Wild adventure and indomitable spirit
Slack-liners take their sport to the skies with the help of hot air balloons, a hapless kayaker has a wild whitewater daydream and off-width outlaw Pamila Shanti Pack grunts her way up outrageous desert cracks. Mountainfilm on Tour is bringing an evening of adventure shorts to the Smiley Building, 1309 East Third Ave., today. The Durango Nature Studies’ fifth annual fall fundraiser will feature food, drinks, a silent auction and an evening of films that will include a special Durango connection. The program’s anchor film – or headliner – will be “Mending the Line,” directed by Durango native Steve Engman. The film tells the extraordinary story of Frank Moore, a World War II veteran and legendary fly-fisherman who returns to France with his wife to fish the streams he saw as a soldier and face the memories of war. The film, which premiered to high praise at the 2014 Mountainfilm Festival, speaks to the power of fulfilling a long-held dream and the healing potential of nature, but it’s also a story of the Moores’ incredible relationship. “I would say more than anything it’s a love story,” Engman said. “Fly-fishing is kind of the foundation for his life. But it’s truly about the experiences that he and his wife of 70 years have gone through.” Engman won’t be able to make the Durango screening due to a prior commitment – he’ll be showing the film at the National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C., this weekend. But he expects several family members to be there on his behalf (the DVD will be released on Veterans Day). Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. and movies will begin at 7 p.m. Tickets are $12 in advance, $15 at the door and $10 for students. Visit www.durangonaturestudies.org for more information.
Show Me the Funny
Cards Against Humanity is offensive, vulgar and wildly inappropriate. It’s also really freaking fun. The card game for horrible people will be the main event at Durango Film’s fall fundraiser, Show Me The Funny, which will take place at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the Animas City Theatre, 128 E. College Drive. The event will entail a giant game of Cards Against Humanity played on the big screen (with a special Durango-specific final round and some great prizes) live comedy skits and “Friends in Therapy” short films. Joanie Fraughton, the festival’s executive director, said board member Aimee Martin came up with the idea as a fresh approach to fall fundraising. “We just want to have something fun, unique and different,” Fraughton said. “Everybody wants to laugh and be entertained. This was something that we thought would be a lot of fun.” Tickets are $40 and include appetizers; they can be purchased at www.durangofilm.org.
A string reverie
Fort Lewis College’s new assistant professor of violin and viola will put his talents on display during an Alexander Murray Faculty Recital at 3 p.m. Sunday at Roshong Recital Hall, 1000 Rim Drive. Williams, who will be accompanied by Lisa Campi Walters on piano, will perform Joseph Joachim’s “Hebrew Melodies,” along with works by Mendelssohn, Bloch and Copeland. The professor of strings, who came to FLC this year from Valdosta State University in Georgia, will bring both the violin and viola to the stage. Tickets are $15 for adults, $5 for children and free for FLC students with ID.
