BolderVision Films

Edge Dancing

The story of two young kayaker/photographers whose nations had conditioned them to be enemies, but who came to depend on each other at the extreme edges of the disintegrating Soviet Union.

Directed and produced by Joy Tessman, and premiered at the 2003 Banff Film Festival program.

2003, 13 minutes

Shepherd Women of Shambala

A story of one woman's intimate journey into the lives of a small group of Ismali Muslim shepherd women who tend the village animals in the rugged passes of Karakoram Mountains in northern Pakistan. Here, a gentle revolution takes place, eradicating the barriers of language, custom, and stereotype. This film tells a moving story of the spirit of women and the power of kindness.

Premiered at the 2002 Banff Mountain Film Festival, audiences worldwide experienced this story directed and produced by Joy Tessman:

2002, 9 minutes

Kopila Rai...A Weaver's Tale

Part One:

One woman's story about growing up in one of the poorest countries in the world, under the weight of the caste system, the pressure of obtaining a dowry, and the guilt of being a burden to her family. With courage and conviction she was able to turn a centuries old tradition of harvesting allo and weaving cloth into a for-profit business empowering the women of her village and inspiring a generation of younger women.

In production, 8 minutes

Part Two:

Kopila has recently been chosen as one of 8 grassroots activist from around the world to participate in the Bridge Conference at the JFK School of Diplomacy, Harvard University. In Feburary 2004, Joy returned to Nepal to accompany Kopila, who has never ventured beyond Kathmandu, to this event. They will then continue on to Washington, DC to tour the city. Kopila will also be a guest of dignitaries at a dinner in her honor.

In production

Between the Cracks

Filmed on location in Namibia, Africa, Summer 2003.

In production

Reindeer Running

In the winter of 1989, Barry Tessman and Sascha Provatorov first encountered and documented the lives of the Khanty, an endangered reindeer herding culture from central Siberia. Four years later, Sascha, Barry, and his future wife, photographer and filmmaker, Joy Tessman, returned. With only a hand-sketched map to guide them, the three found the same family with whom Sascha and Barry had previously lived. They spent a Siberian summer with them, intending to return again for the winter months. Tragically, Barry's untimely death thwarted that dream until now. Joy will reunite with Sascha Provatorov in the hope of relocating this same family and sharing the changing paths of their lives on this wild and magical landscape.

In production

Birthplace of the Winds

Four adventurers' 25-day extreme sea kayaking expedition to the Islands of the Four Mountains in the Bering Sea between Alaska and Russia. Surrounded by some of the coldest, stormiest waters on Earth and lashed by winds or shrouded in a blanket of fog, these islands in the Aleutian chain are remote, challenging, and intensely rewarding, including the discovery of a World War II plane and spectacular views from the summit of an active volcano on a rare sunlit day.

In production