Lava

When the going get tough, the tough get going. Erik Weihenmayer went blind at age 14, but that didn’t stop from him reaching for the stars, almost literally: He discovered rock climbing and eventually became the first blind person to summit Mount Everest. Nor did it stop his team leader from pushing him further: “Don’t make climbing Mount Everest the greatest thing you ever do,” he urged. In response to this challenge, Weihenmayer learned to whitewater kayak. Director Michael Brown documented the young man’s efforts to achieve his ultimate goal: paddling the entire length of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. The result is a sensitive documentary that explores what it truly means to look fear square in the eye. This cinematic journey of a brave soul who readily admits that limitations are real and formidable doubles as a meditation on our own capacity for navigating the turbulence of life. (Denver International Film Festival)