87 minutes, DVCAM, USA, 2008
Directed by Drury Gunn Carr & Doug Hawes-Davis

Jim Stiles moved to socially-conservative Moab, Utah in the mid-1970s from Kentucky. In 1989 he began publishing the politically-progressive “Canyon Country Zephyr” entirely by himself. Widely recognized as one of the best indie papers in the American West, The Zephyr combines humor, history, honesty and artistry in its coverage of environmental issues. With a motto of "Hopelessly clinging to the past since 1989," the Canyon Country Zephyr is all about "Old West" meets "New West." BRAVE NEW WEST is a profile of Stiles, his paper, and the land and people that are his passion.

What reviewers are saying about BRAVE NEW WEST: "For nearly 20 years, Ed Abbey groupie Jim Stiles has been railing against the commercialization of the American West with controversial, hand-drawn cartoons in the Canyon Country Zephyr, his self-published, Moab-based newspaper. This funny, frank film profiles the flannel-clad curmudgeon and his one-man fight to save the landscape he loves." Outside Magazine

The movie transcends the story of Stiles, and at its heart, it’s about the devastation of loss and irreversible change, about finding kinship in this big strange world and about gathering the strength to do what you think is important even when discouragement is everywhere."  The Daily Planet

A captivating film that succeeds in telling the story of the self-described hermit who has, over time, inspired a small cult following of his own the high desert of the Southwest. Stiles lives and works in unapologetic adherence to the Zephyr’s slogan—“Clinging Hopelessly to the Past”—and filmmakers Doug Hawes-Davis and Drury Gunn Carr give viewers a wonderful look into the day-to-day life of the activist publisher who long-ago settled in Moab. Through his cartoons and self-deprecating humor, Stiles manages to exude a resilient attitude and a feeling that all is not lost. The filmmakers in turn feed off that, producing this entertaining portrait of one of Southwest’s most eccentric characters." Newwest.net

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Official Film Page:
http://www.highplainsfilms.org/

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