Alejandro Gonzalez is an artist from Mexico bringing the wonders of the ocean to the surface. His love for surfing, and for life found underwater, has given him a unique perspective for why these places should be protected.

Red Reel spent the winter down in San Jose Del Cabo, Baja and we fell in love with not only the landscape but a thriving creative community. We met Alex and could help but share his story. But, not without a little help from our friends! A big shout out goes to Miguel Tercero for his gopro footage, Alan Kahler for his inspiring music, and Brenda Barrera for her production assistance and beautiful landscape footage. A big thank you to Costa Azul Hotel for letting us film in their beutiful botique Hotel. Check them out on Facebook facebook.com/Casa.Costa.Azul?ref=ts

Julio Solis, Brenda Barrera, Allie Bombach and up top Miguel Tercero – our film crew!

We headed down to Puerto San Carlos, Baja California Sur to film Julio Solis of Vigilantes de Bahía Magdalena (Magdalena Baykeepers) for an upcoming project that tells the personal stories of movers and shakers creating social and environmental change. It’s called MoveShake and it’s made possible by some wonderful companies that believe in the power of storytelling – Horny Toad Clothing, Osprey Packs, and Clif Bar!

Catching sea turtles for monitoring happens mostly at night

Teaming up with SeetheWild and Red Sustainable Travel we were able to catch Julio at work monitoring the sea turtles of Magdalena Bay. Also on the production team with me was San Jose Del Cabo local Brenda Barrera. Brenda’s natural talent for breathtaking images made her a key player in the shoot. Brenda conducted the interview with Julio in Spanish, which revealed a much more in-depth and personal story then we could have done justice for in English.

Julio Solis Interview with Brenda Barrera

A big thank you to all involved. The shoot was a great success and we can’t wait to share this inspirational story!

Check out more of the photos from the shoot on the Red Reel Facebook page!

Our digs back in Puerto San Carlos – going over interview questions with Brenda

We had a lot of fun making this video series. Filming on a rainy day in Portland with women in white dresses, getting grown men to rock pink tutus, and skiing with a salmon, Bigfoot and a polar bear – this was definitely not your normal outdoor commercial shoot. When we suggested to Osprey Packs that we film men in ballerina costumes while backpacking in Baja they nodded in agreement like that was the most normal thing in the world. That’s what you get when you work with a fantastic company like Osprey Packs.

Besides supporting wild film productions, Osprey supports some amazing nonprofits like Leave No Trace, Alaska Wilderness League, and Save our Wild Salmon. We were lucky to snag some time with their famous mascots to create a rockin’ day on the mountain with the Karve Series. Make sure to check out these amazing nonprofits and show them your support!

Enjoy the videos, and take a look at a few stills from the productions.

Mascots Wearing the Karve Series

Burly Boys in Baja Rockin’ the Atmos Series

Women Commuting with the Momentum

Here are a few photos from the productions…

We got to spend the day carvin’ turns with our friends from Leave No Trace, Alaska Wilderness League, and Save Our Wild Salmon

Getting our new friends in Baja to put on tutus was easier than we thought!

Braving the elements (and protecting the gear!) on a cold and rainy day in Portland, OR

To Osprey Packs and everyone else involved in the productions, thanks for making each video such an amazing experience!

Baja photos taken by the amazingly talented Brenda Barrera
Portland photos by the oh-so talented Anna Brones

I edited the footage in the winter of 2011 and I was blown away by the complexity of the issue. At one point in the film, Shelton says that you can’t fit 500 years of history into a soundbite, and this really shook me. It was a wonderful reminder that sincere storytelling is more then just the entirety of the story being wrapped up into one well presented package. You can’t just say African Americans are not coming to the parks because of __________. It’s more complex then that.  So how do you fit everything into a short story? I found that the best way was to introduce the audience to the issue by asking more questions then supplying answers.

The soundtrack of The Way Home was an exciting one to craft. Many of the musicians Red Reel has worked with in the past and hopes to continue to in the future. Like what you hear? We believe that music is half the story. Check out these amazing artists!

Field and Flower by Stephen Gordon

Life and Death of an Old Love Letter by Shoeshine Blue

Deep as Whales by John Heart Jackie

The intro was scored by The Yuka Brothers – a brother duo in San Jose Del Cabo, Baja, Mexico.

Also, a big shout out to Peter Bosack of Peter Bosack Music who was the sound designer on this project. Pete also crafts some delicious tunes himself, check him out on some of our other projects.

