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Banff Mountain Film FestivalExperience the thrill of high-adrenaline outdoor sports!Friday, April 27, 2007
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The Banff Mountain Film Festival is an international film competition featuring the world's best footage on mountain subjects. The festival began in 1976 and is held annually on the first weekend in November in Banff, Alberta, Canada.
Each year, the festival receives approximately 330 films in the film festival competition. The films come from more than 45 countries and range from productions created by high school students to professional crews working with companies like the BBC and National Geographic. An international film festival jury chooses the best films from these finalists and awards prizes in eight categories: Grand Prize, Climbing, Mountain Sports, Mountain Environment, Mountain Culture, Short Mountain Film (under 15 minutes), and Feature-Length Mountain Film (documentary or fiction). Audience members select the winner of the People's Choice Award.
Immediately after the festival in November, a selection of the best films entered in the festival goes on tour. The Festival showing at Princeton University is sponsored by the Outdoor Action Program and Blue Ridge Mountain Sports at the Princeton Shopping Center.
Tickets are available at the Frist Campus Center Ticket Office: $8 students with PUID, $10 faculty, staff and the public. Tickets will be available on-line as of Friday, April 20 for $10 at: www.princeton.edu/utickets. You can purchase tickets by calling the Frist Campus Center Ticket Office, 609-258-9220, press 2. **Tickets will also be available at the door for $10.
Click to check out film descriptions, photos and film reviews from The Banff Centre Web site.
Festival Films on Tour
Films to be shown will be selected from the following list of films:
Anomaly
USA, 2006, 16 minutes
Directed and produced by Todd Jones, Dirk Collins, Steve Jones, Corey Gavitt
Website: www.tetongravity.com
Focus: Ski/Snowboard
ANOMALY n. (a-nom-a-ly) 1. Deviation or departure from the normal or common order, form, or rule 2. One that is peculiar, irregular, abnormal, or difficult to classify. Hard to define, never easy to apply. Yet, this has come to embody a year of extraordinary feats, tribulation and continued progression within the ski and snowboard arena. Anomaly, TGR’s newest 16mm and HD ski and snowboard release, showcases the freakish and abnormal abilities of today’s top athletes as they push the boundary of what is humanly possible.
Asiemut
People’s Choice Award and Special Jury Mention
Canada, 2006, 56 minutes
Directed and produced by Olivier Higgins, Mélanie Carrier
Website: www.asiemut.mine.nu
Focus: Cycling/Culture
In 2005, Olivier Higgins and Mélanie Carrier went on their first cycling expedition — 8000 kilometres across Asia. In six months they pedalled from Mongolia to Calcutta, India, travelling through Xinjiang, the Taklimakan Desert, the high Tibetan plateau, and the jungle of Nepal. Why? Not only to discover the world, but also to discover themselves.
Aweberg
Special Jury Mention
Canada, 2006, 26 minutes
Directed and produced by Will Gadd
Website: www.gravsports.com
Focus: Ice Climbing
Will Gadd and Ben Firth are two top Canadian ice climbers. They thought climbing “awesome” bergs would be a lot of fun, so the Aweberg trip was born. The bergs looked great, but the reality was somewhat different. Note that the sounds of the picks in the film are much quieter than in real life!
Beyond Iraq
USA, 2005, 8 minutes
Directed by Tom Eldridge
Produced by Annalisa Hodgkins
Website: www.ikandimedia.co.uk
Focus: Snowboarding/Skiing/Inspirational
Five newly disabled Iraqi veterans travel to the Rocky Mountains to participate in an adaptive winter sports program. The soldiers are at first skeptical, not wanting to cause more harm to their bodies. However, they are soon experiencing the freedom and adventure of skiing and snowboarding.
Cayesh — The Calling
USA, 2006, 17 minutes
Directed and produced by Steve House
Focus: Climbing / Mountaineering
A one-day ascent of a new route on the west face of Cayesh, in Peru, filmed entirely by the two climbers. “They wish to present a real taste of modern lightweight alpinism as practised by two of today’s best alpinists.”
