You come out a little bit bonded after you've been in a movie theater with other humans. I think we learned during the pandemic how much we miss the movies. And I, I don't know that it's come back fully since the pandemic in terms of movie attendance, but I know from people who come to the festival, the joy they have of being back in the theater and sharing that communal experience, that's just different. If you're watching Netflix on the couch, it just is.

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The Durango Independent Film Festival, it's our 21st birthday this year, and our tagline is, we're legal. So we have a beer drinking bear, which seems very Durango, 21 years of independent films of every genre. We have adventure, we have native cinema, we have documentary shorts, features, a little bit of everything. And this year the submissions came from over 50 countries. It's more than we've ever had. Adventure is a big genre here. In fact, we're going to have a special coffee talk just with adventure filmmakers talking about what it takes to put those films together. It's really a community affair. Our festival is growing every year and people come from all over the world to Durango because we're getting a pretty darn good reputation. As a filmmakers' festival where you are elbow to elbow with filmmakers, you're having just real conversations with people you'd never get to meet under any other circumstances and conversations you'd never have under any other circumstances unless it were inspired by one of these films that you wouldn't see elsewhere. And I love when we have local filmmakers that we can celebrate.

I'm the director and producer of the feature film. The only way out is through We, we shot in summer of 2023 in southern Colorado, but the biggest connection we have to Durango is our editor, Misty Wilson. She used to be Misty Walter grew up in Bayfield and was born in Durango, grew up in Bayfield, and her parents and family still live there. So the festival's going to be a bit of a homecoming for her and a celebration and, and an opportunity to share it with all her family and friends. The film follows three guys in their early thirties on a backpacking trip, but really the story is about men and friendship and men really needing to learn how to be more vulnerable and open with their friends. We submitted to Durango because we want to play share the film in Colorado. We think that Colorado audiences will be attracted to it because it was filmed there and because of the adventure element to it. So we're excited to to celebrate and just hang in Durango for a few days and hang out downtown and meet everybody. And so one benefit of me getting to attend all of these independent film festivals and quote unquote smaller or more regional festivals, as some people call them, is I get to see so many incredible independent films that I would never get to see anywhere else. Independent film festivals like Durango are highlighting work that is never going to come in play at your local theater otherwise, because it's so hard to get an independent film out there. But so often it's the most personal and beautiful and well-made work that is getting played at these festivals. And it's a real, it's a real delight to get to see things that really surprise you and come feel like they came out of nowhere.

You can have your worldview changed in a heartbeat, in a film, in a theater, and in the moments after with other humans. It's great for the films and filmmakers to have their work seen. These people spend years and their own money and groveling for money from Uncle Sal to get their films made. They have a passion to tell stories, and our community seems to have a passion to hear them.

For more information, visit durango film.org. And for more stories like this, visit Durango local.news.