker is Rihards Vidzickis, an experienced green woodworker, wood sculptor and dugout canoe maker. Rihards’ passion for green wood and solid wood creations has only grown since his childhood days.

Directed by Nick & Chris Loud of The Boardman Review

This film, by The Boardman Review, details an exciting new project by the non-profit Leelanau Conservancy and tells the story of building sustainable mountain bike trails at the Palmer Woods Forest Reserve in Leelanau County, Michigan.

Directed by Joe Reynolds

This short documentary functions as a video portrait of the Prahl family and their management of the Burger Bus. The community engagement that the business has with Marquette exhibits the deep relationship they have with their customers.

Directed by Jake Youngman

A Superior Island is a personal travel documentary with stunning nature cinematography sequences that tells the story of when two diabetics set off to the Upper Peninsula into the remote wilderness of Isle Royale National Park, with five pounds of medical supplies, eleven pounds of food, and twenty two pounds of camera gear.

Directed by Frederick Dakota

Three individuals reflect on the negative impacts The Dawes Act had, and continues to have, on the lives and communities of Native Americans.

Directed by Frederick Dakota, Assistant Director: Mark Holmgren

A documentary capturing the unique coffee culture and roasting practices that have grown in Marquette, Michigan.

Directed by Danny Schmidt & Eric Bendick

Amidst the backdrop of massive development and population growth, three friends embark on a journey through the Everglades Headwaters in Florida to survey a fragile wilderness corridor before it disappears forever.

Directed by Lynne Cherry & Peter Rhodes

Nine-year-old Milo expresses his concern about the millions of straws that pollute waterways, waste fossil fuel, and harm ocean creatures. He convinces restaurants to “be-straw-free”, addresses Congress, and is championed by international media. His campaign has now been adopted by many environmental groups. In the end, three Cape Cod girls suggest that you, “take the pledge to skip the straw!”

Directed by William DeSena

This is a film about Gevin Fax, the oldest member of the women motorcycle collective, The Litas. Growing up in Los Angeles as an African American lesbian in the 1960s, Gevin found that the world wasn’t always forgiving. She started riding dirt bikes at the age of twelve which distanced her even further from the other kids. Though it was because of her love for riding that gifted her peace of mind; it was her meditation, her medicine, her way to escape all of the other noise. Now, because of The Litas, she shares her love for the road with thousands of women all over the world.

Directed by Allison Otto & Maria Clinton

Over the course of 60 years, Lois and Charlie O’Brien traveled to more than 67 countries and quietly amassed the world’s largest private collection of insects — their trove counts more than one million specimens. And now, after decades of teaching, writing, research and the development of an almost-parental bond with their collection, these two soulmates have decided to give all their insects away. This humorous and poignant documentary explores the nature of love and the love of nature, and what it means to devote oneself completely to both.

Directed by Fitz Cahall

Born with half his brain, 7-year-old Finn Sheets lives with cerebral palsy. He’ll never walk or talk without assistance, and, his dad Ethan explains, has every reason to hate the body he’s been given. Instead, he’s a joyous child who comes alive when he’s outside. “I don’t know what it is, but there’s something about it that awakens his soul,” Ethan says. So dad does whatever it takes to get him outside. Finn, in return, teaches the entire family incredible lessons about the true definition of happiness.

Directed by Audrey Buchanan

In the short film, The Mystery of Now, artist and Apache Skateboards founder, Douglas Miles shares socio-political context around the history that lead to life on the San Carlos Apache reservation, and the personal history of how and why he started a skateboard brand and team of local youth leaders. His advice on cultivating resilience, creativity, and joy, provides guidance in a time that for many feels uncertain, polarizing and divisive in our living rooms and around our dinner tables.

Directed by Nathan Dappen

In 1974, my 20-year-old parents and uncle Andy built their own canoes, launched them into the Pacific, and became some the first people in modern history to canoe from Washington to Alaska up the Inside Passage. My brother and I grew up paddling those wooden canoes in the Virginia rivers and the 1974 adventure became legend in our family – shaping who we’ve become, how we view our parents, and how our parents view themselves. In the summer of 2017, we renovated those canoes and with our aging parents completed their 1974 journey. The Passage is a story about growing up, growing old, and the wild places that define us.

Directed by Sophie Danison & Hilary Byrne

Through individual experiences living in tourism-driven mountain communities, The Quiet Force explores social and economic impacts of the Latino immigrant workforce relating to the current national immigration policies.

Directed by Frederik Wolff

‘The Race’ is a portrait of 13 year-old Nick, who’s stepping into the sport of dog sledding for the very first time. His story is joined by 72 year-old race legend Ville Siegstad, whose life has inspired many young sled dog mushers.

Directed by David Freid

For many years, this river’s ownership was under dispute. Now, it owns itself. In what is believed to be a world’s first, the Whanganui River’s been granted legal personhood, with the same rights and responsibilities as you and me. But determining where a river ends and the rest of nature begins — that may be up for some debate.

