Festival Obscura: Gender in Festival-Driven Mountaineering Documentaries

Abstract ID: 3.11463 | Not reviewed | Requested as: Talk | TBA | TBA

Julie Rak (1)

(1) University of Alberta, 11159 53 Street NW, T5W 3K6 Edmonton, CA

Categories: Culture, Equality, Gender
Keywords: gender, film festival, equality, intersectional approach, mountain climbing

Categories: Culture, Equality, Gender
Keywords: gender, film festival, equality, intersectional approach, mountain climbing

Abstract

Every year, mountain film festivals around the world show films that are difficult to see any other way, in formats that are very popular with audiences. The films Pretty Strong (2020) and Cholitas (2019), both award-winning films shown at mountain film festivals around the world, could be seen as evidence of better representation of women and Indigenous people on the film festival circuit. However, both films demonstrate that the politics and expectations of film festivals themselves can work to limit the power of films featuring women to portray and facilitate lasting social change in climbing.