Film Review

#BlackLivesMatter, Banff, Black Lives Matter, Diversity, Environmental Justice, Film preview, Film Review, Ice Age Trail, Madison, Nelson Institute, Wisconsin / 10.12.2021

As Midwesterners huddled safely in their homes to avoid the frigid chill of a Wisconsin winter and the devastating trauma of a world-wide pandemic, Emily Ford set out on a long walk with a borrowed sled dog named Diggins. Well acquainted with the hazardous weather of the upper Midwest, this professional gardener from Duluth, Minnesota aimed to traverse the length of the Ice Age National Scenic Hiking Trail (IAT), a distance of more than 1,200 miles through some of the coldest temperatures in recorded history. The new film,...

#BlackLivesMatter, Black Lives Matter, Film preview, Film Review, mountainfilm, ReThinkOutside / 19.10.2020

This month the talented young artist Jonathan Malik Martin celebrates his directorial debut in the new video for the latest expression of singer/songwriter Milck titled Somebody’s Beloved. Set in his home town of Memphis, Tennessee, Malik brings all of his storytelling skills to bear in this subtly powerful narrative that depicts the personal devastation brought on by the shattering impact of gun violence in the Black community. The remarkable vision of the photojournalist known as Malik Tha Martian, first came to my attention through Instagram. Like many avid users...

Diversity, Film Review, National Monuments, Public Land, ReThinkOutside / 04.03.2020

For many, it’s hard to imagine or even believe that they are owners of public land. In a nation defined by the displacement of native people and an economy originally built on the backs of slaves stolen from another continent, it’s safe to say that America has a very complicated history when it comes to understanding exactly who this land belongs to. A new short film directed by Whit Hasset and Chelsea Jolly follows a journey of discovery across a disputed territory at risk of being taken out...

Adventure Media Review, Diversity, Environmental Protection, Everyone Outside, Film preview, Film Review, National Forests, National Parks, Public Land, ReThinkOutside / 27.02.2020

Imagine what our world would look like today if from the outset our public lands were made open and accessible to everyone. The history of our national parks and recreation areas is riddled with tragic narratives of exclusion that have deprived marginalized communities of not only the chance to spend time in the outdoors but to become part of the movement to protect and preserve the natural world. A new short film from the Outbound Collective aims to turn that notion on its head by welcoming in an...

Alaska, Diversity, Film Review, Native Culture, Natives Outdoors, The Arctic / 27.02.2019

In 2017 the Trump administration opened the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. The development of this fragile ecosystem for energy extraction puts at risk the culture and livelihood of a community that has called the Alaskan wilderness home for millennia. The Gwitch’in People, who rely upon the unimpeded migration of the porcupine caribou herd, will likely witness not only the destruction of the habitat from which they derive a critical source of food, but also the natural environment that defines their ancestral heritage. Much like efforts...

Environmental Justice, Film Review, Food, Gardening, Interview, Podcast, Sustainable Living, Urban Agriculture, Wisconsin / 20.10.2017

It was the summer of 2017 and I was just coming off a major reporting project. I’d spent the better part of a year working on series of stories about the private land owners, farmers and ranchers and their relationship with the natural world. Modern agriculture is such a big deal, because things like soil health and water quality directly impact the nutrition, physical health and wellbeing of people all over the world.  But farms no matter how big or small also have a profound effect on the...