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Mountainfilm in Minturn

Ted AlvarezVail, CO Colorado
Special to the Daily
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MINTURN Because of their unique environment, mountain communities seem to always share something in common, whether theyre just across the pass or around the world. The Telluride-based Mountainfilm Festival celebrates this with a touring series of short-subject movies that cover everything from Tibetan culture to extreme skiing to green living, and Minturn Middle school hosts a benefit screening this Friday.They’re really cool films from all over the world, said Minturn Middle school principal Toni Boush. Its a really eclectic group of mountain films, everything from pieces on Nepalese honey bee farmers to little kids from Nepal skiing on wooden sticks. Its really great stuff to see.Mountainfilm tour director Justin Clifton has chosen several films for a program tailor-made for Minturn though the actual movies will remain a surprise until Friday night.Theyve got hundreds of films to choose from, but theyve tailored about 10 or 12 films for us, said Brook Skjonsby, communications director for Eagle County Schools. Theyll talk about each of the films they bring, which can cover anything from scenic expeditions to cultural snapshots and can last from two or three minutes to 17 minutes. They know our audience is made primarily of parents and kids, but theres sure to be something for all ages and interests.

This showing of the Mountainfilm Festival on Tour will benefit the Outward Bound Expeditionary Learning program at Minturn Middle School, which seeks to educate both students and teachers outside the four walls of the classroom. Its the second time Mountainfilm has visited Minturn Middle School.As part of our learning expeditions, our kids do fieldwork and get out into the world to perform in-depth studies on compelling topics, Boush said. We had a fabulous expedition with the 10th Mountain Division where kids went on two-day hut trip and visited Camp Hale. Live historians who were surviving members 10th Mountain served as our tour guides of Camp Hale. The kids then did a comprehensive study on an expedition topic and wrote it as children’s literature, which was published and put into the Vail Ski Museum.The Outward Bound Expeditionary Learning program also provides one-of-a-kind experience for teachers, who can then take a new raft of experiential knowledge into the classroom.Our teachers get to do unbelievable workshops out in the field, Skjonsby said. A few teachers went on a week-long Louis and Clark expedition in Great Falls, MT, and some others studied history and art on the east coast. (It) provides phenomenal professional development for teachers, and what they learn they incorporate into their curriculum.The one-night film festival will also feature, food, refreshments, wine and an opportunity for the community to revel in movies that celebrate and highlight the issues they live with in the mountains.Its a wonderful opportunity for Minturn and Eagle County host it at our school, Skjonsby said. Last year it was great to see different people in the community that don’t even go to the school come out to see the films. It really brings bring community together.Arts & Entertainment writer Ted Alvarez can be reached at 748-2939 or talvarez@vaildaily.com.Vail Daily, Vail, Colorado


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