HICO, WV (WOAY)- Friday night, Freefolk Brewery and Hico will be the hosts of the No Man’s Land film festival. This festival helps lift diverse local voices in the film industry, as it’s the first all-women and gender-queer adventure film festival.
This is the first time that the No Man’s Land film festival will be at the New River Gorge. They’ve partnered with the Fayette Trail Coalition and the New River Alliance of Climbers to host this event. This festival will be featuring about 7 short films made by women or gender queer people.
“So it’s a nice opportunity to include these other voices as we explore things like adventure, the outdoors, conservation, climbing, mountain biking, and all of the reasons that many people love to be in this area of the New River Gorge,” said Lisa Podlecki, the events coordinator for New River Alliance of Climbers.
Regardless of whether you identify with the filmmaker’s identities, the stories will resonate with whoever watches.
“We can all relate to these stories, even if we might not identify with a different sexuality or with a different gender,” said Polecki. “We still hear these narratives and we hear people looking for community and looking for connection and having these adventures outdoors and just enjoying nature and sport.”
However, films won’t be the only thing featured at this event.
“So we are having a silent art auction, and it is featuring female artists and genderqueer people from our community. And we have some really awesome stuff,” said Polecki.
If you can’t make this event, then don’t worry as they hope to bring it back to Hico this winter.
The doors will open at 5:30 and screenings will start at 6:30 Friday night. There’s a suggested donation of 15 to $20, but you can pay what you wish. All of the money will go to the Fayette Trail Coalition and the New River Alliance of Climbers.
