Mountainfilm began in 1979 when Telluride was completing its transition from a hard-rock gold and silver mining community to a destination resort and ski town. Lito Tejada-Flores, after screening his adventure and mountaineering film "Fitzroy" at the Trento festival in Italy, and Bill Kees, a local climber and avid outdoorsman, inaugurated the event. Over three nights, at the historic Sheridan Opera House, they screened a dozen films about mountain sports, mountain cultures and mountain issues. During the daytime, audience members took to the mountains for adventure themselves.