Freedom Riders

Downhill mountain biking collides with the forest service in this 2009 entry in the Wyoming Short Film Contest from filmmakers Jake Hawkes, Chris Kitchen and Sam Pope.

The Freedom Riders Story

Welcome to Freedom Riders a look at the evolution of the sport and the progression of trail building in this country. From its days as an activity reserved for the few who rebelled against the spandex clad status-quo, to the multimillion dollar, mainstream sport that it is today, see the true inside story on a group of riders that would never see their passion die.

They are the Freedom Riders...

On the morning of July 12, 2008 a large group of dedicated Mountain bikers gathered at the base of Teton Pass. Everyone was dressed to work and the atmosphere was festive. There were tents set up with food from local restaurants, soda, tools and fulfillment in the air. Representatives from the US Forest Service walked around and mingl

ed with the riders. The mission for the day was to add a new massive dirt jump to Lithium–one of the handful of trails in the National Forest dedicated and with a purpose: sustaining the tail systems for downhill mountain biking.

Jump back eight years, a small group of passionate riders meets at the top of Highway 22 the infamous Teton Pass under the cloak of darkness. They stand at the t

op of a trail, etched roughly into the side of a forty-degree slope. The trail is informally called Ritalin and is the epicenter of an ongoing battle between “the Fed’s” and a rebel group of locals who are dedicated to experiencing the sport of freeriding. These trails are illegal and only the secret squirrel knows of their existence let alone how to navigate through the terrain. Conflicts between armor clad, gladiator “down-hillers,” and other multi users including: cross-country mountain bikers, hikers and horseperson are commonplace.

The Freedom Riders craft their trails, when anyone who would otherwise object is unaware, at speeds that would make the average trails person shudder.

Text courtesy of freedomridersthemovie.com.

Frontier Days!

Check out this entry in the 2009 Wyoming Short Film Contest.

Once a year, the Daddy of 'Em All comes back to the magic city of the plains. This short documentary explores Cheyenne Frontier Days, the world's largest outdoor rodeo.

If you like what you see, you can find more film from Casey O'Leary at The Wyoming Channel. For our part, the Film Office is certainly happy to know these guys. Here's a bit of company autobiography from the Wyoming Channel site (serioiusly, go check it out) :


Founded by 3 friends, The Wyoming Channel literally began over lunch with a pen and a napkin. With a desire to tell the world about the Wyoming experience, Mike O’Leary, Guy Palmquist and Sy Gilliland invited Mike’s son Casey M. O’Leary, a film producer, to join the company. The belief that a portal to everything Wyoming could be created in a way as never before sent them in search of talented filmmakers, web developers, and anyone else who shared their vision. Shortly thereafter, The Wyoming Channel was born.

Ten Minutes 'Til Dead Noon

The shortened version of "Dead Noon," an entry in the Wyoming Short Film Contest from Montana filmmaker Andrew Wiest

A Quick Synopsis from IMDB.
In this shoot 'em up western horror tale, ancient demons, walking skeletons and cowboy zombies join forces to take the law down in a blaze of hellfire and brimstone. With the powers of hell at his disposal, Frank, a blood-thirsty outlaw from the old west, is resurrected to seek his revenge on the present day town of Weston. As the past collides with the present, Sheriff Logan Kane, his incompetent younger brother, Stuart, and sexy gun shop owner Grace will have to fight a posse of the undead to save the town and rescue Logan's new bride from a fate worse than death.
Further Notes
Made over three years for just $4,000, Dead Noon actually saw distribution through Lions Gate films. And even if the studios re-cut and re-scored the film (the downside) and added cult icon Kane Hodder (Jason Voorhees of Friday the 13th--the upside) the film still made it out there. Here's Mr. Wiest himself with a few thoughts from his blog:

I'm sitting here thinking of how best to sum up the fun, sad, maddening, tiring, joyful, crazy experience that was "Dead Noon". It's no easy task...no easy task at all. So I don't think I'm even going to try. The best I can do is just say thanks. It's been a long three years getting to this point and I just can't thank you all enough for helping me out along the way. There's no way this movie would be sitting on store shelves today if it wasn't for you guys (you know who you are).

Although the version that's out there may not be everything it was cracked up to be, it's still quite an amazing accomplishment and you can all take pride in that. We went out and made a ridiculous movie from a 40 page script in the middle of a harsh Wyoming winter with no money... and now you can walk into Wal-Mart and buy it. No doubt about it, we went against the odds and came out on top, even if the music does suck! They may have taken our movie away from us but they can't take the memories ( I know that's a cheesy line but what can I say, "Dead Noon" is a cheesy movie so it fits). I mean that though, some of my fondest memories are of working (yes, some may call it playing) with all of you on this movie. It was fun to work with old friends and get to know and love new ones (that's you Elizabeth and Andrus). All in all, despite the frustrations, "Dead Noon" was an incredibly rewarding experience. That being said, I think I speak for all of us when I say... I'm glad it's over!

Here's to the future!

Andy

Castle Rock Film Festival '09

Another opportunity for Front Range filmmakers to grab some exposure.

Swift. Silent. Deep.

Check out Swift. Silent. Deep. Troy Beauchamp's entry into the Wyoming Short Film Contest.

From the Official Site:

Swift.Silent.Deep.the first true historical documentation of hardcore ski bum culture in North America. Swift.Silent.Deep is the story of a secretive, underground crew who call themselves the Jackson Hole Air Force, and the salad days of Benny Wilson, Howard Hendersen, and their band of civil disobedients in the unknown realm of Out-of Bounds. The influence of the Jackson Hole Air Force has reached far beyond Jackson; JHAF members won the first three World Extreme Skiing Championships and are directly responsible for pioneering the big mountain skiing in the world’s most incredible playground –Alaska, which brought about the fat ski revolution, and changed the face of skiing forever. This exploration into the roots of the modern American ski bum can only be described as “Hell’s Angels on Skis” and features many familiar faces in the action sports world like Warren Miller, Scot Schmidt, and the late Doug Coombs. By combining core credibility with mainstream appeal, SWIFT.SILENT.DEEP. goes far beyond the typical action sports formula, by creating a documentary that satisfies intellectual curiosity while delivering action packed footage.

Editor of the award-winning short film “Someday Somebody Will Ski That,” Troy is an accomplished visual artist. His credits include the feature length documentary, “Damn Good Dog,” the natural history short films “Wings of Thunder” and “Campaign for the Snake Headwaters” as well as “Kayak New Zealand” and “Mountain Bike B.C.” for Rush HD action sports television. An accomplished cameraman, Troy has worked as Director of Photography on several national industrial films and has Directed several regional commercials. His latest camera credits include the Discovery Films documentary “Snowblind” the Rachael Scdoris Story and “Primal Quest” the worlds toughest adventure race.

On SWIFT SILENT DEEP, Troy served as Producer, Editor and Cinematographer.