The Tower Project
A group of friends adventure through the Utah desert to climb towers in Bears Ears National Monument and discover what wild lands and friendship mean to them after a harrowing fall.
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Matthew JenkinsDirector
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Matthew JenkinsWriter
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Matthew JenkinsProducer
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Karl GrollProducer
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Solomon KrevansProducer
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Jeff AcheyKey Cast
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Steve "Crusher" BartlettKey Cast
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Tim CoatsKey Cast
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Karl GrollKey Cast
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Wayne HartlerodeKey Cast
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Solomon KrevansKey Cast
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Bret RuckmanKey Cast
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Matthew JenkinsDirector of Photography
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Matthew JenkinsAerial Cinematography
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Project Type:Documentary, Short
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Genres:Outdoor, Adventure, Environmental, Utah
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Runtime:19 minutes 12 seconds
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Completion Date:December 11, 2021
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Production Budget:12,580 USD
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Country of Origin:United States
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Country of Filming:United States
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Language:English
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Shooting Format:Digital
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Aspect Ratio:16:9
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:Yes
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Student Project:No
Matt Jenkins is co-founder of Cliffcolor Studio, an outdoor and adventure production company. Through film, photography, narrative, and design, Jenkins creates visual media that explores human relationships with global landscapes, public lands, and resource preservation. Inspired by adventure and challenge, Jenkins' media focuses on human-powered travel such as climbing, trail running, thru-hiking and packrafting to shape these narratives. He has worked on media projects for the National Park Service, Hyperlite Mountain Gear, Himalayan Adventure Labs, and Wide Open Vistas.
In the short, adventure film, The Tower Project, which I wrote, directed, and filmed over several weeks in the Utah desert, a group of friends embark upon a set of rock climbs to experience the landscape and stories at stake in the controversial Bears Ears National Monument (USA). Through climbing multiple rugged spires, and researching the characters and narratives that were defined by them, we hoped to learn about the diversity of values that may be instilled in those who travel throughout the vast areas of the American West.
Once Solomon, Karl, Wayne, and I experienced a 100 foot, life-threatening fall on the ominous Texas Tower, we were forced to make decisions about how much the Bears Ears, climbing, friendship, and the film meant to each of us. As climber and Bears Ears first ascensionist Jeff Achey put it, “It is just such good medicine to be out there.” By the end, we confronted our fears, defined our motivations, and discovered our meanings of place as we summited the final route on the iconic Eagle Plume Spire in the monument’s Valley of the Gods.
I ask of the viewers by the end: what are the unique values that threatened public lands mean to each of us and how may immersive experiences in wild places come to define each of us?