List of films: (Subject to change and Will Not be Shown in this Order)

Right to Play (42 mins)
Were his Olympic speed-skating gold medals in 1994 his only legacy, Norwegian Johann Olav Koss might have just become another athlete living off dusty accomplishments. Instead, Koss used the same singular determination and focus that took him to the top of his sport to make a difference in the lives of some of the planet’s most vulnerable and victimized children.

Racing the End (11 mins)
Bike racing in Los Angeles, California? No way. There are too many cars. This may be the illest road race on the planet. Legality is questionable and trying to hold the wheel of the fixie in front might mean a pre-dawn, clandestine and completely certifiable victory. There is no way those dog tags are leaving L.A.

Into Thick Air (20 mins)
The Seven Summits are a legendary accomplishment for alpinists. So how did a motley crew of Midwesterners achieve them — and over a weekend, no less? They redefined the summits, making them the highest points of seven Midwestern U.S. states. These men don’t need climbing rope or crampons — a passenger van and a designated driver is the key to them bagging their goal.

Freedom Chair (15 mins)
Josh Dueck was a passionate free-skier who found himself coaching world-class athletes, such as TJ Schiller and Justin Dorey, at a young age. But one day, he misjudged his speed as he approached a jump, and what could have been a harmless mistake, brought inextricable, life-altering consequences. When he crashed, his spinal cord was severed, leaving him paralyzed. Instead of giving up on skiing, however, Dueck refocused his passion into sit-skiing, and the experience allowed him to jump-start a new career and find a new way to do what he loves the best: ski. The Freedom Chair traces the path from Dueck’s injury to his return to the hill, where he wins silver and gold at the Olympics and X Games and still gets out with friends to charge big terrain — all thanks to his freedom chair.

Living Tiny (7 mins)
“People like having lots of stuff, Americans in particular,” says one of the characters in the charming documentary Living Tiny. In a country obsessed with growth and progress, there is a small, but growing, population of people who are rejecting the axiom that “bigger is better” and are downsizing. Their tiny abodes, no larger than 200 square feet, are not caging them, but liberating them from a culture of consumption. “Ultimately you can only occupy 12 square feet of space at a time. Everything else is just a place to keep your stuff.”

Nomad (6 mins)
Erik Boomer, featured as a presenter in the 2012 festival for his circumnavigation of Ellesmere Island with Jon Turk, is the star of this short film by Forge Motion Pictures. Why does he wander? What is he seeking? Traveling by foot, skis and kayak, Boomer moves through the world and his life in a way few others do. This film is the first episode of a five-part series titled Of Souls and Water.

Song of the Spindle
“I think humans could really learn something from us whales,” says one of the two characters in this humorous, animated short that imagines a whimsical conversation between a sperm whale and a man. Guess which one has more wisdom?
 
All I Can: JP Auclair Street Segment (5 mins)
JP Auclair teams up with Sherpas Cinema in this short, mind-blowing segment from the 2011 Powder Magazine Movie of the Year All.I.Can to tame the mean streets of British Columbia on skis. You might have seen this footage on your computer, but check it out on the big screen.

Hi! I’m A Nutria (5 mins)
This cheeky little rodent lives in Lake Washington and questions how long it takes to become a “native.” He lists a whole slew of other animals who aren’t native to North America, including, well, us.

Into the Middle of Nowhere (15 mins)
Children don’t need shiny plastic things, video games or expensive toys to have fun. A pile of logs and sticks can provide an active imagination with plenty of tools for hours of entertainment. This film takes us Into the Middle of Nowhere — an outdoor nursery in the Scottish countryside with a group of children who are just learning about the challenges of growing up. The woods become the place where the normal rules of society come to a halt and where play transforms the surroundings into the children’s wildest imaginations.

Last of the Great Unknown (22 mins)
The Grand Canyon, a barren labyrinth of light and shadows, was one of the last places in the American West to be surveyed. John Wesley Powell, before he made the first descent via the Colorado River in 1869, called it “The Great Unknown." Much of it still is today, and river runners, backpackers, lithic hunters and butte baggers seek prestigious “firsts” in the Grand Canyon’s innumerable technical slots.