Cobra Crack
Best Short Mountain Film
Canada, 2006, 12 minutes
Directed by Sonnie Trotter and Paul Bride
Produced by Ivan Hughes
Focus: Climbing
In 1981, Peter Croft and Tami Knight used aid to climb a wildly overhanging crack on the back side of the Squamish Chief, in British Columbia. Despite attempts from some of the world’s top climbers, this route sat for 25 years without a free ascent. On June 23, 2006, Sonnie Trotter free climbed the 40-metre Cobra Crack after three years work. It is currently recognized as the world's hardest traditional climb. This is his story…
Conflict Tiger
Grand Prize
UK/Sweden, 2005, 62 minutes
Directed and produced by Sasha Snow
Website: www.sashasnow.com
Focus: Environment
In the forests of the Russian Far East, an inexperienced and foolhardy poacher triggers an infamous series of tiger attacks on people. The authorities call upon the services of Yuri Trush, a specialist in tracking and eliminating tigers that have lost their fear of man. Conflict Tiger takes Yuri’s most notorious pursuit of a “man-eating” tiger as the basis for a documentary thriller. In the aftermath of this epic confrontation, the film emerges as a parable that challenges the cozy illusions of traditional “big cat” natural history by setting the animal’s precarious situation against the pressing needs of human survival.
Conversing with Aotearoa/New Zealand
USA, 2006, 15 minutes
Directed and produced by Corrie Francis
Website: www.corriefrancis.com
Focus: Environment/Culture/Animation
In an age of technological integration and urban life, people turn to the natural world for a wilderness experience. What draws us to the remote corners of land and sea when we realize something in our lives is missing? In this animated documentary, New Zealanders attempt to fathom their deep, personal connection with their land.
Exploring the Mother of Waters
Australia, 2006, 45 minutes
Directed by Mick O’Shea, Brian Eustis
Produced by Mick O’Shea
Website: www.mekongfirstdescent.org
Focus: Environment/Kayaking
The first-ever complete navigation of the Mekong River from its source in Tibet to the South China Sea was completed by Australian filmmaker and extreme kayaker Mick O’Shea in 2004. Via this cutting-edge expedition, the film explores and celebrates the diverse cultures and environments of the Mekong valley while exposing some of the most pressing human rights and resource rights issues facing the region’s subsistence cultures.
Fatima’s Hand
Best Film on Mountain Sports
Germany, 2006, 38 minutes
Directed by Jens Hoffmann
Website: www.f24film.de
Focus: BASE jumping/Culture
A 27-year-old woman from Norway plans to climb and BASE jump off an imposing mountain in one of the most remote and poorest area of Mali, West Africa. The project does not work out as planned. It turns into a risky adventure and opens the eyes of the filmmakers and athletes, to a different reality. NOTE: Special permission is required to screen in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
First Ascent: Didier vs. The Cobra
USA, 2006, 25 minutes
Directed by Peter Mortimer
Produced by Peter Mortimer, Timmy O’Neill, Nick Rosen, Pascal Bronnimann
Website: www.senderfilms.com
Focus: Climbing
The elegant, granite Cobra crack in Squamish, British Columbia is perhaps the hardest crack climb in the world and Swiss climber Didier Berthod is among the world’s best crack climbers. Far from the spotlight, Didier spends months in his epic quest to snag the first ascent.
First Ascent: Thailand
USA, 2006, 8 minutes
Directed by Peter Mortimer
Produced by Peter Mortimer, Timmy O’Neill, Nick Rosen, Pascal Bronnimann
Website: www.senderfilms.com
Focus: Climbing
Steep towers of untouched rock jutting out of the ocean. And the best part is that with only the sea below you, there's no rope. Thailand is a dream come true for David Lama, perhaps the best on-sight climber in the world, and purportedly the future of the sport. Amidst the exotic beauty of the Andaman Coast, Lama and friends take 60-footers into the drink, and bring deep-water soloing to a new level.