Directed by Hugo Clouzeau

Six kayakers. 400 kilometers. A 17-day self-supported trip down the Apurimac River. In 1975, Calvin Giddings led a group of paddlers down the first descent of Peru’s Abismo de Apurimac. Thanks to their commitment to complete the first descent of the Apurimac’s main whitewater section, the We Are Hungry (WAH) crew can confidently enter this box canyon. Always on the hunt for stout whitewater in remote reaches of the world, this group of French kayakers is known for asking Why. Why are we out here? What are we doing here?

Directed by Ethan Sperber

Four friends attempt to summit the Grand Teton in 2018, unprepared, they end up climbing themselves inches from death. Attempting to personally reflect on the incident, the simple question “why do I rock climb?” is harder to answer than it once seemed. After setting out on another trip west to try finding an honest answer, it is revealed that the rock provides much more than just an adrenaline rush.

Directed by gnarly bay

Rhode Island artist Tom Deininger shares his perspectives on some big themes and how his anxieties and fears about human consumption and plastic waste create the foundation of his medium for artistic expression. His art has so many layers of social commentary and this film explores the depths of these microcosmic hot-glued havens of hedonism in order to confront this perverse plastic waste challenge that humanity – us included – needs to stop ignoring.

Directed by Charles Poekel

A look at pioneering soap-bubble entertainer Tom Noddy.

Directed by Laurie Little & Justin Jones

Photographer Richard Bellia travels from France to the U.S. to photograph the 2017 eclipse from the Illinois countryside. This short film reflects on the creation of images and the passion that drives their making.

Directed by Danny Copeland, Jaclyn Aliperti, J.P. Lawrence, Tanya Martinez

Discover a novel way of studying elusive carnivores…using snow! Join two scientists – Jessie and Tommy – as they re-purpose an old technique in a way that not only revolutionizes how we study threatened species and manage our landscapes, but also highlights the importance of collaboration in conservation.

Directed by Chrisann Hessing

Joshua DePerry, also known as Classic Roots, is a Toronto based music producer and performer pioneering “PowWow Techno.” Redefining what it means to be urban and Indigenous, he prepares to start the next chapter of his life as an artist and educator in the world’s techno capital: Berlin.

Directed by Sara Litzenberger

Sometimes going unseen is a choice–and sometimes, it’s a matter of saving face.

Directed by Ignasi López Fàbregas

Marcel and Andrezj are a legendary pair of mountaineers. They have been the first ones to conquer the highest and hardest peaks. Despite their different temperaments, they make a great team. Marcel has taken the lead and popularity, whereas Andrezj always plays a secondary role. Now they face the biggest challenge: reaching the virgin summit of the highest mountain. In order to achieve this, they will have to overcome formidable obstacles, suffer hardships and stand each other for a long time. But Andrezj is no longer willing to continue in Marcel’s shadow.

Directed by Chris Zuker & Jason Whalen

The frozen trails in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula look different every year. We’ll never get tired of exploring them.

Directed by Morgan Maassen

A gorgeous ode to the serenity and movement, the power and moods of the sea. Let it (wink) wash over you.

Directed by Christopher Bramley

When I Look Back follows four women mountain bikers ripping around Moab, Utah. But this is not your typical adrenaline-fueled adventure film. Both lighthearted and contemplative, it’s a glimpse into a tight-knit group of friends doing what they love and picking each other up when they fall down. Looking back on their lives, this is what they will remember.

Directed by Krystle Wright

An ode to the athlete who relishes in getting dirty, who chuckles after a long day in the mountains, effortlessly glides through the crystal clear waves and most importantly, is unapologetic in pursuing their love of getting rowdy in adventures. Director Krystle Wright brings this next installment since the wild things never stopped playing.

Directed by Aly Nicklas

Wild Inheritance, the second episode of Born Wild, follows a recently widowed grandma leading three generations of family into Wyoming’s Wind River Mountain backcountry. The Vermilye-Phillips clan has been coming here for nearly half a century to fly fish, backcountry ski, rock climb, remember old stories, and create new ones. This trip, equal parts reunion and memorial for the family patriarch that first brought them to these mountains, carries the added weight of ashes. Through the imperceptible tutelage of time and wilderness, with his grandfather as invisible guide, our 12-year old narrator, Walid, discovers the true reason his family will always return to this granite temple.

Directed by Ben Masters

This film takes us into the heart of Big Bend, the last true Texas wilderness, to consider what effects building a border wall might have on wildlife dispersal, migratory corridors, and access to the Rio Grande, the only water source in a harsh desert environment.

Directed by Grant Piering

A simple and savory reminder of our wild places, why they deserve more of our attention, protection and love, and what’s at risk if we lose them.