Film festival highlights outdoor accessibility, inclusivity

No Man’s Land Film Festival, the premier adventure film festival for women and gender non-conforming athletes and storytellers playing at the Panida on Friday, March 31, will include a panel discussion with leaders from the Sandpoint community dedicated to making the outdoors inclusive and accessible for all.

Speakers include Ammi Midstokke, Maeve Nevins-Lavtar, and Gwen Victorsen.

Ammi Midstokke is a popular columnist for the Spokesman Review and Out There Outdoors magazine, and the author of "All the Things: Mountain Misadventure, Relationshipping, and Other Hazards of an Off-Grid Life". Her stories are the raw, humbling, and often hilarious happenstances of an adventurous life as a woman, mother, and outdoor advocate.

“I believe that representation is essential in the self-actualization of the individual. When we see people with some semblance of commonality to us doing a thing, it expands and inspires our own ideas of what we have access to or are capable of. Beyond giving us hope for self-efficacy, representation is how we build our sense of belonging, and belonging is essential to our mental well-being as individuals and even the health of our communities.”

Maeve Nevins-Lavtar, employed with the city of Sandpoint as their first Park Planning and Development Manager, focusing on inclusive and accessible design and land use of public parks and trails. With the mission to improve equitable access to public lands for all.

“Children who have access to bike trails on their route to school have an increased attendance rate,” Nevins-Lavtar said, noting that this is just one of the many benefits of outdoor recreation development and active play.

“By advocating for funding towards equitable outdoor recreation, and at the local level for park improvements, such as those prioritized in the Sandpoint Parks and Recreation Master Plan, we can strengthen not only the family unit, but ultimately create a positive ripple effect community-wide,” she said.

Gwen Victorsen, lands resource specialist with the Idaho Department of Lands and co-founder of True North Treks, a non-profit focuses on connecting young folks and their caregivers affected by cancer to the outdoors.

“I feel the outdoors are life’s grandest classroom and we all should spend more time soaking in her countless benefits,” says Gwen. “It’s important for the outdoors to remain inclusive and accessible so all creatures are able to reap these big rewards! Part of my hopes for my Idaho Department of Lands career is to continue to help our state balance unprecedented use, and the conservation of our resources, so my grandbabies' grandbabies have the same opportunities I have today.”

The film festival is sponsored by Claire Anderson, a co-owner of Burger Dock in Sandpoint. The film and panel discussion co-sponsors are Matchwood Brewing Company and Alpine Shop.

Raffle sponsors are Le Chic Boutique, Heartbowls, Embody Studio, Outdoor Experience, Sandpoint Medical Massage, Syringa Cyclery, Carousel, Evans Brothers, Rachel Baker Photography, Bula Stone, Bluebird Bakery, Cognito Brands, Kristine Rae Physical Therapy, Zabrielle, Longleaf Wilderness Medicine, Finan McDonald, Azalea Handpicked Style, Mountain Flow Riders, and Keokee Media and Marketing.

All ticket and raffle sales go to Kaniksu Land Trust and Pend Oreille Pedalers. The general admission tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for children.

The doors open at 6 p.m. with showtime at 7 p.m.

Info.: panida.org