This week (December 5th to December 11th) Horny Toad will be donating 20% of their sales to Red Reel and the MoveShake project through NW Documentary, a Portland based nonprofit that practices, teaches, and shares the art of non-fiction storytelling.

So here’s what you do: go to hornytoad.com, have a look around, and when you’re ready to check out, you’ll see a space where you can enter a Promo Code.
Enter this – DOGOODNWDOC

And just like that, you’ve bought a few holiday presents while supporting films about positive social and environmental change!

Thank you for your support, and Happy Holidays from Red Reel!

Ethiopia was…wild.  It felt like a dream, another life.  We woke most mornings at 3 am to drive to a remote village an hour and a half away to catch morning light.  Nine am sun hit without mercy and everything moved in clouds of dusty slow motion, catching glimpses of white glimmering smiles.  We stayed most days till dark, bizarre eating habits from long hours of production and a scarcity of sleep has made memories into a blur…

I fell in love with the rhythm there. The language is very unique to the area and its a poem with subtle mannerisms that attached themselves to me.  For example, saying yes is a quick short breath in, at first it sounds like everyone is surprised, and then its soothing and you find yourself participating.

It was a wonderful experience as a videographer… and that is only a grain of salt compared to the richness of the life experience.  I shook my shoulders and held my hands on my hips and danced at night in a room full of bouncing music, smiles and simple joy.  I had my hand held for a mile when I was lost in a village by a tiny girl who led me to the right house, and she was overjoyed to be gifted my precious empty plastic water bottle. Coffee ceremonies and incense attached smells temporarily to my clothes and forever to my memory. I shook more hands in two weeks then I normally do in a year.  I held back more tears then I ever knew I could with confusion and hatred at the unfairness of life and the cards we are dealt… There is no water. They are sick.  They have no choice.  I have too much. But they also have so much, they are just people, happy and with town gossip.  A 13 year old girl loved the color pink, sang for her friends, helped carry her baby brother all day. I have never met such a sharp teenager with such powerful darting eyes… It was the kind of beauty that embraces you.

My experiences in Ethiopia changed not only my technique as a filmmaker, and how I capture story, but my view of the world and now I couldn’t be more excited to see this powerful story come to life on screen. The film is now in post production, and is scheduled to release some time in the spring of 2012.

For more photos of the production – check out the Red Reel facebook page

23 feet recently had its European Premiere at the Norwegian Mountain Film Festival, and is on its way to Banff Mountain Film Festival and the Boulder Adventure Film Festival November 5 and 6th! The film is on tour with Telluride MountainFilm as well as a worldwide tour with Banff Mountain Film.

And now, 23 feet can be ALL YOURS!  We’re excited to announce the release of the DVDs.  Mosey on over to our merch page to get your copy now.

For 15 buckaroos, not only do you get the film, but the DVDs full of special feature videos for your viewing pleasure!  We filmed throughout the tour this summer, so you’ll get to see exclusive videos that continue to tell the story of simple living to pursue outdoor passions.  Here’s a sneak peak at one of those videos…

23 feet Synopsis:
23 feet is film about a community of people who have made the conscious choice to live simply in order to do what they love in the great outdoors. Three women set out across the west in their 23-foot-long, 1970 Airstream to search for the stories of people who have turned their backs on the creature comforts of society to live in school buses, vans, and other small spaces. From an inspiring campfire chat with legendary Yosemite climber Ron Kauk, to hearing the powerful story of a woman who changed her whole life for surfing, 23 feet gives an intimate look at the ups and downs of dedicating your life to your outdoor passion.

After a few days of taking in the city, we got back to the tour.  Outside Magazine hosted us at their headquarters in Santa Fe.  The people there are amazing, and it was the perfect way to get reignited for the second half of the tour.

We were sad to leave Santa Fe, but excited to get back on the road.  We headed toward Flagstaff for a screening at the local climbing gym.  Then on to the Grand Canyon where we showed at the Recreation Center.  Our amazing hosts took us around to show us the area, and we even squeezed in a climb.

The brakes on the truck needed some attention, so we had them fixed in Las Vegas, then left in the wee hours of the early morning to beat the heat, heading for Idyllwild, CA.  This show was very special to us because it was organized entirely by someone we had never met before, but who had backed us on Kickstarter.  When Allie put the question out there of, “Where should we bring the film?” it was Idyllwild that we landed on.  All we knew about the town was that it was near Joshua Tree and between Vegas and LA.  We set things up on a public plot of land surrounded by towering pine and fir trees.  The view above was made up of the tree canopy and the dark sky filled with thousands of twinkling stars.

