Celebrate women, transgender, and gender-fluid communities with grit, hustle, determination, and boundless passion at No Man’s Land Film Festival. Venture Outdoors is bringing this incredible film festival back to Pittsburgh for the 3rd year. This time hosted at the Velum Brewery Warehouse. BYOCC (Bring Your Own Camping Chair) enjoy games, cocktails, mocktails, and films with friends.

Benched

Director: Bronwyn Davies
Female Director

This is the story of a female professional athlete and new mother faced with the challenge of corporate politics coupled with societal norms. On March 12th, four-time U.S. mountain bike champion and professional cyclist Sonya Looney posted an Instagram video of herself manualing rollers and riding berms through a mini pump track in Kelowna, British Columbia. She was 40 weeks pregnant and she gave birth to a healthy baby boy a few days later.

Erin McGrady – Who is a Runner?

Directors: Faith Briggs + Tim Kemple
Producers: Faith Briggs + Cynthia Martinez
Cinematography: Ladawn Manuel, Alex Igidbashian + Tim Kemple
Editor + Assistant Editor: Pilar Rico + Ian Dzilenski
Female Director + Producers

It takes the first 5-6 miles for the “bird’s nest” in Erin McGrady’s head to unravel. And then, putting one foot in front of the other, the photographer and writer work to create and celebrate safe spaces for others in the queer community. Together, with her wife Caroline Whatley, in spite of all they are up against as queer women in the South, they turn their attention toward the joy they get from traveling and creating community.

Green Mountain with Hillary Allen

Director + Director of Photography: Kody Kohlman
Producer: Luke Webster

The Green Mountain Trail is iconic in the Boulder, Colorado community and it has special meaning for Hillary Allen. It’s where she got into trail running. And it’s where she relearned to run after a 150-foot fall broke bones in her legs and back.

But while she was training to Everest the segment, she found herself back in the hospital with a broken foot. The process of recovery would push her harder and teach her more than her original goal ever would have.

Inseparable: Myia

Director: Andrew Harrison Brown
Producers: Palmer Morse + Brooke Jackson
Female Producer

As one of only 30 fluent Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) language speakers left in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation), Myia Antone teaches as a way to preserve her language for generations to come. Seeking to learn more about her culture and language, Myia uses her mountain bike as a needle weaving through her ancestral lands and language. While biking with other Indigenous women, Myia utilizes the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh language to point out geographical features and native plants on rides. Weaving complex conversations through nuanced layers of generational trauma, Inseparable ultimately paints Indigenous joy and community as vital elements for a path forward.

Miles To Go

Director: James Saunders
Producers: Palmer Morse + Matt Mikkelsen
Director of Photography + Edit/Color: Palmer Morse
Add. Cinematography: Kirk Horton
Sound Mix + Design: Matt Mikkelsen

In 2022 alone there have been over 300 anti-LGBTQ+ bills proposed in various states across the country. Refusing to sit idly by, trans trail runner Perry Cohen (he/him) formed a team of fellow runners who identify as trans men with an aim to compete in races in states proposing and passing hateful legislation. Miles to Go follows their journey into the world of trail running and the freedom to be themselves on the trail.

North Shore Betty | You’re Never too Old to Send

Directors: Travis Rummel, Felt Soul Media, Darcy Hennessey Turenne + Well
Travelled Collective
Producers: Travis Rummel, Darcy Hennessey Turenne, Monika McClure, Alex Lowther, Sakeus Bankson + Jimmy Hopper
Female Directors + Producers

After nearly 30 years on the harrowing and hallowed trails of British Columbia’s North Shore Mountains, Betty Birrell still thinks life is one big playground—and that you’re never too old to send.

Practicing Freedom

Director: Cheshire Li
Producers: Cheshire Li + Rachel Gottfried
Director of Photography: Helena Gruensteidl
Non-binary Director + Producer, Female Producer

Practicing Freedom is a short documentary film centering queer folks and women of color as they navigate the challenges and joys of building an inclusive community, learning about themselves, and increasing representation in mountain biking.

Well Worn Life with Dani Reyes-Acosta

Directors: Daniel Mitchell + Trent Sugg
Producer: Kelsey Ferguson
Director of Photography: Logan Dial
Female Producer

Meet Dani Reyes-Acosta: a mountain athlete, land cultivator, and storyteller whose path consistently seeks the limits of her possibility. Ticking off climbs and ski lines across South America, cultivating her role as a legacy Coloradoan, and setting the course for the future of outdoor access in remote communities, Dani is a visceral example of how self-care an  self-determination can harmonize via the outdoors.

Who Are You To Tell A Story?

Director + Producer: Erica Hinck
Female Director + Producer

An intimate view of the filmmaker’s frustrations and fears. Erica never thought this project would be viewed on such a big screen by so many people at once. While it is scary for her, she’s thankful for those who make her feel brave and for all of you for watching it now.