Aspen Peak - Niche Media - Aspen living at its peak
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/310878
PHOTOGRAPHY BY KARL WOLFGANG S ome ski snobs complain that Aspen Mountain offers just 675 skiable acres. But it sure looks big to folks from Michigan, where Julie Kennedy was born and where she fell madly in love with skiing on the meager 300 verti- cal feet of the Otsego ski area. Kennedy, the founder of Carbondale's wildly popular 5Point Film Festival, says she graduated high school, then "boogied directly to Aspen at the ripe age of 19," which is young even for a transient ski bum. In 2007, she was having breakfast with old friend and Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard, reliving good times in the early, climbing-centric days of Telluride's MountainFilm festival. "After watching those inspiring mountain-culture films, there was never a time that I didn't book a ticket to some far- off place because I wanted to be a part of it," she says, adding that she told Chouinard, "We have to re-create that feeling, that energy" in the Roaring Fork Valley. He agreed, pledged Patagonia's sup- port, and wrote a contract on a napkin. Kennedy soon launched her film festival and weekend gath- ering to honor her beloved outdoors. The name 5Point comes from rock climb- ing's grading system, but Kennedy also based the moniker on the festival's five guiding prin- ciples: respect, commitment, humility, purpose, and balance. When her staff screens and picks films, they're looking for stories, dreams, and cultural experiences—not adrenaline jolts or "action sport porn." Taking place each spring, 5Point now sells out the 850 seats at Carbondale Recreation and Community Center. Its budget has roughly doubled in size and revenue, and its program- ming has expanded from two evenings of films to four days of screenings and other events. There's even a tour ("5Point On The Road") that takes the program to Aspen and Glenwood Springs, but also much farther—to Portland, Boston, and St. Paul, Minnesota. Tour stops, however, usually occupy just one night. The Carbondale fest is still the one to expe- rience. "I'd like our community to be part of this lifestyle and never take it for granted, because it can be so powerful and mean so much to your life," Kennedy says. Her creation has no doubt inspired change. Indeed, at a recent 5Point, a female festivalgoer sought her out; she had to tell Kennedy her story. The woman told her she was suffering in a toxic marriage. "But I'm so inspired by 5Point," she said, "I'm going to divorce my husband, head to Nepal, and do something for me." 5pointfilm.org AP Elite alpinist Julie Kennedy founded Carbondale's 5Point Film Festival with a mission to engage passion with a conscience and educate through film. On Point OUTDOOR RENEGADE JULIE KENNEDY STAGES ONE OF THE COUNTRY'S PREEMINENT CELEBRATIONS OF ALPINE ADVENTURE WITH THE ANNUAL 5POINT FILM FESTIVAL. BY ROB STORY 84 ASPENPEAK-MAGAZINE.COM EVENTFUL 084_AP_SC_Eventful2_5point_SUM_FALL_14.indd 84 5/6/14 3:18 PM