We left Idyllwild in the evening and caught the sunset on our way down the sinuous mountain road.  The contrast of the dry golden grass against the lush green hills and blue sky was breathtaking.

Just as breathtaking of a contrast was leaving the quiet mountains and landing in Los Angeles.  Coming from Flagstaff, the Grand Canyon, and Idyllwild, LA felt like a completely unknown land.  We had forgotten what city life felt like.  We stayed with family of mine there, which offered the perfect refuge to the buzzing city around us.  We spent the Fourth of July on Catalina Island.  Renting a kayak, we paddled out and did some free diving before watching the firework show.  Allie and I share a strong love for fireworks, so this was the perfect ending to an already perfect day.

We had a small screening in Bolsa Chica, our first show on the beach nonetheless!  We got friends and family out to watch the film.  It was there that we realized Roma was missing something… a window!  Somewhere along I-5, the pane fell out.  Sadly, it was the only window that we hadn’t been worried about – it didn’t leak, it had all of its screws – but the towel that has now replaced the plexi-glass is doing a fine job.  We woke up to the sound of the waves the next morning and headed north.

Driving through LA with a 23-foot soft aluminum trailer in tow was hectic to say the least.  We reached Santa Barbara by the early afternoon and said hello to the folks at Horny Toad, one of our amazing sponsors.  They hosted the screening the following night.  Roma looked so good under the palm trees!

Saying goodbye to our friends in Santa Barbara, we continued north and sought refuge in Big Sur.  Here we caught up on many things – editing, writing, rest.  Winding along Highway 1 was an unforgettable drive.  The hillsides were covered in a soft blanket of wild flowers.  Their rolling features quickly turned into cliffs that dropped abruptly into the sea below.  With such a beautiful and inspiring coastline, our entertainment came in the form of photography.  Swapping the camera back and forth, we took turns snapping photos and would excitedly share the outcomes with one another.

It was difficult to put the beauty of Big Sur in our rear view, but feeling rested, we headed up to Santa Cruz.  We had a showing at Swanton Berry Farm, hosted by Slow Coast, a collective of artists, artisans, and farmers alike selling their goods out of an… AIRSTREAM!  Roma was happy to have a friend.  We had met the North Pacific String Band on the road, and as luck would have it, they came to the screening to play an acoustic set before the film.  It was an incredible night filled with good people, good conversations, and… strawberries!

Another amazing sponsor of our’s, Alite Designs, hosted us in San Francisco at the Sports Basement.  We brought the outdoors inside for this one with tents and mock-campfires filling the room.  Raffles, giveaways, and the Love Letter made this a special show.

We love San Francisco!  There’s something special about the mix of salty air and tall skyscrapers.  The colorful street art and smiling faces makes it feel like a friendly and approachable city.  Sailboats in the bay, clam chowder on the pier, public transportation – I love the BART!  We crossed the Golden Gate into Mill Valley for our next screening.  This one was at Proof Lab – a local surf shop, skate ramp, art collective.

From there we pointed the Airstream toward Yosemite.  Tuolumne Meadows to be exact.  Wow!  Absolutely gorgeous!  We had a show at the campground there, which was incredible.  Two of the people from the film were there – Katie Lambert and Ron Kauk.  Seeing them watch the film in the exact place where we interviewed them last summer was unforgettable.  Our friend John Swift came out, which added to the already immaculate ambiance.  His music is so beautiful and inspiring, and hearing him play outside under the stars made the night that much more special.

We stayed in Tuolumne for the next few days, giving ourselves some time off – we climbed, we slacklined, we read, we swam, we were lizards on rocks.  I don’t know if it was the trees, the river, or the amazing conversations that we had by the campfire, but Yosemite was powerful.  Allie and I left Tuolumne feeling refreshed and re-energized.

From Yosemite, we headed toward Salt Lake, but not without stopping at the Salt Flats first.  I have never experienced anything like that before!  The top layer was gritty, but once our feet broke through the salt, our toes wiggled in thick, moist clay.  It felt so good on our feet!  We both stood there digging our feet in as deep as we could, staring at each other with big grins on our faces.  A ceramists dream, Allie was in heaven!  We slept on the side of the road and woke up to the salty white vastness, and drove out the next morning.

