'100: Head/Heart/Feet' Shown at SNOB Film Festival

The SNOB Film Festival will screen Hammer & Saw films’ “100: Head/Heart/Feet,” at the Red River Theaters in Concord at 6 p.m. on Saturday Nov. 8. The film, which won the Directors Award at the Kington Film Festival, celebrates the journey of Zak Wieluns as he struggles to complete his first 100 mile ultramarathon in Vermont.

Wieluns, from Portland, Maine, first attempted the Vermont 100 Endurance Race in 2011 but collapsed, physically exhausted at the 89-mile checkpoint and unable to continue. In 2012 his extensive physical training went for naught as he burst a knee-cyst after 30-miles. 100: Head/Heart/Feet follows Wieluns in his grueling preparation for and participation in the 25th anniversary running of this celebrated race, one of the original 100-mile runs and a part of the Grand Slam Series of ultra-running.

Emily Wynes of farnorthendurance.com writes of the film, “I didn’t just like it. I was truly blown away. Despite being new to the documentary genre (or perhaps because they are new to it), filmmakers Mike Mooney and Will Peters have crafted a beautiful story of the physical and emotional pains and joys experienced by runners—and those who support them—as they push their bodies and minds to their limits.”

The producers of Motel (Best of Fest, SNOB 2010) and Exit 7A (Best Short Thriller, SNOB 2012), Mooney and Peters followed Wieluns’ intensive training regimen and its impact on his relationships while exploring the reasons he was singularly dedicated to completing the “100.”

Cinematographer and editor Peters, a native Vermonter, captured stunning footage of Wieluns’ day-long struggles with heat and exhaustion against the picturesque backdrop of rural Vermont. With a crew of 20 Colby-Sawyer College alumni, faculty and students, Hammer & Saw films recorded every aspect of the grueling race, from the horses that accompanied the runners to the stations where runners refueled to the medical check points and the hospital tents.

Director Mooney, born and raised in Middlebury, Vermont, is himself an ultramarathon and Iron Man competitor. He wanted to examine the camaraderie among ultrarunners by recording the stories of handlers, sherpas and training partners and exploring the friendships that motivate their grueling preparation for the race. He questioned physiologists, nutritionists and sport psychology experts about the extreme health risks associated with ultra-running.

Vermont native Mark Daly, front man for the rock band DALY, composed the sound track for the film, which also features music from Luke Reynolds, Academy Award nominated musician of the popular group Guster, as well as Bon Iver, 2012 Grammy winners for Best New Artist and Best Alternative Music Album and internet marimba sensation Evan Chapman.

100: Head/Heart/Feet appeals not only to the nearly 10 million recreational runners and more than a half-million marathoners in the U.S. but also to anyone who enjoys watching the real life struggles of a man training to take on one of the nearly impossible physical feats in sports… all while trying to maintain a “normal” life.

100: Head/Heart/Feet will be shown Nov. 8, at 6 p.m. in the Red River Theaters, which is located in Concord.

For more information, please visit snobfilmfestival.com/.

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For more information about Hammer & Saw Films, visit hammerandsawfilms.com/.

Hammer and Saw Films was founded in 2008 Will Peters and Mike Mooney. Their first short film, Motel, won Best of Fest and the Rochester International Film Festival and the SNOB Film Festival. Exit 7A screened at 21 film festivals in the US, winning The Best of Fest award at The Filmshift Festival, Best Short Thriller at SNOB Film Festival and the Audience Award at the Buffalo International Film Festival. Exit 7A has also been selected for deadline magazine’s Best International Short Thriller award in Munich, Germany.

Windcrossing Productions of Colby-Sawyer College, founded in 1990 by the late Professor Donald Coonley, was reborn in 2011 and dedicated to the creation of interdisciplinary video projects that invite alumni to collaborate with current students and community members. Hammer & Saw films worked with the Windcrossing crew to produce The Checkup and It’s Not Not Safe, which were screened at six film festivals.

Submitted text. Courtesy photo.