Mountains of Color Film Festival

Mountains of Color Film Fest showcases outdoor films about or created by BIPOC+ (Black, Indigenous, People of Color). The festival is a place to share, learn and celebrate stories that are not typically featured in mainstream mountain town culture. 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. This film festival will be the first of its kind as there are currently no outdoor film festivals like it.

·      5:30 pm doors open  

·      6:30 pm films + panel

·      7:45 pm intermission

·      8:00 films + panel

In partnership with Bronco Wild Fund, Trout Unlimited, Coombs Outdoors, Orvis, Bank of Jackson Hole, Protect Our Winters, Stio, Deuter, High Country Outfitters, Flylords, and Ford Bronco

Format: 60 minutes of short films, 30-minute Q&A with filmmakers of color/film subjects

Film lineup:
(subject to change):

Wading for Change (fly fishing) - 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. Trailer.

The Blackcountry Journal (skiing) - 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) - A look into the Black perspective in the outdoors told through a variety of sports. Unreleased. Will be playing the director's short cut of this.

Practicing Freedom (mountain biking) - 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) - 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.

Sonadora Film (running/skiing) - 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) - Humans have long relied on nature as a source of comfort, and for fly fisher and chef Ranga Perera, the outdoors have been essential to healing from loss. After moving with his parents to the U.S. from Sri Lanka, Ranga lost his father to an unexpected 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 living life with an open heart.

Charlie (fly fishing) - ‘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): In this series, Flylords had the chance to partner with Buff to highlight some outstanding members of the fly-angling community who are taking action to drive change in their communities and the world. From deep behind the battle lines of conservation, Dr. Rene Henery of Trout Unlimited invites us to consider what it is that divides us and how we can come together; Rene’s work to rediscover our “belonging” recasts both the challenge and the opportunity of conservation as primarily one of personal healing and reconciliation among people.