OUTLIER: Common Selected for Outside Festival After Mountainfilm Premiere

May 30, 2025

Afuera Productions celebrates OUTLIER: Common being one of a handful of Mountainfilm selections to go on to screen at Outside Festival in Denver—bringing stories beyond stoke to a wider audience.

DENVER, CO /OUTDOOR SPORTSWIRE/ – After a powerful premiere kickoff in March 2025—including winning the “Most Inspiring Film award at No Man’s Land Film Festival—OUTLIER: Common, the newest documentary from Afuera Productions, continues its momentum with a featured screening at Outside Festival 2025 in Denver. The film will screen June 1 as part of the “Short Films: Perseverance” block at the Denver Public Library – Parkview, with a filmmaker discussion to follow.

Handpicked from over 100 titles at this year’s Mountainfilm Festival, OUTLIER: Common is one of only a few films selected to continue on to the Outside Festival. The screening will feature a post-film conversation with OUTLIER: Common Director Dani Reyes-Acosta and The Life We Have Cinematographer Greg Balkin.

Also screening in the block: Beyond Beliefs (Dir. Quamae Hall); Arctic Alchemy (Dir. Colin Arisman & Zeppelin Zeerip); The Life We Have (Dir. Sam Price-Waldman).

Tickets + Info: Outside Festival 2025 Tickets

Location: Denver Public Library – Parkview | Civic Center Park, 101 14th Street, Denver, CO 80204

Stories That Move Us Forward: Building Community Impact with Media

OUTLIER: COMMON is a documentary film that follows three Latina athletes as they navigate life in remote mountains alongside the unpredictable forces of Mother Nature.

As they navigate their relationships to land, lineage, and one another, the film invites audiences to reexamine how we approach the backcountry—and how we we can all evolve toward greater reciprocity and climate resilience.

“Filmmaking is very much a collective art form. It takes a crew to bring a story to life. Collaborating with other production companies or impact-driven studios lets us all play to our strengths and build a stronger creative community through the stories we tell together,” Daniel Mitchell, Co-Founder, BLK ELK. “It also ties our creative work into tangible initiatives.”

As a production partner, BLK ELK played a vital role in the field production for an anchor film participant. The collaboration between Afuera Productions and BLK ELK exemplifies the kind of cross-organizational partnership that’s essential to building sustainable, community-based storytelling—particularly in the outdoor industry.

With roots in community engagement and direct action, OUTLIER: COMMON bridges awe-inspiring cinematography with real-world movement-building. Partners like SOS Outreach, Latino Outdoors, Runners for Public Lands, and Women of Patrol have helped translate the film’s impact into on-the-ground events that foster reflection, growth, and connection.

“Being a community impact partner with media like Dani’s aligns with the work I do personally and professionally in education and the nonprofit sector,” said Laura Alonzo-Ochoa, Board Member, Runners for Public Lands, Hope Dealer, College Counselor. “OUTLIER: Common is a good entry point to some very important and inspiring conversations about equity and the intersectional identities many of us hold.”

“This film drives home a shared value that we have at Mountainfilm: that representation matters. We hope OUTLIER: COMMON can be shared with as many people as possible,” said Hope Logan, Mountainfilm Tour Director.

“We’re grateful for the opportunity to share OUTLIER: COMMON at Mountainfilm this year,” added Crystal Merrill, Festival Director. “Audiences enjoyed watching the story of these three remarkable Latina skiers and leaders, celebrating their strength, connection, and joy in the mountains. They are not only inspiring voices in their communities, but true forces of nature—both on and off the slopes.”

That spirit of representation, celebration, and storytelling finds new ground at Outside Festival, where organizers are expecting over 25,000 attendees in 2025. By continuing on from Mountainfilm to this larger stage, OUTLIER: COMMON builds on the values of intimate, intentional filmmaking and brings them to a more expansive, public forum—inviting even more people into conversations about access and resilience in outdoor spaces.

Together, these two festivals represent a powerful arc—from the mountains to the metropolis—where story becomes catalyst, and community takes root.

OUTLIER: Common was made possible by the following supporters: deuter USA, National Association for Latino Arts and Culture (NALAC), Weston Backcountry, Fischer Ski, Voited USA, Stio, Winter Wildlands Alliance, Anon Optics, Latino Outdoors. The team also ran a crowdfunding campaign via Seed&Spark.

For OUTLIER updates and future screenings, follow @OUTLIERFilmSeries on Instagram.

For more information on Outside Festival, please visit theoutsidefestival.com .

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Media Contact:

Press Contact: press@afueraproductions.com

Photo and Video Assets (Credit Afuera Productions)

About Afuera Productions

Afuera Productions builds bridges from the present to the future, using documentary and branded content to shape the container (and impact) of community. We create culturally acute stories and programming for, by, and about all those existing at the crux of a better world. With a focus on documentary film and episodic content, Afuera Productions is a Latina/Asian-founded, rural Colorado-based impact media collective bringing authentic, lived experiences to the forefront of our work.

About the Outside Festival and Summit

The second annual Outside Festival and Summit will take place in downtown Denver from May 29-June 1, 2025. The Outside Festival presented by Capital One and REI, May 31-June 1, is a celebration of everything outdoors, featuring music, films, speakers, gear, and more. The event is driven by a partnership between Outside Interactive Inc., The State of Colorado’s Outdoor Recreation Office, and Visit Denver—all with a shared vision to make the outdoors more accessible and more inclusive. The Outside Summit, May 29-30, is the outdoor industry’s premier networking conference. For more information, including tickets, please visit theoutsidefestival.com.