5Point Film Festival, Pursuing a Life of Passion

Another 5Point Film Festival has come and gone, and my head is still spinning with the images, words and sounds of the weekend. There’s an energy that surrounds the event, an infectious sense of greater inspiration and passion that pervades the festival. Goosebumps are the norm, along with a healthy dose of spine tingling. In a culture overwhelmed with selfishness, entitlement, and ego, the films shown at 5 point give a vision of different kind of life. One filled with humility, respect, purpose, commitment and balance. It would be lengthy, and I’d probably lose everyone, to talk about all the different films, though most are absolutely worth checking out. Instead, some thoughts on a few favorite moments, the ones that stood above all the others.

Hayden Kennedy’s presentation kicked of the first night in style, and it was great to see so much support for he and Jason Kruk’s decision to return Cerro Torre to it’s former glory as one of the most difficult and beautiful peaks in the world. His presentation was funny and insightful, and the standing ovation at the end put a smile on everyone’s face.

There was a powerful moment from the film Shattered that really stuck with me. Directed by Tyler Stableford and featuring Steve House, as the piece draws to a close, Steve is soloing an ice route in the San Juans, and talks about the nineteen people he has shared a rope with who are now dead. He asks himself: “They were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Is this the wrong place. Is this the wrong time? Will I know?” Wow.

Racing the End was one of my favorite films of the weekend, despite the fact that I’m not a road biker. An incredibly high energy romp, it showcased an “undgerground” event in LA were a group of riders stage an early morning (4AM) race on the closed-to-traffic LA marathon course. For this group of cyclists, it’s a rare opportunity to speed through the LA streets without getting run over by traffic The event has grown to draw folks from all over, and you could feel the enthusiasm dripping off the screen. So cool.

Tony Alva is the man. He spoke about his path from rockstar-dom, to finding real meaning in his life, and being five and a half years sober. He travels around, skating with underprivileged kids in big cities and Native American reservations, using his talents to bring joy and hope to a group of people who often have so little of both. A true inspiration.

As always, the friends from far and wide that come together are amazing, as well as all the new faces we met over the course of the weekend. If there was a recurring theme, it’s that passion is worth pursuing, and is crucial to living a life of meaning and purpose. Thank you to everyone at 5Point for inspiring that passion in all of us.

And for those who weren’t there, don’t worry, there’s always next year!