“Black Ice" at the Figge Art Museum -- February 26.
Sunday, February 26, 2 p.m.
Figge Art Museum, 225 West Second Street, Davenport IA
Screening at Davenport's Figge Art Museum on February 26 and lauded by Gripped magazine as "full of purpose and powerful storytelling," the 35-minute documentary Black Ice serves as the fifth presentation in River Action's annual QC Environmental Film Series, with Gripped adding that the work "brings together a group of amazing characters" and "helps to restore the belief in a better world.”
With the documentary's post-screening reflection speaker from Memphis Rox Gym, a nonprofit climbing venue featured in the film, Black Ice follows a crew of aspiring ice climbers as they travel to the frozen wilds of Montana, where mentors Manoah Ainuu, Conrad Anker, and Fred Campbell share their love of winter adventure in the mountains. This cinematic tale is told through the eyes of climbers Malik Martin and Chris Dean, and as reported in Men's Journal, "Martin had actually never been on an airplane or even traveled far from Memphis when he embarked on the adventure. The film tells their story of heading into intimidating territory, learning how to stay warm and on their feet in cold, slippery conditions, and how people from diverse cultural and racial backgrounds can come together to share their love of the mountains."
Zachary Barr and Peter Mortimer served as Black Ice's co-directors, Barr is a longtime storyteller who has worked in print, audio, and documentary film, and also compiled a series of stories about the families of American military personnel killed in Iraq, which later became the book Never Coming Home. His reporting has been featured on NPR, Slate, Marketplace, MSNBC, MediaStorm, and in the New York Times, while Bar's career in film began with a trip to Mount Everest that resulted in the multiple-award-winning film High Tension. Mortimer is a Colorado-based Producers Guild Award nominee best known for being the creator of the Reel Rock Film Tour, as well as the director of feature documentaries The Alpinist, The Dawn Wall, and Valley Uprising. He has produced and directed multiple movies related to rock climbing, mountaineering, and outdoor adventure under the production group Sender Films, and Mortimer's productions have won numerous film-festival awards, two sports Emmys, a news and documentary Emmy, and a Critics Choice Award.
Black Ice will be screened in the Figge Art Museum's John Deere Auditorium on February 26, admission to the 2 p.m. showing is $5, and more information on the QC Environmental Film Series is available by calling (563)322-2969 and visiting RiverAction.org/filmseries.
