The picnic was complete with a surprise performance by Kongar-ol Ondar of Genghis Blues. When the storm blew in during the awards presentations, it didn't dampen anyone's spirits, it only caused everyone to huddle in a little tighter under the canopy.

The main prize for the Mountainfilm Festival is the Moving Mountains Prize which was planned to be a $3,000 to one nonprofit film.  The panel of judges were not happy with that amount, so they pulled together and managed to have not one, but two $5,000 prizes which were awarded to Burma VJ-Reporting From a Closed Country and Making the Crooked Straight.  There were cheers all around the picnic knowing this money would be put to good use.

(See Lisa's photos of the picnic in the attached slideshow)

Other awards included:

Audience Award:  Sergio

Food For Thought:  Food, Inc.

Charlie Fowler Award:  Samsara

Aspiring Filmmaker's Award:  Surfing 50 States

Festival Director's Award:  Tim DeChristopher

Kidz Kino Awards:

Most Creative Film:  Western Spaghetti

Funniest Film:  The Riddle in a Bottle

Best Animal Film:  Chickens of the Sea

Most Entertaining Film:  Ice Cream Sunday

Most Adventurous Film:  Snaked: A Moroccan Adventure

 
Lisa Wilson is a local Telluride blogger and photographer. You can see more of her work at Mountains Rule & Telluride Daily Photo and follow her on Twitter @TellurideLisa.