FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: September 22, 2024
Contact: Shira Dubrovner at (760) 965-9358 or [email protected]
 

 5^TH ANNUAL EASTERN SIERRA MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES LIST OF FEATURE SCREENINGS

Mammoth Lakes, CA –Shira Dubrovner Artistic Director of Mammoth Lakes Repertory Theatre and Eastern Sierra Arts Alliance announced the films to be screened at the four-day Eastern Sierra Mountain Film Festival running from October 2 to 5^th. All screenings take place at 7:00 in the evening at the U.S. Forest Service Auditorium, 2510  Main Street, Mammoth Lakes. Tickets to the event are free with a suggested donation of $12 per evening. Trailers and additional information are available at www.easternsierraarts.org/esmff

The Festival was created when Dubrovner who also produces the Mammoth Lakes Film Festival (MLFF) which is a spring festival that focuses on independent filmmakers and includes documentaries and narrative films. Because of our location, they were seeing a high percentage of environmental and mountain culture focused  films. While MLFF does try to program some of those films, Dubrovner felt the need to create another platform specially for those storytellers. “Even though they did not make it into the MLFF they deserved to be seen and celebrated. That is how the Eastern Sierra Mountain Film Festival was born. We need some of these stories to be heard now more than ever, given what is happening in our world today,” Dubrovner stated.

The Festival opens Wednesday, October 2 with a screening of ASHIMA, directed by Kenji Tsukamoto. The film shares a year in the life of 13-year-old elite rock climber Ashima Shiraishi as she balances fame, career, and trying to be a regular kid.

Thursday evening focuses on “Craggin’ films” screening a full-length feature and two intense shorts.  The feature is YAMNUSKA: THE RAGGED EDGE, directed by John Price. The subjects are modern-day adventurers Vikki Weldon and Quentin Roberts as they embark on a climbing journey through time, celebrating the rich history of one of Canada’s most iconic cliffs, Mount Yamnuska. The evening includes the short JAMROCK: The Birth of Jamaican Rock Climbing, directed by Gareth Leah and IAN, directed by Matt Raimondo. “JAMROCK” follows the remarkable journey of Kai Lightner, a 12-time national climbing champion and the visionary founder of “Climb for Change.” The film delves into the heart of Jamaica’s emerging climbing community, where passion and determination thrive despite limited resources and recognition in a sport historically dominated by white individuals.

“IAN” is a short cinematic portrayal of the incredible 72-year-old Australian rock climber Ian Elliott. Defying age stereotypes, Ian’s technical skills, strength, and endurance shatter societal norms and highlight the extraordinary potential of older athletes.

Friday evening focuses on Environmental films and includes three noteworthy stories. CHASING TIME, directed by Sarah Keo & Jeff Orlowski-Yang tells of James Balog, who brought some of the first and most striking visual evidence of our changing planet to the fore through the groundbreaking study of melting glaciers, as he returns to Iceland to close the last chapter of his life’s work. It is followed by A FIGHTING CHANCE, directed by Rob McAllister. The Klamath Basin on the California-Oregon border has historically been home to a vast array of interconnected wetlands. These wetlands have long provided vital benefits for wildlife and people. Over time these wetlands have almost entirely been lost through damming and draining. “A Fighting Chance” answers key questions about why conserving and restoring wetlands is so important, what we can learn from the birds that depend on them, and how local communities can be part of the conservation solution. The final film that evening is TO SEE THE SKY, directed Kyle Dudgeon. Considered to be the largest flying bird on Earth, the Andean condor rarely flaps its wings, meaning it relies on its knowledge of rising and falling air to navigate the vast landscape in which it resides. Sympson’s life work has attempted to understand this knowledge and how exactly it is acquired, while gathering decades of baseline information on the relatively unexplored species.

The Festival closes Saturday, October 5, with A GOOD WOLF, directed by Ramey Newell. The film examines a 40-year conflict over a single tract of land adjacent to Denali National Park — a volatile struggle between state and federal authorities, fur trappers and wildlife advocates and competing human interests on public lands. Hanging in the balance are some of America’s most iconic animals and wild places.

  

FACT SHEET:

WHO:             Eastern Sierra Arts Alliance

WHAT:           Eastern Sierra Mountain Film Festival

WHEN:           Wednesday, October 2 through Saturday, October 5th at 7 PM

WHERE:         U.S. Forest Service Theatre, 2510 Main Street, Mammoth Lakes

TICKETS:       Free – suggested donation of $12 each night

MORE INFO:  www.easternsierraarts.org/esmff