James Varner ’14 – Trail Film Fest

James Varner Interview

I’ve wanted to catch up with past guest James Varner for a while, and when I heard he was producing a film festival dedicated to trail running films, I shot him an invite immediately.

James and I chat about trail running films–who makes them and why–and the different shows that’ll be at his traveling festival. Long, short, dynamic, and serene, the festival will have beer, fellow runners, and I’m sure a magnetic draw to ultrasignup at the conclusion. It’ll be the first time I step inside a movie theatre in 10+ years.

I also get a chance to talk about race directing, bib selling, Count Chocula, pacing, and beer.

Episode Notes:

Episode sponsored by Territory Run Company. Check them out!

Trail Runner Film Festival website here with dates, films, etc

Rainshadow Running website

Outro music: Soul Meets Body by Death Cab for Cutie.

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12 Responses to "James Varner ’14 – Trail Film Fest"

Elliot says:

October 23, 2014 at 1:42 pm

Thanks a lot for including this in your daily news the other day. I had no clue this was going to be happening. I live in Chicago and happen to live in Logan Square which is where they are putting on one of the showings. I was so excited. I bought 2 tickets instantly.

Reply
Mike Hinterberg says:

October 23, 2014 at 1:54 pm

Saw the show last night in Denver, and it was awesome — and Varner and Gretchen were great hosts, great to chat with James last night briefly. Looks like they’re doing some great stuff up there in the PNW.

Don’t want to burst too many bubbles, and unfortunately because I loved Count Chocula as a kid, but there are some social things I don’t dig about Black Bottle since they opened, IMHO, so I’ve never actually gone there. (I’d explain off-line). But to each their own!

So many other great options in town instead: yes, O’Dell’s, and Equinox are probably my favourite for variety and quality…Pateros is smaller but also great, and provides beer for Gnar Runner races. Those breweries are also more, um, socially mature and responsible.
Cheers!

Reply
1. eric schranz says:
  
  October 23, 2014 at 2:17 pm
  
  What was your favorite film?
  
  Reply
  1. Mike Hinterberg says:
    
    October 23, 2014 at 2:49 pm
    
    James asked, too — not an easy answer!
    
    Both Mt. Marathon’s were a great mix of scenery and performance. The 2013 video might be my favourite overall because it was tightly done.
    The Rainshadow previews opened my eyes to the great scenery and races out there, and were also well-done and seemed to capture the spirit of both the front and the middle of the pack.
    
    Colorado bias:
    I hadn’t actually seen Jaime’s CO Trail video, despite several local opportunities and talking with him before and after it. Great to see a few friends as support crew, and also his wonderful wife and #1 fan father-in-law…as well as HR footage.
    Had seen Darcy’s HR video before…also a class-act runner and can never get enough of seeing the course.
    
    Torres del Paine: More gorgeous scenery stirs the imagination. Although YAFKT video.
    Barkley preview: have seen similar online with Kickstarter but still nice to see the quirkiness.
    Krar in the Canyon: I don’t necessarily like (or dislike) guys just because they are fast — I generally dig the sort of personality that get other people excited about running. But, really appreciated and sympathized with his depression and openness about it. This also made the rounds on the internet and had seen it before, but I think it deserves more credit cinematographically, particularly the spare use of sound and the low camera angle while he’s descending and giving the voiceover. This was probably my favourite “meaningful” film.
    I suspect the total Nikki Kimball video will also have more depth in it that wasn’t necessarily captured in the preview, looks promising.
    Baja, Mexico mining: Running with a real purpose! Great to see and learn something new, probably my favourite “educational” film.
    
    So, different videos for different reasons! I guess the summary is that James really put on a great mix, and the quality, availability, and interest in running videos is really improving. Climbing and especially ski films and festivals — or catch-all festivals like Banff — are really best when they have a mix. They can’t all be YAFKT videos, trail pr0n, or midpack-first-100 video, and need to offer something else…but the options and production quality are really improving.
    Can’t wait for the next festival!
    
    Reply
2. Mike Hinterberg says:
  
  November 4, 2014 at 3:44 pm
  
  Alright, so I ended up trying the Count Chocula beer, and it was awesome!
  The Count Chocula beer did have that extra hint of cereal marshmallowness.
  
  Regarding my previous comment (which I’d rather amend or delete), there was an issue a few years ago that some folks were concerned about, but they pretty much took care of it and I’d say it’s all good. Decent brewery.
  
  Made it to another new one, Snowbank Brewing, which had a cocoa nib-infused caramelized pumpkin ale that worked surprisingly well. Great brews all-around from them. There are so many great breweries in Denver and Boulder but FoCo really nails it. Time for a visit!
  If you’re into any seriously over-the-top chocolate beers that’s more readily available, have you had Boulder’s Shake?
  
  Reply
Chris Bender says:

October 23, 2014 at 7:04 pm

Can you give an approximate running time of the films as a whole? Trying to attend but need to lock up some babysitting and trying to get an idea what time we’ll be home. Thanks!

Reply
1. Mike Hinterberg says:
  
  October 23, 2014 at 7:49 pm
  
  The Denver show (check if the playlist is the same, as I see it is slightly different for a few shows) was almost exactly 3 hours — which went by quickly and made it worthwhile. 8 films totalling just over an hour, then a 20 min intermission (plus raffle), then 8 more — with the final feature being the longest, “Running the Edge” at 45 mins.
  
  The whole thing was great but if you had to leave early it would still likely be worth seeing as much as you could. Have fun!
  
  Reply
Kashi Davis says:

October 29, 2014 at 2:58 pm

Soo psyched you had him on – I had no idea this was happening and am esp stoked there are east coast dates! Just bought my tix to the Philly show, yippee! And also thanks to PP who posted approx running time of show, that helped me with planning too! Thanks URP, you rock!

Reply
Arun says:

October 29, 2014 at 6:09 pm

What’s that song used in the closing?

Reply
1. eric schranz says:
  
  October 30, 2014 at 4:13 am
  
  Exit Music for a Film by Radiohead.
  
  Reply
  1. Joakim Jonsson says:
    
    November 8, 2014 at 9:11 am
    
    That isn’t Radiohead. Sorry Erik but i think it is Soul meets body with Death cab for cutie. Great show! Wish we had trail film fest in the north of sweden.
    
    Reply
    1. eric schranz says:
      
      November 8, 2014 at 2:27 pm
      
      Ah crap thats right. I changed it. The Death Cab track is a big hint. Thanks.
      
      Reply

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