After the viewing, there will be a panel of female adventure athletes talking about what it’s like to excel in the male-dominated area of adventure sports. One of the panelists will be local climber, Jenn Flemming!
Panelist Bios:
Galen Knowles is an Ashfield native and award-winning filmmaker whose career began at the Ashfield FilmFest, where he won the Youth Prize in 2009. For more than 15 years, Galen has developed, directed, filmed, and produced documentaries and sports stories around the world for Red Bull Media House, YouTube Originals, the Olympic Channel, VICE Sports, and others. He is an executive producer of Girl Climber, which was nominated for a Sports Emmy for Outstanding Sports Feature: Long Form. This film marks a career milestone that brings his international filmmaking journey back to the hometown festival where it began.
Jenn Flemming, PhD, is an accomplished rock climber, photographer, and humanitarian researcher based in Western Mass. Among her climbing achievements are the first female ascents of Freeline and Fraidline, two demanding 5.13 trad routes in Colorado’s Eldorado Canyon, alongside numerous other bold, runout 5.13 climbs. Her climbing has taken her throughout the United States and around the world, where she has established first ascents in an array of countries including Tajikistan, Iran, Bolivia, and China. Beyond climbing, Jenn works with international organizations in crisis-affected countries to strengthen programs supporting children, young people, and families affected by displacement and conflict.
Aisha McAdams is an award-winning photographer, ultrarunner, and former collegiate track athlete whose work explores the human stories within sport. Known for her intimate, human-centered imagery, she has photographed some of the world’s leading endurance athletes, and her work has appeared in Sports Illustrated, Runner’s World, CNN, and The Boston Globe. Aisha is also the central subject of Max Lowe’s new documentary Learning to Fly, which follows her as she documents elite ultrarunners at some of the sport’s most demanding races and, through that journey, rediscovers her own relationship with running.
