Mountains of Color Film Festival

Mountains of Color Film Fest showcases outdoor films about or created by BIPOC+ (Black, Indigenous, People of Color, and LGTBQIA+). The festival is a place to share, learn and celebrate stories not typically featured in mainstream mountain town culture and outdoor media. The joy showcased through the stories of BIPOC+ people connecting with the mountains and the outdoors through fly fishing, mountain biking, skiing, running, and rafting is meant to inspire our community of Jackson Hole, WY to explore these connections for themselves and create a welcoming and inclusive culture for all.

Join us at the JH Center for the Arts on Monday, June 5th. Doors open at 5:30 pm so you can enjoy beverages, food by InSeason pizza truck, water and fish educational activities with Trout Unlimited, and a raffle that benefits TU and Coombs Outdoors. Each film set will feature a Q & A with panelists from our film lineup.

Schedule
5:30 pm doors open
6:30 pm films + panel
7:45 pm intermission
8:00 films + panel
9:00 pm end

Our sponsors and supporters:
Presenting sponsor: Bronco Wild Fund
Bank of Jackson Hole
Flylords
JD High Country Outfitters
Orvis Jackson Hole
Mountain Modern Motel
Protect Our Winters
Stio
Teton County Library
Town of Jackson
Raffle items: Black Diamond, Deuter, REI

Proceeds benefit:
Jackson Hole Trout Unlimited: Trout Unlimited's mission is to bring together diverse interests to care for and recover rivers and streams so our children can experience the joy of wild and native trout and salmon.
Coombs Outdoors: Coombs Outdoors empowers local youth to grow and thrive by reducing barriers to outdoor recreation through programs, mentorship, and community building.
The event proceeds will go towards supporting the costs of a Coombs Outdoors summer Empower intern to work with Trout Unlimited to inventory fish passage barriers on the Bridger-Teton National Forest.

Our lineup (subject to change):

Wading for Change (fly fishing, conservation)
Director: Sofía Jaramillo Co-Director: Jr Rodriguez
Runtime: 12 mins
Notes: Instagram
Trailer: Vimeo
For conservationist and angler Jr Rodriguez to become “like the pictures he saw in magazines,” he had to leave behind what he loved the most. By juxtaposing Jr’s origins in Houston, Texas, and his current home in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, we share his journey of learning to love the outdoors and what it can be like to participate in outdoor sports in Western mountain towns as a person of color. 

The Blackcountry Journal (skiing)
Director: Mallory Duncan / Patrick Elmore
Runtime: 9 mins
Notes: Instagram
A skier contemplates his connection to skiing and the mountains. As he hurries through the streets of LA, his path takes a turn after bumping into a jazz musician who helps him discover the correlation between jazz and skiing - an expression of art, skiing and black culture.

Black People Don't Do That (surfing)
Director: Kenny Hamlett
Produced by Brown Bag Productions
Runtime: 4 mins (cutdown version) 
Notes: Hamlett Creative
Trailer: YouTube
“I remember the first time I got out to surf with an all black crew and the impact it left on me for months to follow. I knew I had to share this feeling with others. We were able to just talk how we wanted without having to code switch. It was the most freeing experience I've had in the outdoors. To be black and outdoorsy. I think all of us in that moment had just a taste of what it must feel like being white and being in these outdoor spaces. We didn't have to think about what space we were taking up, we just got to be here.” This is Elijah’s story and his experiences as a black man who enjoys the outdoors. 

Practicing Freedom (mountain biking)
Director: Cheshire Li
Producers: Cheshire Li + Rachel Gottfied
Non-binary Director + Producer, Female Producer
Runtime: 4 mins
Practicing Freedom is a short documentary film centering queer folks and women of color as they navigate the challenges and joys of building an inclusive community, learning about themselves, and increasing representation in mountain biking.

Limitless (running)
Director: Sashwa Burrous
Camera Op & Audio: Timothy Real
Producer: Samatha Harmon
Runtime: 3 mins
Notes: The Coldwater Collective I Run for the Glory  
Carolyn Su is an experienced endurance runner who has completed marathons, half-marathons, and most recently, a multi-day trail race. Running became a source of empowerment, self-awareness, and growth for Su. But for much of her running career, she also contended with a lack of acceptance and inclusion for women of color in the running community. This short film tells the story of how Carolyn creates space for people of color to feel at home in the sport.

Soñadora (skiing, running)
Director: Jr Rodriguez
Executive Producer: Sofía Jaramillo
Writer: Vanessa Chavarriaga
Runtime: 7 mins
Notes: Instagram
As an immigrant, Vanessa Chavarriaga is used to existing between two worlds: that of where she was born, in Colombia, and where she lives now in the United States. “For years I existed in between things– American culture and Colombian culture. Español e inglés. Community and solitude. Reality and performance. I was unwanted.” This is her story of being split between two cultures while learning to thrive with her own unique identity, told through running, skiing, and poetry.

Attack & Release (fly fishing)
Director: Tom Attwater
Cinematographers: Lane Brown / Tom Attwater
Runtime: 15 mins
Presented By: Stio
For Stio Ambassador and chef Ranga Perera, the outdoors have been essential to healing from loss. After emigrating with his parents to the U.S. from Sri Lanka, Ranga lost his father to a heart attack. Coping with the loss eventually led him to Montana, where he was drawn to the magic of fly fishing and the solace of the river. Through being in nature and meeting the challenges of his personal journey, he learned the importance of mindfulness and of living life with an open heart. 

Charlie (fly fishing)
Director: Meris McHaney
Produced by : Chris Kitchen / KGB Productions
Runtime: 7 minutes
‘Charlie’ is the story of how fly fishing came to one family in Placencia, Belize and the pastime of guiding passed down from one generation to the next. This film tells the story of how small acts by the fly fishing luminaries of 50 years ago went on to influence the trajectory of one country’s relationship to its fishery and one family’s history on these coveted flats.

Anglers Driving Change: Rene Henery (fly fishing, conservation)
Produced by: Fly Lords / Buff
Runtime: 9 minutes
Notes: Trout Unlimited
Dr. Rene Henery is an expression of all that’s come before him, and all that will follow. By coming from an internal struggle of what it really means to be a member of a global community, Rene has dug deep into his own philosophies surrounding his environment to find inspiration to try to help the world come together. Alongside Trout Unlimited, Rene seeks to drive change by protecting the fragile waters of the PNW through information, education, and a shared love for all things wild.