Mountainfilm on Tour Savannah is scheduled for January 23-26, 2018, and will screen over thirty films throughout the four-day festival. The mission of Mountainfilm on Tour Savannah is to educate and inspire local audiences to create a better world through the power of film. Mountainfilm on Tour Savannah is a partner of Telluride-based, Mountainfilm.
The festival kicks off on Wednesday, January 23rd, with Mountainfilm for Students: Movies that Matter, an education program that serves over four thousand students from Savannah Chatham County Public Schools, Effingham County Schools and local private schools. On-site screenings are scheduled for Jenkins High School and Woodville-Tompkins High School on Wednesday; the program continues on Thursday and Friday at Trustees Theater and Lucas Theatre.
Evening programs begin on Thursday, January 24th, at 7:00 p.m., at Trustees Theater, with the screening of Satan & Adam, a feature-length film by award-winning director, V. Scott Balcerek. The film chronicles the unlikely pairing of legendary one-man-band Sterling “Mr. Satan” Magee and harmonica master, Adam Gussow. Shot over 20 years, the film showcases one of the greatest blues duos you probably never got a chance to see. Magee and Gussow came together on the streets of Harlem in the 1980s, a time when race relations in New York City were at an all-time low. From completely different worlds, these two musicians forged a lifelong relationship that showcases the unifying power of music. Director Balcerek joins the audience for a Q & A session immediately following the film and Adam Gussow and his band, The Blues Doctors, are set to perform at the festival wrap party at 45 Bistro on Saturday night.
A documentary short, The Mirnavator, also screens on Thursday night, and film guest Mirna Valerio, will
answer questions after her film.
Friday and Saturday nights feature documentary short films, including Loved by All: The Story of Apa Sherpa, Surf the Line, Lifeboat, RJ Ripper and A New View of the Moon– in addition to many more inspiring and adventure-seeking films. Max Lowe, the director of documentary Sky Migrations, will participate in a Q & A session after his film, which captures the seasonal migration of raptors from British Columbia to Argentina. Ecologist Charles Post joins them for part of their journey south through the rugged sagebrush-covered canyons of Nevada’s Goshute and New Mexico’s Manzano mountains.
Workers with Hawkwatch International have been counting, measuring, banding and marveling at Cooper’s hawks, red-tailed hawks and golden eagles for the last 30 years. The birds’ fierce eyes and powerful wingspans indicate they, as well as the animals they prey on, are doing well. But for conservation to succeed, there must be a global effort. It takes the entire Western Hemisphere to raise a hawk.
Pasang Lhamu Sherpa Akita joins the audience at Trustees Theater on Saturday night to discuss her film, Mothered by Mountains. As Nepal’s leading female mountain guide, she has been on top of the tallest peaks on earth. When she teams up with an unlikely partner—local punk-rock icon, Sareena Rai—to make a first ascent, they both find that the paths to the greatest summits lie within.
An exhibit featuring artist Cira Crowell, a photographer who travels with Pasang Lhamu Sherpa Akita, is open to the public at the former Southern Motors Acura building at 402 East Broughton Street during the festival. Exhibit hours are from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 24th and 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 26th.
Film screenings are at Trustees Theater, 216 East Broughton Street, each evening at 7:00 p.m. On Saturday, a family matinee is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. at Trustees Theater. Other festival events include Coffee and Conversation, a casual gathering with visiting filmmakers and film personalities at The Marshall House, 123 East Broughton Street, on Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m., and an organized bike ride/walk through historic Savannah, in conjunction with the Savannah Bicycle Campaign, leaving from The Marshall House at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, and ending in Forsyth Park.
Tickets to all film screenings can be purchased at the Savannah Box Office www.savannahboxoffice.com Admission to Coffee and Conversation and the bike ride is free with an evening ticket stub. For more information about festival events and tickets, visit www.mountainfilmsav.org.
