Week three of five in the Horny Toad Holiday Giving Program supports NW Documentary which, in turn, supports our friends at Red Reel Video. Use the promo code DOGOODNWDOC on any hornytoad.com purchase from December 5 – 11 and we’ll give NW Documentary 20% 0f the profit. Additionally, 2% of all web sales (whether the promo code is used or not) will go to them. To learn more about NW Documentary visit www.nwdocumentary.org. To learn more about Red Reel Video visit www.redreelvideo.com.
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It’s on. Mountainfilm - one of our very favorite film festivals – is less than two weeks away, and they just released a list of this year’s films. Here are a few that we’re very excited about:
Interview 50 Cents
We have a very special connection to Interviews 50 Cents (see for yourself here, under Good Vibes). This marks the third year that the quirky series of conversations with Alex Chadwick will screen at Mountainfilm. This year Chadwick chats with several feature guests: climate activist Tim DeChristopher talks about the mall cop who threatened to administer the ultimate punishment; artist Erica Nelson discusses the beauty of Kansas and the virtues of that state’s art scene; Andy Keller of Chico Bag looks at plastic and climber Alex Honnold explains how climbing films are made.
Truck Farm
How much can be said about a truck that’s been converted to grow plants in the back? Turns out, filmmakers Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis are top of their game. They show us how to make the portable farm (drill holes in the truck bed, plant stuff, park on the streets of New York City and let it grow – who knew?). But they also create a strong narrative by driving their mobile garden around the city so people such as organic chef Dan Barber can buy their locally grown herbs. As goofy as the film is, it succeeds as a charming and authentic documentary about the vast potential of urban agriculture.
Dark Side of the Lens
Surf photographer Mickey Smith artfully crafts and narrates an immensely powerful and brooding glimpse at some of Ireland’s heaviest, and coldest, waves. If you haven’t seen this yet, it’s certainly worth a watch. Poetic and beautiful.
Check out the full list for yourself. Which films pique your interest?
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Bag It Intro from Suzan Beraza on Vimeo.
BAG IT: Q&A with Director Suzan Beraza
In all the years we’ve been sponsoring Telluride’s MountainFilm Festival, no movie has had as profound an effect on us as Bag It, a little documentary that started with one plastic bag and became a global exposé on the damage single-use plastics and plastic byproducts are doing to the planet.
“You watch this film and you realize that you’re probably only doing 20% of what you could be,” says Gordon, our head Toad. “It’s inspiring, it promotes change, and it really demonstrates how easy it is to make a difference—versus getting depressed about how the world is coming to an end.”
We spoke to Telluride filmmaker Suzan Beraza about her film after the screening in Santa Barbara. (more…)
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Ryan Van Duzer SHOW REAL 2010 from Ryan Van Duzer on Vimeo.
At 31, Ryan Duzer’s never had a driver’s license. He says that you see the world better moving at less than 15 miles per hour. Dude’s currently on a 3,000 mile road trip to Cabo, which should take him, well… a while. Wish you could pull up anchor and tag along? Now you can with his video updates!
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It’s such a simple idea… just ask people what they think matters, and listen to what they have to say. Here’s how it works — a card table, a couple of chairs, a pair of microphones, and a sign that reads “Interviews — 50¢”. Long time NPR journalist Alex Chadwick waits in public places where people can stop to talk. People often ask, Do I pay you or do you pay me? “Well,” Alex likes to say, “sit down and let’s see how it goes.” The stories he collects don’t often get into the mainstream media — personal tales about love gone wrong or right, a cross-country road trip with a corpse, a daughter weighing reconciliation with the father she dreads, a small chance encounter that saves a life. Horny Toad flew Alex out for the MountainFilm Festival in Telluride and here are a few of the everyday adventures and extraordinary people he met. Catherine, Claire & Stephanie(skunk dog): http://www.vimeo.com/12408103 Katie Lee: http://www.vimeo.com/12409102 Alex Beard: http://www.vimeo.com/12410225
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We're big fans of trash, that is to say, the reuse of "trash" into something creative. We do it a lot for our tradeshow booth and people are always amazed when we tell them we pulled the stuff off the side of the road or from a dumpster. Trash to treasure — artfully recycled.
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When you think garden bed, I bet you don’t think of an ’86 Dodge pickup. Urban-truck farmer and filmmaker Ian Cheney, inherited this truck from his grandfather and thought to make it into a mobile patch of green goodness in the middle of the Big Apple. Brilliance! A solar powered camera was mounted on the truck to catch glimpses of the growing. We think this is a pretty neat commentary on the use of even the smallest spaces in urban settings to do something good — garden good.
Be sure to check out other Wicked Delicate films here.
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A company that dances together stays together. Just another day at the Horny Toad office. Enjoy watching us be goofy.
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I have no idea what this guy is saying, but no words are really needed for this. Special effects I'm sure are in use, but it is still super funny. It's why-the-heck-not Friday!
Happy weekend everyone!
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