, the Memorial Day festival at Telluride听that鈥檚 been running since 1979, is a glut of movies, conversations, parties, and more. This year鈥檚 theme is equity, so many of the films, daily coffee talks, and lectures will touch on topics like racism in land-use policy听and equality in mountaineering. The mix of activities can be overwhelming, so we鈥檝e decided to give you a schedule to maximize your time here over the long weekend. If you鈥檙e not going to the festival, keep an eye on all of these films and names, because they鈥檙e on the leading edge of the film-festival circuit.
Friday
9:30 A.M. Wild Shorts
Ease into festival life with a batch of short films about people鈥檚 relationships with wild animals, including the world premiere of , which shows what Arizona State Prison鈥檚 Wild Horse Inmate Program does for the animals and the inmates.
1:30 P.M. 鈥榃hen I Look Back,鈥 鈥楩eel of Vision,鈥 鈥楢scending Afghanistan鈥
These three films show how action sports can bridge different communities, from Afghanistan鈥檚 first female mountaineers to a kayaker who lost his eyesight. Plus the premiere of听,听a subtly beautiful film about mountain-biking connections听through a group of friends.
3:30 P.M. Gallery Walk
Scope and Anna Brones鈥檚 interactive exhibit 鈥淚n Our Hands,鈥 which is about the ripple effect of actions. Then听look at听鈥檚 starkly beautiful ski photos, and check out 鈥檚 images, which听crosshatch modern street art and traditional Apache art鈥攁s he says, 鈥渇using the traumas of the past, the resilience of the present, and the hope of the future.鈥
6 P.M. Hilaree Nelson and Jim Morrison
Nelson, a 2018 National Geographic 国产吃瓜黑料r of the Year and all-around mountain badass, and her partner, Morrison, will discuss their past few years of pioneering ski adventures, including a first ski descent of Lhotse. It鈥檚 followed by a showing of ,听which follows听Conrad Anker, Alex Honnold, and Jimmy Chin on a听trip to Antarctica.
8:45 P.M. 鈥楲ife of Pie,鈥 鈥The Weight of Water鈥
We鈥檝e written about these films before, both of听which just won awards at the 5Point Film Festival, but here鈥檚 another reminder that they are听very worth your time. The joyful, funny, slightly subversive 听introduces us to the gay couple who听run听the Hot Tomato pizza place in the mountain-bike mecca of Fruita, Colorado.听The Weight of Water听follows two blind kayakers on an intense journey through the Grand Canyon.
Saturday
8 A.M. Coffee Talks
Take your pick of panels on various听modern-day subjects,听ranging from justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in the outdoors to the problems with charity work in Nepal.
9 A.M. 国产吃瓜黑料 Shorts
Adrenaline eye candy with some intellectual bite, from a film about finding climbing in Memphis, Tennessee, to one about ultrarunner Rob Krar鈥檚 ongoing battle with depression鈥攁nd how he uses running as听a coping method.
12 P.M. Doug Peacock and 鈥楪rizzly Country鈥
Peacock would be fascinating if he were just the inspiration for Ed Abbey鈥檚 monkeywrenching Hayduke, but he鈥檚 also a longtime grizzly-bear chronicler and advocate, as well as a hardcore conservationist. He鈥檒l speak听and show the film ,听which is about his transition from a听Green Beret in Vietnam to a bear lover the wilds of northern Montana.
2 P.M. Ice Cream Social听or a Run/Ride
Whatever gets your sitting-in-a-theater-all-day ya-yas out.
3:30 P.M. 鈥楰ing of the Manhattan Lap,鈥櫶楩inding Home in Boomtown鈥
We love a good boondoggle urban adventure, and ,听which chronicles Kenny Unser鈥檚 kayak laps around the city, is just that. It鈥檚 paired with ,听about John-Mark Echols, who built a tiny home village for chronically homeless folks in the boom-and-bust town of Midland, Texas.
5听P.M. Happy Hour and a Half
Probably time for a beverage, huh?
6:30 P.M.听鈥Spectre Expedition,鈥 鈥業ce and Palms,鈥 鈥楽urface鈥
Here鈥檚 your dose of nail-biting adventures. Go to the most remote mountain on earth in the U.S. premiere of ,听bikepack looking for ski lines in ,听and try to find the perfect compression of waves, weather, and views in .
9 P.M. 鈥楢kuna,鈥 鈥楩ire on the Hill鈥
These two films touch on who has access to the outdoor space and why. Will Robinson, whose trail name听is , got on the Appalachian Trail to fight PTSD, and the urban cowboys of Compton, California,听break down of the wild West.
Sunday
8 A.M. Coffee Talks
Again, a plethora of options, but we would probably hit the Native Voices in Conservation听session, where some of the most interesting people working in land management and conservation will talk about why it鈥檚 important to bring in Native perspective.
9:15 A.M.听鈥The River and the Wall,鈥 鈥榃ave Hands Like Clouds鈥
The River and the Wall听is an incredibly well-balanced look at what a wall would do to the ecosystem and culture of the U.S.-Mexico border, and 听gets into the physical and听emotional balance of highlining.
12:30 P.M. 鈥楪rit,鈥 鈥楨arth on Fire鈥
Two films that take a beautiful look at the toll, human and otherwise, of large-scale natural disasters.
3:15 P.M. 鈥楤onington: Mountaineer鈥
Pioneering British mountaineer Sir Chris Bonnington will be on hand for the U.S. premiere of the that catalogs his climbs, and he鈥檒l听tell stories about first ascents in the Alps and Himalayas during the wild-man days of the sixties听and seventies.
6 P.M. Adrenaline Program
Shorties about and by some of the most impressive adrenaline junkies out there, including grown-up wunderkind kayaker Dane Jackson, potentially crazy mountain biker Casey Brown, and always beloved clown Shane McConkey.
9 P.M. 鈥楢rtifishal,鈥 鈥楬unting the Helmeted Hornbill鈥
Two stories about the drive to conserve endangered species. Both ask tricky questions about why we get attached to species, how we can protect them, and what we stand to lose if they disappear.