An American Ascent

press release: USA | 69 min | NR | DVD | Dir. George Potter & Andy Adkins

In collaboration with the Wisconsin Hoofers and WUD Society & Politics

AN AMERICAN ASCENT is a documentary film about the first African-American expedition to tackle North America's highest peak, Denali.

In only a few decades the United States will become a majority-minority nation, as people of color will outnumber today's white majority for the first time ever. Yet, a staggering number of people in this soon-to-be majority do not consider the outdoors as a place for them. By by taking on the grueling, 20,310 foot peak of the continent's biggest mountain, nine African-American climbers set out to shrink this Adventure Gap by building a legacy of inclusion in the outdoor/adventure community.

The film addresses often overlooked issues of race and the outdoors as it follows the team up the mountain, chronicling the many challenges of climbing one of the worlds most iconic peaks.

A Q&A following the film with James Edward Mills, an African-American adventurer, mountaineer, and author of 'The Adventure Gap', to talk about race, diversity, and equity in the outdoors