Inclusivity in the No Man’s Land Film Festival
On Sept. 16, the Utah State Outdoor Programs will be hosting the No Man’s Land Film Festival. This festival, featuring outdoor-based adventure films, was created by a group of almost entirely all-women writers, directors and stars, based out of Denver, Colorado.
Their mission statement is to “create an inclusive space where womxn (trans and no-binary included) can create and gain tool to break barriers in outdoor spaces.”
No Man’s Land has been traveling internationally since its conception about six years ago and thus has had the opportunity to make an appearance in almost every state in the U.S. This time around, the festival features eight films with topics ranging from the science of mental endurance to effects of water shortage to South Korean free-diving. Each of these films are created in the name of “un-defining feminine in adventure and sport through film.”
The list of films this year also includes the story of Erin Parisi and her journey as the first transgender woman to take on the Seven Summits, which is the tallest mountain on each of the seven continents.
According to the No Man’s Land manifesto, “[the festival] strives to continue implementing and inspiring change in the outdoor, sport and film industries, while cultivating a deep interest in exploring the vastness of the planet from a woman’s point of view and other identities outside of the gender binary, including non-binary folks and trans men, as well.”
Even though the films at the festival only range from roughly three minutes to 20 minutes, each short film and story allows the festival to be worth more than the sum of its parts.
Jill Woodhouse and Lizzy Depew of the USU Recreation Department have spearheaded the premiere of this festival in an effort to create a more inclusive campus and encourage more womxn to participate in the OP at Utah State. This is just one of many activities Woodhouse and Depew have lined up as a part of their “Wild Womxn” initiative.
The festival will be held at the Eccles Conference Center (ECC) with festivities starting at 5:30 p.m. The short films will begin at 7 p.m.
The festival is $8 for faculty, staff, and other community members, but is only $5 for students.