For four years, the Lookout Wild Film Festival has showcased the finest adventuring from directors near and far. The upcoming fifth anniversary festival, set for Jan. 19-21, will feature films about rappelling into a volcano, standup paddleboarding down the Amazon River, and more than a few outdoor quests undertaken with a faithful canine companion.
There's an underlying message in many of the films: If you have a dream, make it happen.
Earlier this year, festival director Andy Johns decided to take that message to heart. After four years of watching other people live their dreams - particularly inspired by a film from last year's festival titled Tomorrow Somewhere New about a family with a small toddler traveling the country - he dropped everything and is now touring the country in an RV with his wife Jessica and their 4-year-old son Braden.
"We'd always talked about that lifestyle once we were retired, but with Alzheimer's on my side and Parkinson's on hers, retirement isn't always a given," says Johns. "The more we thought about all these reasons we couldn't, the more they started to fall away."
Johns' son isn't old enough to start elementary school, and Johns' marketing and public relations job is flexible enough to be done on the road. In fact, he was already on the road 60 days out of the year before venturing out on his journey.
"I never wanted to be that dad that was gone all the time," he says.
He realized there would never be a more perfect time to sell his house of eight years, his family's two cars and buy an RV.
"We'll probably come back next August so Braden can start school," says Johns, "because once that starts, t-ball, soccer and whatever else he gets into will come along and that will run our lives for the next 12 years."
Johns has gone from the East Coast to the West Coast and driven from the Rio Grande River to the Canadian border, hitting every place he ever wanted to visit while sharing the wonders of America with his young son. He says his family has clocked about 18,000 miles so far, and they've still got just under a year left on the road.
"We've seen the St. Louis Arch, the Alamo, Mt. Rushmore and so much more," says Johns. "There's a lot to see out there, and we'll be lucky to hit it all."
The best destinations have been the surprises, he says. While he expected Yellowstone National Park to be stunning, the upper peninsula of Michigan along Lake Superior and the Black Hills of South Dakota were so much more than Johns anticipated.
In the midst of his travels, in between the sightseeing and work, Johns still found time to review the over 100 hours of film submitted for this year's festival, and it's not just last year's number of tickets - more than 3,000 - he expects to surpass this year.
"I think this year will exceed people's expectations," Johns says.
2016 certainly exceeded his.
IF YOU GO
The 2017 LWFF is taking place Jan. 19-21 at the Memorial Auditorium Community Theater, though Thursday’s location hadn’t been confirmed as of press time. Thursday-Saturday will have a night showing starting at 7 p.m., while Saturday and Sunday will have a matinee showing starting at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $9 for one block of films, or $17 for the whole four days.
More Info
Director’s picksHere’s a quick look at a few of Johns’ top picks from the approximately 50 short films selected for this year’s festival.Paul’s BootsThis film is sure to tug at the heartstrings. Paul was a big man from Australia. Likewise, he had a big dream: to hike the Appalachian Trail. While gearing up to take on the iconic trail, Paul tragically passed away at the age of 53. To fulfill his dying wish, his wife sent Paul’s size 13 boots to people planning on hiking the trail so that her husband could, in some way, make the trip he’d always dreamed of.When We Were KnightsA 12-minute look into the lifestyle, thrill — and risk — of wingsuit BASE jumping, When We Were Knights tells the story of Ian Flanders and his flying partner Matt Blank. Scenes of intense beauty, both from the jumps themselves and the pair’s close friendship, are overlaid with Blank reading a letter he’d written to Flanders in case he didn’t survive a jump. Ultimately, though, it was Flanders who died first.Ace and the Desert DogTo celebrate his 60th birthday, Ace Kvale and his faithful Blue Heeler Genghis Khan, AKA Desert Dog, set out on a 60-day, 400-mile hike around Canyon Country in Utah. Johns says the film is funny and touching — and that films with dogs are often audience-favorites.Bright SpotsThe first animated film the LWFF has ever showcased, Bright Spots is an 8-minute look into the life of environmental scientist Nick Holmes as he studies preventing extinction on small, isolated islands off the shores of Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii. Johns describes the film as having an almost fairy-tale style to it, something drastically different from many of the action-oriented, personal and gritty films typically submitted to the festival.