LOCAL Houston | The City Guide FEBRUARY 2015 | Page 34

Local February 2015 final.qxp_002houston 1/26/15 1:57 PM Page 34 GISH AT THE MOVIES THE MOUNTAINS ARE COMING TO TOWN When the Allen brothers founded Houston back in 1836, they lied to the folks back in New York and said we had mountains in our bayou city. Who knew that almost 200 years later their dream would come to fruition? Celluloid mountains are coming to Houston this February 20 and 21 when Telluride Mountainfilm (www.mountainfilm.org) returns to Houston for the third year, thanks to founders Jack and Shushana Castle, two amazing pioneers who would have made the Allen Brothers proud. Jack is a third-generation Houstonian who built his career in the healthcare sector and is now on the Board of Directors of Telluride Mountainfilm, and Shushana is an author of two books that take on the food industry and was an international bond trader for over 25 years. The dynamic duo are environmental activists on a local and global scale and, for Telluride Mountainfilm over a decade, Shushana and Jack have been devotees of Telluride Mountainfilm. They discovered their passion for activism from many of the films they watched at the festival, and it became their personal mission to raise awareness about social, cultural and environmental issues by bringing Mountainfilm to Houston in 2012. Founded in 1979, the documentary festival has a strong mission: to educate and inspire audiences about issues that matter. Issues that matter is what Shushana and Jack Castle are all about. “Every year we are humbled by dozens of films that capture our hearts and open our eyes to more awe-inspiring people that are doing great things around the world. There are so many well done documentaries at Mountainfilm. Each year, we leave feeling renewed and enlightened by the entire experience,” Shushana told me. “We love films with ‘feel good’ strong messages,” Jack told me – and yet he doesn’t shy away from the obvious work we have here in Houston: “A few years ago I invited two senior executives of huge oil companies to view a film about drilling and dumping toxins into waterways and its effect on health and the environment. I told them both to think about their grandchildren and not their company. One executive was the last to leave that night.” Telluride Mountainfilm in Houston will be at the Asia Society (www.asiasociety.org/texas) and tickets are available through ICEtalks (www.icetalks.org), the nonprofit formed by the Castles that focuses on “Issues, Cultures, and Environments worth sustaining.” Prices are $30/night or $55/weekend and dinner during the intermission will be provided by Shade (www.shadeandcanopy.com) for around $10. FOUR FILMS WILL BE SHOWN THIS YEAR: Tashi and the Monk, which is an amazing story about patience and passion Mending the Line Tashi and the Monk Xmas Without China filmed in the Himalayas; Mending the Line, about a World War II veteran that brings up themes of love, suffering, memories and hope; Cold, about ascending an 8,000-meter peak in the middle of winter; and Xmas Without China, in which a family tries to celebrate the holidays without anything made in China. WANT TO SEE MORE ART FILMS? Check out these venues: 14 Pews (www.14pews.org); Alamo Drafthouse (www.drafthouse.com); Asia Society (www.asiasociety.org/texas); Aurora Picture Show (www.aurorapictureshow.org); Blaffer Art Museum (www.blafferartmuseum.org); Café Brasil (www.cafe-brasil.net); Contemporary Arts Museum (www.camh.org); Discovery Green (www.discoverygreen.com); DiverseWorks (www.diverseworks.org); Holocaust Museum (www.hmh.org); Jewish Community Center (www.erjcchouston.org); Landmark River Oaks Theatre (www.landmarktheatres.com); Miller Outdoor Theatre (www.milleroutdoortheatre.com); Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (www.mfah.org/films); Orange Show (www.orangeshow.org); Rice Cinema (www.ricecinema.rice.edu); and Sundance Cinemas (www.sundancecinemas.com). Sarah Gish is an artist, mama, igniter and connector who has been writing for Local magazine since 1998. She was one of the co-founders of Q-Fest, Houston’s only LGBT festival, and was the publicist and city