Short film about the Arrowhead 135 Ultra to be released online April 1
A short documentary film about the Arrowhead 135 ultramarathon in northern Minnesota each winter will be available to view online starting April 1. The 30-minute movie by Adventure Minnesota Films is the first of four in a series which will also cover whitewater kayakers, rock climbers and adventure racers in Minnesota.
Among the Wild: Arrowhead 135 follows three racers at the winter 2013 event from start to finish: Bonnie Moebeck on bike, John Storkamp on foot and Mark Scotch, an occasional writer for this magazine, on skis.
Completely self-supported, there are only three checkpoints on the 135-mile course, a snowmobile trail from International Falls to Fortune Bay Casino on Lake Vermillion in far northern Minnesota. Racers are given 60 hours to finish.
The release of the film online will follow screenings at the Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm, Minnesota, on February 26; at the Oneota Film Festival in Decorah, Iowa, March 6-8, and at the Sheffield Adventure Film Festival in Sheffield, England, March 20-22.
The film will be available online to purchase or rent on April 1 at SteepEdge.com.
Filming for the next short film is expected to start later that month. That project will focus on the Red Danglers, a group of eclectic whitewater kayakers who run the gorges of northern Minnesota each spring as the snow melts into Lake Superior.
The documentary series will profile local athletes engaging in uniquely Minnesotan, extreme outdoor sports. The film series is being produced by Adventure Minnesota Films, a group of professional freelance filmmakers with a largely volunteer crew.
According to the website, amongthewild.com, “Among the Wild was created to inspire, unite the adventure community and make a positive impact on our world at large. Showcasing Minnesota, the films promise to revitalize its national reputation and illustrate there is more to Minnesota than the Mall of America, Frostbite Falls and Lake Calhoun.”
The athletes profiled in the film were nominated by the public through the spring of 2012 and announced at a fundraiser that fall. “Winners were selected based on their fierce pursuit of a physical sport that encompassed something uniquely Minnesotan, such as a relevant location, history of the sport or development of the gear,” the website says.
For more information, go to amongthewild.com.