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RANGELEY — The virtual 2020 Maine Outdoor Film Festival will be held from Sept. 4-6 on Eventbrite.
Suggested donation is $10 to $15 per household, part of which will support the 2021 Rangeley Trail Town Festival. Out of concern for everyone’s health, the Rangeley Trail Town Festival Committee has canceled this year’s festival.
To view the films, pre-register and pay at rangeleytrailtown.com. You will get an email with a viewing link and additional details at 6 p.m. on Sept. 4, and the link will be active from 7 p.m. Sept. 4 to noon Sept. 6.
Through this year’s eight films, viewers will travel from England and Scotland across the ocean to Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, and then on to Utah and Montana.
The films are:
“Myrtle Simpson: A Life on Ice” (34 minutes) introduces Scottish trailblazer, pioneer, adventurer, mountain climber, polar explorer, writer and mother, who was the first woman to cross the polar ice cap covering Greenland.
“Hilly Skiing” (10 minutes), two United Kingdom filmmakers follow the story of one remarkable Scottish skier – Helen ‘Hilly’ Rennie – who skied at least once a month for 120 months. The film reflects on life’s challenges, climate change, and her love of skiing in Scotland.
Charlie Leeds, a bouncer on the streets of Leeds, England, has become a legend in the United Kingdom’s outdoor world. “The White Fox” (7:29 min.) visits Charlie in his natural habitats and reveals how mountains have inspired him and shaped his life.
Filmed in Muscongus Bay by Sam Davies, of Vermont, “Taking Care: Episode One” (5:45 minutes) features John Connelly, a volunteer for the Maine Island Trail Association. Though little known, the Island Trail is also one of the most unique — America’s first recreational water trail.
“North Country” (20 minutes). In the White Mountains of New Hampshire, Lahout’s Ski Shop has remained open 365 days a year since 1920. While technology and conglomerates have stripped the country of local, independent retailers, this family of Lebanese immigrants has prevailed. Now, the patriarch of the family, Joe Lahout Sr., is struggling with his health, and his grandson Anthony has returned home to help. As Anthony explores his grandfather’s lineage, he begins to ask questions about the true source of the store’s long success.
Created by Appalachian Trail thru-hiker Max Armstrong, “One Wing in the Fire” (13:40 minutes) offers a portrait of Rob Bird, a benevolent chain-smoking Trail Angel in Massachusetts who drives his white van, handing out candy and so much more to the hikers who have come to treasure him.
“Through the Breaks” (9 minutes), Jason Cajune, a boat builder from the mountains of Montana, takes his family on a river trip through the Upper Missouri Breaks National Monument on their way to American Prairie Reserve.
Focused on the ongoing conflict over the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern Utah, “Desert Mourning” (16:48 minutes) investigates how individuals from neighboring communities grapple with boundaries and communities in flux.
For more details on the films, visit rangeleytrailtown.com.
PHOTO: “Hilly Skiing.” (Submitted photo)