Next up, Salt Lake City for the Outdoor Retailer Tradeshow.  We had two screenings there.  The first was put on by Horny Toad, Osprey Packs, and Telluride MountainFilm.  This was an exciting night for us – 23 Feet will be part of the Telluride MountainFilm tour!  The second screening was hosted by an amazing sponsor of our’s, Nemo Equipment!  All of our sponsors contributed to the giveaway, so lucky audience members left the show with some big winnings!

The tradeshow was an absolute whirlwind that seemed to flash by in 5 seconds!  It was my first OR, and I’ve got to say, I loved it!    I loved the hugeness of it.  I loved the people and the intensity of walking the halls.  I loved seeing all the new products.  I loved dancing at the All Star Industry Jam!  But above all else, I loved our Red Reel stamp that we had made for the event.  With a transient business that moves from city to city, it only made sense to make business cards out of shipping labels.  By Sunday, the stamp made for a fun way to make new friends (and check in on old ones, like Gareth Martins of Osprey!).

Following the tradeshow, we had a screening at the local climbing gym, The Front.  It was hosted by SheJumps, an organization striving to increase female participation in outdoor activities.  We were really excited to work with them in bringing 23 Feet to the Salt Lake community!  We had a great turnout with more amazing giveaways!

We’re now back up in the northwest with the last shows of the tour happening within this next week.  It’s a crazy feeling to be wrapping it up.  It seems like we only just started, but in the same turn, April feels like a lifetime ago.  We’ve met so many incredible people and stopped in such amazing places!  Thank you to each and every person who has supported us along the way!  From our stellar sponsors (Osprey Packs, Alite Designs, Horny Toad, Nemo Equipment, and Sterling Rope) to the backers on Kickstarter, and anyone who fed us or let us sleep on their couch along the way, this tour would not have been possible without you.  Thank you!

When Fitz and Becca asked me to be apart of their latest episode “You Are Not Alone,” it didn’t sink in right away.  I remember sitting at a breakfast spot in Carbondale, CO with my second cup of coffee smiling back at me when I stopped Fitz mid-sentence to confirm what he just asked. I couldn’t believe it.

To have the story of how 23 feet started on the Dirtbag Diaries is such an honor, and we couldn’t be more pleased with how it turned out. This podcast has been a great reminder of where it all began, and the sense of community that was unearthed through our experience. We hope you can give it a listen on your morning commute, your afternoon walk, or maybe right as you start the Westfalia to hit the road this summer.

Cheers,

Allie

You Are Not Alone

It was the end of April and pouring rain in Portland, OR when five women packed into the Airstream and hit the open road for a jam packed summer!

Making our way south, our 23-foot space became home to Allie and me, Anna and Emily of Under Solen Media, and Jenny of iLCP.  With Allie at the helm, and me as the co-pilot, I can recall a moment where I looked out the rear window as the edges of the glass filled with the snow, as did the truck bed.  I could barely make out the three girls bouncing along in the Airstream in tow, but I could see that they had switched to down jackets and sleeping bags to stay warm back there.  We’d been planning for months, and this was what our first day looked like.  Rain and snow.  That’s when Allie had the most ingenious idea.  She simply stated, “We need to wake up in the desert.”

We were quite the sight to see as we rolled over mountain ranges and across deserts, bundling up in the snow one day, and letting the sun kiss our cheeks the next… doing handstands and cartwheels at every stop!

So what had this silly cast of characters gotten themselves into?  An outdoor theater tour, of course!  23 Feet is a film about a community of people who are living simply to do what they love in the outdoors, so it didn’t feel right to show the film inside.  Allie and I spent the spring planning our route, and designing the theater set up for the Airstream, and we had convinced our dear friends to do the first leg with us.  Before we knew it we were in Colorado, the place that inspired the film!

We pulled into Carbondale, CO for the 5 Point Film Festival to support fellow filmmakers and friends, as well as stock up on inspiration and creative juices.  It was an incredible weekend, but still the tour was on the brain, and we were both psyched to kick it off in Boulder.

Jenny left us after the festival, but we hit the road with an Airstream record high: 7 people!  Red Reel, Under Solen Media, and now the Baffin Babes, a group of Scandinavian women adventurers who we became friends with in Carbondale.  As we packed up Roma (the Airstream), we realized pretty quickly that the Babes would fit in just fine with our silly, jumping, hodgepodge group of road travelers.

