The 4th annual Wyoming Film Festival (WFF) is coming August 26-27 to the Platte Valley Community Center in Saratoga, Wyoming.  The WFF will showcase film and video productions that interpret the Rocky Mountain West in ways that address the principle themes of environment, equality, and family.  Highlights include:

Friday August 26, 2011

“Fight of the Wild Stallions,” a 1947 Oscar-nominated documentary short film shot in the Red Desert southwest of Wamsutter, Wyoming that features wild horse wrangling including a fight between the famous stallion Desert Dust and a fierce black stallion.

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Chasing Water will screen Friday night at Wyoming Film Festival.  For a closer look at Peter McBride’s documentary on the Colorado River, check the following links:

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“The New Frontier: Sustainable Ranching in the American West

The New Frontier" explores various controversies over cattle ranching and rangeland management in the American West. Shot on three family ranches in the Rockies of Colorado, southern New Mexico and Central Texas Blackland Prairie, the film examines cultural, scientific, political and philosophical considerations faced by ranching families and communities. Link to Movie Trailer>

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“Run To The East” is a documentary that follows three Native American high school distance runners competing in national track meets, vying for college scholarships while seeking to defy the negative stereotypes of American Indians.  (87:00) Link to Movie Trailer >

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Saturday 27 August 2011

2:30 PM  Jon Raymond Presentation

Screenwriter Jon Raymond is the author of The Half-Life, a novel, and Livability, a collection of stories, two of which became the movies Old Joy and Wendy and Lucy. He is also the writer of the film Meek's Cutoff, currently in theatrical release, co-writer of the HBO miniseries Mildred Pierce, and author of the forthcoming novel, Rain Dragon. His writing has appeared in Artforum, Bookforum, The Village Voice, and many other publications.  His presentation will focus on the evolution of his work with Kelly Reichardt, the director of three films (Old Joy, Wendy and Lucy, and Meek's Cutoff) based on his writings.

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“Highway 22 Revisited” is the winner of the 2011 Wyoming Film Office Short Film Contest.  Urban legend or truth?  Filmmaker Jennifer Tennican explores the story of whether or not Bob Dylan performed at an iconic western watering hole.

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“The Aerial Girl” is a narrative short about a young girl who moves to her grandfather’s Wyoming ranch where she meets a ranch hand who turns her life upside down.

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“Ski the 14ers” is  the story of Chris Davenport’s goal to climb and ski all 54 of Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks in a single winter. The quest begins with history-making speed and skill as Davenport crosses off 30 peaks in a single month. When Mother Nature intervenes, we follow Davenport on a journey through a little-understood piece of the American landscape as he raises the bar for his sport and inspires a new generation of ski mountaineers to become stewards for the environment.

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“Wild Water” is a documentary journey into the mind and soul of whitewater, into the places only river runners can go, places of discovery, solitude and risk. The filmmakers set out to create a new kind of adventure film…one where image, sound and ideas trump all else. Link to Movie Trailer >

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“Magic Valley” is a contemporary narrative portrait of Buhl, Idaho, where farmers butt heads about water usage and other locals play the "Passing Out Game," a method for getting high that involves hyperventilation and choking.  Official selection at 2011 Tribeca Film Festival  (84:00) Link to Movie Trailer>

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