Artifishal 2019
Narratives of ecologists and conservationists are pitted against the human tendency to engineer and control in this probing documentary on the lucrative salmon-hatchery industry.
Narratives of ecologists and conservationists are pitted against the human tendency to engineer and control in this probing documentary on the lucrative salmon-hatchery industry.
Mina Bakhshi, Haniya Tavasoli and Rabia Hussain had a fair amount of latitude for women in Afghanistan, able to pursue their education, go to work, and explore hobbies and interests. Joining Ascend, a nonprofit organization teaching leadership and rock climbing to women, gave them the chance to test their personal and cultural limits and explore the mountains of their home country. But when the Taliban took over in August 2021, Ascend became their one chance to escape a regime that would restrict their freedoms and future.
Climbing has always been more than just a sport. It’s provided a way of life and a makeshift family to misfits who share a calling. As the sport grapples with its growing popularity, the people who anchor its core and community have more responsibility than ever. This film tells the stories of five of these anchors, the Stone Locals who keep the soul of climbing and nurture it as the sport evolves.
As the effects of climate change become ever more apparent throughout the world, the Yup’ik people and their lands on the western outskirts of Alaska face a much more imminent threat. In the town of Newtok, years of rising temperatures have eroded the frozen foundation of the area. With their homes and way of life hanging in the balance, the town’s residents weigh the prospect of relocating the community or abandoning their traditional lands forever.
Quietly, patiently, trees endure. They are the oldest living beings we come to know during our time on earth, living bridges into our planet’s expansive past. Treeline is a film celebrating the forests on which our species has always depended—and around which some skiers and snowboarders etch their entire lives. Follow a group of snow-seekers, scientists and healers as they explore the birch forests of Japan, the redcedars of British Columbia and the bristlecones of Nevada, delving deeper into the rich environments they call home.
The Fitz Roy Traverse is one of the most sought after achievements in modern alpinism: a gnarly journey across seven jagged summits and 13,000 vertical feet of climbing. Who knew it could be so much fun? Join Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold on the inspiring -- and at times hilarious -- quest that earned the Piolet d'Or.
This powerful film odyssey across America explores the sea change in national attitude from pride in big dams as engineering wonders to the growing awareness that our own future is bound to the life and health of our rivers.
Mariana Mendoza and Miguel Casar are attracted to proud, challenging boulders and approach the sport with passion and dedication. At the same time, they believe that climbing hard is not the only thing that matters. As lifelong social justice advocates, they ask: How can we use climbing to cultivate joy and connection in our communities? Can climbing create opportunities for meaningful growth? How can we use climbing to shape the world we want to see?
The local people have worked the waters of the Sado Estuary Natural Reserve in Portugal for hundreds of years, coexisting with the dolphins, fish and shellfish, supported by the region’s rich seagrass meadows. The practice of bottom trawling, which bulldozes the ocean floor, has wiped out nearly one-third of the world's seagrass meadows. Raquel Gaspar, marine biologist, mother and cofounder of the Portuguese NGO Ocean Alive, is on a journey to protect and re-meadow Sado’s seagrass habitat. In Patagonia Films’ Madre Mar, Raquel partners with a group of local fisherwomen to restore this crucial piece of the ocean’s ecosystem–one that provides habitats for sea life and 10 percent of the carbon captured in the ocean. Learn more at patagonia.com/oceans.
Known as Mr. Pipeline for his calm demeanor in the tube, Gerry Lopez built his career with aggressive surfing that left behind a trail of blood and tears. He is one of the most influential surfers and surfboard shapers of all time, an entrepreneur, a family man, a movie star, and a lifelong yogi who brought surfing to new frontiers. For the first time, the story of this enigmatic hero is being told in full.
Communities for a Better Environment does critical work on environmental justice and empowers Californian communities to stand up to polluting industries and build a green energy future. This short film highlights the hope and tenacity of the young activists of Wilmington, California as they push the Los Angeles City Council to prohibit new and existing oil and gas drilling operations within 2,500 feet of homes, schools, and hospitals.
Rotpunkt documents the advent, the agony and the art of the redpoint through Alex Megos’s efforts to redefine the boundaries of the form. The film traces the redpoint—which transformed rock climbing from an engineering problem into a brilliant test of mental and physical strength—from its origins with a ragtag bunch of tights-wearing revolutionaries in rural Bavaria, to its golden era with Wolfgang Güllich, to its new ideal in the German phenom Megos as he battles to unlock new levels of human potential.
A gripping, hour-long documentary film by Sweetgrass Productions that tells a true story of the decades-long battle over the future of British Columbia’s iconic Jumbo Valley—highlighting the tension between protection of the backcountry experience and ever-increasing development interests in the wilderness. A large-scale proposed ski resort threatens the rich wilderness of British Columbia’s Purcell Range—a revered backcountry ski and snowboarding destination with world-class terrain, sacred ground for local First Nations people, and part of one of North America’s most important grizzly bear corridors. Set against a backdrop of incredible backcountry ski and snowboard footage, Jumbo Wild documents all sides of a divisive issue bringing the passionate local fight to protect the Jumbo Valley to life for the first time.
In northern California, climate change and 150 years of forest mismanagement have led to some of the most catastrophic wildfires in the state’s history—including the Dixie Fire, which in 2021 devastated the Lost Sierra’s already struggling communities. In the face of that destruction, one group turned to trails for hope and to the past for a better future.
High in the San Juan Mountains above Silverton, Colorado, a pack of runners roam. Together they traverse mountain meadows and navigate mineral-stained peaks through the rugged landscape of their backyard. The Braford-Lefebvre family chose to live here in order to raise their family wild. Through hard times and the best ones, running is their tool for experiencing life together.
Ultrarunners Krissy Moehl, Jeff Browning and Luke Nelson run 106 miles through the newly opened Patagonia Park in Chile, to celebrate and highlight Conservacion Patagonica’s efforts to re-wild and protect this vast landscape.
Battling deep depression, Jaeyoun returns to her roots on the island of Marano, South Korea, to visit her family of female free fivers known as haenyeo. To her surprise, she finds a connection to nature and her ancestors that literally saves her life.