It was starting to feel like your typical road trip… good chats, loud tunes, snacks… but coming into Boulder, Allie and I quickly snapped out of the vacation mentality we were slipping into.  It was go time!  We had three shows lined up in our first week, which meant we needed to tie up lose ends, and we needed to do so fast!  All the questions of “What if” and “Maybe we should try this” vanished as it was time to go with what we had.

Our first showing was a private party that an editor for Women’s Adventure Magazine had thrown for us in celebration of an upcoming article about the film.  As we rigged up the screen to the awning and set up the projector, the only words echoing in my mind were, “Fake it ’til you make it, Menzies!”  Everything went great!  We had done it!  This idea that Allie dreamt up months prior of projecting 23 Feet against Roma had come true.  And not only that, it was the beginning of what is now our reality, our “normal.”

Boulder was a busy week.  We did another private screening with the organizer of the Pearl Street Music Festival.  Two words: magical night!  Two of the bands from our soundtrack, The Head and the Heart and The Lumineers, not only came to the screening, but they played music!  We all climbed up the top of a nearby hill and fell into a trance of amazement as we listened to the sounds that we used in the film fill the night air.

The following night was the big premiere.  The day leading up to it was filled with nerves as we had no idea what it would look like.  We kept reminding ourselves that we would be excited if even 10 people showed up.  The day went on; we put the kegs on ice, set up the speakers, the screen, the Christmas lights… then we heard it.  The buzz of conversation and laughter that only a crowd of people could make.  We peered around the screen to see the parking lot filling up with people!  We got the film rolling, then stood behind to do a silent celebratory dance.  Strangers were here to see our film… and a lot of them at that!

That was it.  We were now officially on tour.  Next stop was Estes Park.  A beautiful place that we wish we could have stayed longer in to explore the mountains.  The outdoor show was canceled due to strong winds, a natural element neither of us had considered before setting out on an outdoor theater tour.  We quickly moved the show into the Estes Park Mountain Shop, and had a great show indoors.

We woke up the next morning to 6 inches of snow.  That put the brakes on our outdoor show in Fort Collins.  We hunkered down for a few days in a friend’s cabin, letting the weather pass.

Once reaching Fort Collins, we got all geared up for a show at New Belgium Brewing.  This was a really exciting show!  Great turnout, wonderful hosts, not to mention Roma had a friend in Abbey, the brewery’s resident Airstream.

We headed south from there, going through Colorado Springs with a screening hosted by Upadowna.  Then to the Arkansas Valley.  Snow welcomed us to Buena Vista, difficult weather to have an outdoor show in.  But we took to warmth and coverage of the community center, and filled the room with raft guides and locals a like.  The clouds moved on as we went south to the nearby Salida, CO.  Nothing but sunshine and blue skies at the Salida Cafe where we did a show with the river only a few yards away.

We had found our rhythm at this point.  Our set up for the showings were quicker and more precise, and life on the road had become normal.  We pulled into Durango and a whole new side of Allie came out.  These were her old stomping grounds, the town of her college years.  With the river pumping and friends nearby, I could tell she was in her element.  Our show in Durango was especially unique.  We met at a park downtown and did a critical mass bike ride to Ska Brewery where the show would be.  There were 20 or 30 of us biking through town.  It was incredible!  We got to the brewery, and Allie and I quickly started setting up.  Waiting on Trial, who is in the soundtrack of 23 Feet, was there playing music before the film started.  The crowd was filled with both familiar and new faces, making for a pretty magical night.

Heading out a day or two later, we went through Delores.  Osprey Packs hosted our show there, which was held at the community center.  The sounds of the river were the perfect background for the film.

We were then bound for Telluride.  It was the weekend of the MountainFilm Festival, and we were excited to get up there and see our friends.  We parked Roma at a beautiful farmhouse just outside of town, and held a private screening for sponsors and friends that would not be able to see the film on tour.  With the mountains silhouetted behind Roma, and a bonfire behind the crowd, we settled in for an intimate screening with close friends surrounding us.

The film festival was a wonderful energy boost where we both were inspired by the amazing films we saw.  Once it came to an end, and friends filtered out of town, we stayed for an extra few days calling the farmhouse home.  But we picked up a straggler.  We convinced Anna of Under Solen to come back in the Airstream for another week before heading home for Portland.  We winded down the mountain passes, stopping at any chance we could for a romp in the flowers.  We found our way back to Durango where we finally got on the river for record high flow.  Next up was Santa Fe where we  would pick up the second half of the tour.

It wasn’t until I saw the “Welcome to New Mexico” sign that it hit me – two months on the road at this point and we’ve only just begun!