The second annual Shining Mountains Film Festival, a cinematic celebration of Native American culture and history, will return to the Wheeler Opera House on Oct. 13 and 14.
The festival commemorates Indigenous People’s Day which, as of 2017, the city of Aspen now celebrates in place of Columbus Day. The Wheeler will announce its lineup and special guests Sept. 5 and ticket sales will start Sept. 9.
Shining Mountains Film Festival is a documentary film festival produced by the City of Aspen’s Wheeler Opera House, in partnership with Aspen Film and Aspen Ute Foundation, focused on fostering Native American and indigenous peoples storytelling.
“I’m very excited by this new opportunity to partner with our community in producing Shining Mountains Film Festival,” Wheeler executive director Gena Buhler said in the announcement. “The overwhelming community response to the project last year allowed us to have the support to pull this into the Wheeler Festival umbrella, joining Aspen Mountain Film Festival and Aspen Laugh Festival, as our subsidy-based festival properties.”
Aspen Film executive and artistic director Susan Wrubel said of the new partnership: “Helping to give a greater voice to and shine a spotlight on the people who have been here for centuries is part of our mission to enlighten, enrich, educate and entertain through cinema. Our aim is to bring film experiences to the area which may not otherwise be seen, and being able to present these programs in the historic Wheeler Opera House allows the history of Aspen to come full circle.”