STORY

The sleepy town of Buea in the Southwest Province of Cameroon hosts Africa’s most grueling footrace: the Mt. Cameroon Race of Hope, a marathon-length sprint 10,000 feet up a live volcano, and back down again. To conquer the mountain, racers must overcome some of the cruelest conditions in sport: temperatures fluctuate 50 degrees, altitude sickness claims the weak, and loose volcanic stones can cause serious injury, and even death, as runners fly back down the mountain. Volcanic Sprint takes you deep inside the lives of athletes like Sarah Etonge, a five-time champion and mother of seven known as the Queen of the Mountain. Just days before the race, Sarah is haunted by a nagging knee injury and the strain of a hospitalized child. Sarah needs the money she earns from racing to support her children and the Race of Hope is the biggest purse in Cameroon. For these competitors, Mt. Cameroon isn’t just a race. It’s their best shot at achieving fame and fortune in a country short on both. For former champion John Ekema, it’s a chance to relive fading glory through his son. For two-time champion Dominique Tedjiozem, attacked by rivals during the 2002 race, it’s a chance for vengeance. All the competitors’ hopes and aspirations come together on the biggest sporting day in Cameroon. The winners will achieve lifelong fame. But nearly half of all runners will quit the race . . conquered by Mt. Cameroon.

DISTRIBUTION

Winner, USA Film Festival; Winner, Big Bear Lake Film Festival; Official Selection, 2008 Adventure Film Festival (Volcanic Sprint); Official Selection, Jackson Hole Film Festival; Official Selection, Kathmandu Film Festival; Official Selection, Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival; Official Selection, Boulder Adventure Film Festival.

Distributed worldwide by APT International.

STORY

Thirty years ago, scientists reported a hole in the ozone layer ‘the size of North America.’ The culprit was a man-made chemical called CFCs, and the stakes were literally “life as we know it.” Yet business remained bitterly opposed. Politicians were slow to act. Like with today’s CO2 emissions, an invisible compound was threatening the Earth’s life-support systems, but a solution seemed beyond reach. Eerily reminiscent of today’s energy and climate crisis, Shattered Sky tells the story of how America led the world to solve the biggest environmental crisis ever seen.

DISTRIBUTION & TAKE ACTION

Shattered Sky had its world premiere at the Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital in 2012. It can be streamed online at iTunes and Amazon. The Shattered Sky Facebook page achieved more than 494,000 likes. Read the NY Times article, check out the press kit, read Director Steve Dorst’s articles for Policy Innovations and Bloomberg. Great call to action by NWF’s campus initiative.

STORY

Jobs for G.I.s documents the struggles vets face finding a job when they separate from the military. Set in Los Angeles, which has the largest veteran population in the country, the film follows the journeys of five vets — one each from the Army, Marines, Navy, and two from the Air Force — as they try to overcome unique obstacles and launch new careers in the civilian world.

DISTRIBUTION & TAKE ACTION

Z-Channel Films’ team of Doug Gritzmacher and Steve Dorst were the first filmmakers to be hired externally to make a documentary for DirecTV’s Audience Channel. Jobs for G.I.s premiered internationally to DirecTV’s 40 million viewers on Veteran’s Day 2015. Blog posts on Jobs for G.I.s. Jobs for G.I.s on IMDB. Jobs for G.I.s at Z-Channel Films.