CMC Spring Valley hosts free screening of skydiving documentary

Colorado Mountain College and Aspen Film will present a free screening of "Space Cowboy,” a documentary that tells the story of Joe Jennings, an innovator in skydiving, filmmaking and cinematography.

Jennings has spent decades capturing breathtaking aerial moments with his camera for extreme sports competitions, Super Bowl commercials and Hollywood blockbusters. But much of the film centers on how Jennings dealt with grief after the tragic 1995 skydiving death of his longtime skysurfing partner, Rob Harris, and decided to continue with his passion.

The screening will be held March 4, at 6 p.m. with free admission at the New Space Theatre at CMC Spring Valley, 3000 County Road 114, Glenwood Springs.

Professor Joseph Gamble noted the Spring Valley campus is home to the Isaacson School for Communication, Arts and Media. The school's photography and digital media programs are located there, including the film production curriculum.

"Showing a film like 'Space Cowboy,’ which explores the vanguard of adventure filmmaking, connects directly with the type of regional adventure filmmaking that often inspires our students," Gamble noted.

The screening is part of a partnership with Aspen Film, where the Isaacson School has an internship program for the annual Aspen Film Festival in the fall and the Aspen Shorts Fest in the spring.

"Space Cowboy" premiered at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival and garnered two film festival nominations: the 2024 Golden Starfish Award Documentary Feature at the Hamptons International Film Festival and the Montclair Film Festival's New Jersey Films Competition.

Alison Foreman of IndieWire gave the film an A- and called it "a documentary that will make you laugh, cry, and maybe even want to jump out of a plane."

"Kind, caring, and plummeting to Earth like the rest of us, Joe Jennings is the hero that will remind you to save yourself," she added.

"Space Cowboy" runs 98 minutes. It was directed by Bryce Leavitt and Marah Strauch, and produced by Leavitt, Strauch and Tyler Measom.