Great things this week in the world of New Mexico Film Festivals - Here some news from the folks at the Taos Mountain Film Festival. Awesome event. (For a calendar of New Mexico Film Festivals, click here.)
The 8th Annual Taos Mountain Film Festival, the festival for mountaineers, mountain lovers and mountain characters, will feature films, guests and slideshows from the Tibetan Plateau, the planet’s most spectacular terrain known as the Roof of the World. This region has been shrouded in mystery and myth for millennia. For centuries it was closed to foreigners and the recent opening has, of course, been tainted by oppression and violence.
The festival will show a wide array of documentaries covering the history, culture and topography of the high plateau, which extends beyond Tibet itself into still comparatively unvisited lands such as Ladakh, Mustang and Western China. Selected films include the 1964 BBC classic Raid into Tibet, which follows a force of Tibetan resistance fighters making an incursion across the border to battle the occupying Chinese forces; The Fate of the Lhapas documents the attempts of the Tibetan shamans to preserve their old ways in exile; other films feature the teachings of the Dalai Lama, and a pilgrimage to the sacred mountain of Kailash.
This year’s guest artists include:
DAVE HAHN
Ten times to 29,035, the highest point in the planet, is an accomplishment for any climber. Not content with this achievement Dave Hahn challenged himself to hold his nerve on one of the steepest continuous walls in the world, the Pacific Ocean Wall on El Capitan. Dave will show some fabulous photos of his harrowing ascent.
JON BOWERMASTER
An accomplished sea kayaker, Jon Bowermaster, makes wonderful films of his adventures for National Geographic. He will present two films from his acclaimed Oceans 8 series, Antarctica and descending the Dragon.
SIR CHRIS BONINGTON
One of the best-known mountaineers in the world, Sir Chris Bonington, has agreed to join the Taos Mountain Film Festival Board. His ascents of the South West Face of Everest, The Ogre and many other notable climbs in the world’s great ranges has made him a household name. He will bring enormous status to the festival.
The Taos Mountain Film Festival runs from October 9th through 12th. The festival program is available on line at www.mountainfilm.net. Passes and information are available online . For more information on the festival, contact Jonathan Slator at js@mountainfilm.net.
Here's the Video Trailer!
