Are you looking to add more movies to your watched list? Back for the fifth year, the No Man’s Land Film Festival will be hosted by the Outdoor Center on Friday, Feb. 28.
Being shown in the Performing Arts Center concert hall, the selection of films geared to uplift women and genderqueer people in the outdoors is reaching new heights.
“It’s a great companion to some of the larger outdoor adventure film festivals like BANFF and Warren Miller that have historically centered white men in wilderness sports,” Katrina Doerflinger, a past No Man’s Land organizer and attendee, said in an email.
This year’s lineup features seven films, each offering a mix of individuality, ambition and community.
One is a climbing film featuring a Mexican-American woman and her struggles with intersecting identities.
Another is about the trans experience outdoors and the struggles in finding community.
A short film about two women tackling the North Cascades High traverse route in six days, with the only recorded completion being 28, will also be featured.
Sneak peeks have been rolling out on the Outdoor Center’s Instagram, courtesy of Parker Eckhardt, the marketing coordinator.
Eckhardt sees the festival as more than just a film showing — it’s a space to connect, share experiences and get involved with the outdoors.
“Any opportunity to include more people, share diverse stories and make outdoor spaces feel welcoming is really important,” she said.
Eren Odabasi, a Western associate professor of global cinema, emphasized how events like No Man’s Land challenge mainstream media, which tends to prioritize the same stories and perspectives.
“The governing logic of media consumption is based on watching slight variations of the same story,” he said in an email. “Unless you actively search for alternative voices, you will never encounter them through mainstream media channels.”
Both Doerflinger and Eckhardt spoke of the outdoors being male-dominated and the importance of sharing a variety of stories like the ones featured in the festival.
“Even today, there’s still a very big interpretation of outdoor recreation as being some man on top of a mountain. It’s so much more than that,” Eckhardt said.
There’s much more to the festival itself as well. Apart from watching films, it’s also a chance to engage with the outdoor community.
Before the showings, there will be organizations tabling the event, giving attendees a chance to talk with clubs and programs from Western and the greater Bellingham area.
There will also be an intermission, with opportunities for attendees to connect with others who share the same passions for the outdoors and to check out the tables again.
Eckhardt’s favorite moments are discussing the films with other people and the value of witnessing people find meaning in the films.
By showcasing these films created by and for women and genderqueer adventurers, No Man’s Land helps to bring together a multitude of perspectives.
If you are looking for a reason to attend, whether you are an experienced outdoor enthusiast or simply curious to see the stories on the big screen, Doerflinger has a simple pitch:
“If you need inspiration to get outside and warmth from your Western community during this dark February, the NML Film Festival is the place to be.”
Tickets are available for purchase here.
McKenna Kilayko (she/her) is a campus life reporter for The Front. She is in her second year at Western, working towards majoring in journalism with a minor in French. You can often find her drinking an iced matcha latte, DJing for Western’s radio station, KUGS, or complaining about the lack of sun. You can contact her at mckennakilayko.thefront@gmail.com.
