Scaling a mountain, trekking through the woods on a mountain bike or surfing towering waves in the Pacific Ocean are accomplished by humans of all identities and abilities. Yet most mainstream media highlighting such stories focus primarily on the experiences of men, which leaves behind women, nonbinary and transgender peers.
No Man's Land Film Festival, which originated in Carbondale, Colorado, in 2015, strives to expand the representation of women and marginalized communities and their roles in sports and film. The touring festival features 95 films, allowing each traveling stop to build localized programming around the films featured.
Marking its Idaho debut, No Man's Land is stopping at Sandpoint's Panida Theater, where a select eight films will be shown on the big screen. It's co-hosted with Roam Collective, a nonprofit focusing on increasing accessibility and inclusion in the mountain biking community.
"There's just an amazing combination of films in this festival, from climbing to mountain biking to skiing to navigating motherhood, and to me it just absolutely screamed Sandpoint because the outdoor recreation scene here is thriving," says Sami Ryan, the director of operations and partnerships with Roam. "There is a lot of gender equality here, and I think that we can always be continuing to work towards further expanding that, so it felt like a natural festival to pitch to the Panida."
Two films, Naomi Glasses and Part of me: Alexann, focus on Native American athletes and their experiences reconnecting to the land after a history of being severed from it by white settlers, says Ryan. Not Just a Boys' Club Part 4 features women and female-identifying rock climbers who are making their way into the male-dominated the industry by setting routes.
One of the films Ryan is most excited about is called This Is the Motherload, which delves into the world of two professional skiers who lost their spouses and continue to navigate the world of skiing with each other and their children.
Ryan feels Sandpoint still has a lot of work to do when it comes to gender-equality, a reason she pitched the festival to the Panida.
"I think the place we have to really challenge ourselves and to push is helping queer folk feel comfortable in this community," she says. "Sandpoint Pride I think is coming on its third year this year, which is really exciting. But... we have a lot of work to do."
While the film festival is called No Man's Land, that doesn't mean that men aren't welcome at the showing.
"That's a wonderful learning opportunity to not feel like the majority, which is not a common experience for men sometimes," Ryan says. "We all have levels of privilege, and so I think the event has an opportunity to highlight that in a really loving and supportive way and teach us all how we can be better allies to those who might not have those opportunities."
The Panida is donating ticket and raffle proceeds from the event to Kaniksu Land Trust and the Pend Oreille Pedalers to further support access to outdoor recreation in the region. The raffle features items from a variety of local businesses, including La Chic Boutique, Embody Studio and Evans Brothers Coffee.
After the show, there's a panel discussion led by Ryan. Panelists include Spokesman-Review columnist and author Ammi Midstokke, Sandpoint park planning and development manager Maeve Nevins-Lavtar, and Gwen Victorson, Idaho Department of Lands lands resource specialist and co-founder of True North Treks, a nonprofit that connects outdoor enthusiasts with one another to form a community through exploring nature. The discussion focuses on the topic of inclusivity in outdoor spaces for people of all abilities, genders and races.
Lauren Sanders, the Panida's managing director, says community response to the event has so far been overwhelmingly positive.
"This event is really just about celebrating all these amazing, badass women that we have who are leaders within our outdoor industries here in our region," Sanders says. "It's really amazing all of the support that we're getting for [these films]." ♦
No Man's Land Film Festival • Fri, March 31 at 7 pm • $5-$15 • Panida Theater • 300 N. First Ave., Sandpoint • panida.org • 208-263-9191
