Mountainfilm on Tour: Inspiration on Wheels
In 2000, we launched Mountainfilm on Tour, thinking that the magic of the festival might travel well. Much like a circus or carnival, the original concept was to reach a broader audience by visiting communities around the world. We started with shows mostly in the American West, but the tour has expanded in its dozen years. Just last year, Mountainfilm on Tour visited China, Sierra Leone, Scotland, Brazil, Norway, Chile and Canada.
How does it work? Each traveling program is a customized, tailored in collaboration with the hosting organization. Our partners include first-rate theaters, such as the Wheeler Opera House in Aspen, Colorado, or The Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York City, but we also play at universities, secondary schools, civic and nonprofit organizations. Sometimes our host is simply an individual whose mind was blown by what he or she saw at the festival in Telluride and who believes that the inspiring stories of Mountainfilm would work well in his or her neighborhood.
Mountainfilm on Tour Director Henry Lystad relishes the audience reactions as he travels with the show, saying that he is “approached constantly by someone who feels they have been affected by something they saw that evening.” Just like the mother ship in Telluride, Colorado, Mountainfilm on Tour has inspired audience members to make a change. Some have organized plastic bag bans in their communities, while others have been moved by the skills of extreme athletes to get into the wild more often. After 18 months on the job, Lystad has come to appreciate the power of film to educate and inspire. “People learn from many different mediums in life, and I regularly hear that watching these films and interacting with the filmmakers we bring on tour truly impacts peoples’ lives,” he says.
In 2013, Mountainfilm will present roughly 125 programs somewhere on the globe. To find out if a show is coming your direction, check out the schedule. If Mountainfilm isn’t coming to a town near you, consider sharing it with your community by hosting a tour stop. It will be an unforgettable experience for you and your audience.
