For Immediate Release
Media contacts:
Jane Turnis
(719) 389-6138
JTurnis@ColoradoCollege.edu
Leslie Weddell
(719) 389-6038
Leslie.Weddell@ColoradoCollege.edu
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – March 31, 2008 – Seven films spotlighting various Western issues will be featured on Sunday, April 6, kicking off Colorado College’s fifth annual State of the Rockies Conference. The film screening begins at 4:30 p.m. in Armstrong Theatre, 14 E. Cache la Poudre St., on the Colorado College campus and is free and open to the public.
Films range from 5 to 53 minutes, and tie in with many of the issues covered in the Colorado College State of the Rockies Report, to be released Monday, April 7, and with the topics covered in State of the Rockies Conference, to be held April 7-8 on the Colorado College campus.
Sunday’s movies and showing times are:
4:30 p.m. Nobody’s Home
By: John McBride, Sopris Foundation
Running Time: 30 minutes
"Nobody's Home" warns that without foresight, planning, strict zoning, and the will of the community, historic downtowns will vacate. The workforce will commute for hours. Firefighters, teachers and even attorneys will not be able to afford homes within a reasonable distance of work. The vitality for which resort towns are known, and which serve to draw tourists, will disappear. Solutions exist, however. The case studies that append in the film describe lessons learned and potential strategies available for planners and elected officials with foresight. Crested Butte, Basalt, Aspen and Switzerland serve as models.
5:05 p.m. The Missoula Urban Chicken Debate
By: Anne Medley, Jonathan Stumpf, NewWest.net
Running Time: 5 minutes
In December 2007, the Missoula (Mont.) City Council voted 8 to 4 to approve the urban chicken ordinance, allowing citizens to keep up to six hens (no roosters). The decision came after months of bitter (and comedic) debate, and progress was stalled after a tie vote at the end of the summer. Opponents of the ordinance repeatedly pointed to health, noise and regulatory concerns; supporters emphasized the importance of sustainability, self-sufficiency and locally-sourced food. In response to the heated debate on NewWest.net, photographer and reporter Anne Medley teamed up with intern Jonathan Stumpf to explore the issue from both sides of the fence
5:15 p.m. Voices Beneath the Peak
By: Mike Shum
Running Time: 25 minutes
This film focuses on three single mothers and their hardships in Colorado Springs. Often thought of as the mountainside paradise, Colorado Springs faces the same issues the nation does when it comes to health care, poverty and attempting to take care of its own. These three women address their problems in different ways.
5:45 p.m. Keepers of the Flam
By: Dakin Henderson
Running Time: 37 minutes
“Keepers of the Flam” is a documentary about flammulated owls and those who study them. Since 1980, CC professor Brian Linkhart has been conducting a long-term study of the owls in and around the Manitou Experimental Forest, north of Woodland Park. The film presents a close-up view of the sometimes courageous data-collection techniques used by the crew in order to record the behavior and territories of the birds, and to capture, band and bleed them. This film is intended to offer a window into the world of Linkhart’s study – to show the need for these kinds of studies, while also raising questions on the perpetual issue of the practices of science.
6:30 p.m. The Lost People of Mountain Village
By: Carol Black and Neal Marlens, Lost People Films
Running Time: 15 Minutes
This comedic pseudo-documentary follows a lost back-country skier who "discovers" Mountain Village, the abandoned habitat of a people who knew no limits on their consumption. What happened to them? Will we ever know? Anthropologist and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Wade Davis calls it "no less than the most spectacular archaeological and anthropological discovery of our lifetimes." Winner: Jury Award Winner, Telluride Mountain Film Festival.
7 p.m. The Hatch
By: Travis Rummel and Ben Knight, Felt Soul Media
Running Time: 17 minutes
Once a year, an epic stone-fly hatch engulfs the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. This used to be a fantastic secret kept by a few locals but the threats to this pristine river (upstream dams to satisfy farming and development's water demands) were too serious for inaction. The filmmakers made this film of the feeding frenzy to raise awareness of the threats to the river. Winner: Best Documentary-Gotham Film Festival NYC 2005. Official Selection: Banff Film Festival, Banff World Tour, Telluride Mountain Film Festival, Taos Film Festival, Durango Independent Film Festival.
7:30 p.m. A Land out of Time
By: Mark Harvey and Laurel Garrett, Maroon Creek Productions
Running Time: 53 minutes
Time is running out for vast swaths of the Rocky Mountain West as the Bush/Cheney administration turns over millions of acres of public land for oil and gas drilling. Westerners on the land for generations expose the dramatic changes to the landscape and their heritage and spark a backlash. Just who is in charge of the public lands: the oil and gas industry or the American people? Official selection of more than 15 film festivals, including Telluride, Whistler, Newport Beach, Taos, American, Boulder, Aspen, Breckenridge, Anchorage, Planet in Focus and Wild and Scenic Environmental film festivals.
For information, directions or disability accommodation at the event, members of the public may call (719) 389-6607.
About Colorado College
Colorado College is a nationally prominent, four-year liberal arts college that was founded in Colorado Springs in 1874. The college operates on the innovative Block Plan, in which its 1,975 undergraduate students study one course at a time in intensive 3½-week blocks. The college also offers a master of arts in teaching degree. For more information, visit www.ColoradoCollege.edu <http://www.ColoradoCollege.edu>.