Kids Who Rip
USA, 2005, 12 minutes
Produced by Rod Parmenter
Website: www.kidswhorip.com
Focus: Sport/Humour
Kids Who Rip highlights amazing young athletes in the action sports community. This special edit for the Banff Mountain Film Festival features remarkable kids who love to ski, snowboard, skateboard, and surf.
Mission: Epicocity
USA, 2006, 15 minutes
Directed and produced by Trip Jennings / The Epicocity Project
Website: www.epicocity.com
Focus: Kayaking
This film features some of the world’s best kayakers running mind-bending waterfalls and rapids in South America and Africa, with a section that highlights native African paddlers.
Mountains without Barriers
USA, 2006, 24 minutes
Directed by Michael Brown
Produced by Mark Wellman, Dave D’Angelo
Website: www.seracfilms.com
Focus: Climbing/Human Interest
Two blind men and a man with no legs tackle a 1000-foot rock tower in Italy. They are here as part of a festival called No Barriers, whose principal aim is to facilitate knowledge exchange among people with disabilities and those who create assistive technologies.
Patagonia — A Travel to the End of the World
Norway, 2006, 40 minutes
Directed and produced by Vebjørn Hagen / TV 2 AS
Website: www.ousland.no
Focus: Adventure/Kayaking
Attempting the first unsupported traverse of the Southern Patagonia Icecap, Børge Ousland (appearing in person) and Thomas Ulrich start from the small village of Tortel in August 2003. After three days of paddling into the Patagonian fjords with two kayaks each, they reach the bottom of the Jorge Montt Glacier; from here they carry their equipment up and start skiing across the ice cap. This film is most of all about the spirit of adventure. Few expeditions have had to master so many different skills to reach their goal.
Québec Givré (Crazy Quebec)
France, 2005, 27 minutes
Directed by Sam Beaugey, Erwan Le Lann
Produced by Séverine Gauci
Website: www.sevendoc.com
Focus: Ice / Mixed Climbing, BASE jumping, Humour
A team of crazy ice climbers called “Les Givrés” head into the depths of Quebec in search of a mythical ice route that would be great to climb and would also allow for a BASE jump from its top. Along the way, in the midst of their performances, encounters, and laughs, they end up getting caught off guard by two brutal accidents. Their approach will change. Finally, they find the treasure they’ve been seeking.
Ride of the Mergansers
USA, 2004, 11 minutes
Directed and produced by Steve Furman / Furman Technologies
Website: www.rideofthemergansers.com
Focus: Environment
The hooded merganser is a rare and reclusive duck found only in North America. Every spring, in the Great Lakes region, the wary hen lays and incubates her eggs in a nest high in the trees. Just 24 hours after hatching, the tiny ducklings must make the perilous leap to the ground below in order to begin life in the wild. Ride of the Mergansers brings this hidden drama to the screen.
Roam
Canada, 2006, 18 minutes
Directed and produced by Darcy Wittenburg, Jamie Houssian / The Collective
Website: www.thecollectivefilm.com
Focus: Mountain Biking
Roam is a mountain-bike film that follows the travels of the world’s top riders as they explore new places to ride, and visit some of the notorious meccas of mountain biking such as, Moab, Utah, and Whistler, B.C.
The Simplicity Factor
Canada, 2006, 7 minutes
Directed and produced by Nathan Cando
Website: www.fanaticalfilms.com, www.top20classics.com
Focus: Climbing/Bouldering
The Simplicity Factor is a segment from The Top 20 Classic Boulder Problems of North America. Featuring an all-female cast of athletes, it looks at bouldering’s overall appeal while showcasing ascents of several famous boulder problems.
The Thrill Seekers (Extreme Film School)
UK, 2005, 3 minutes
Directed by Roland Arnison, George Arnison
Website: www.nakedsledge.co.uk
Focus: “Exteme Sport” / Humour
One of the 12 productions from the Kendal Mountain Film Festival Extreme Film School “48-hour Film Marathon.” Two brothers try their hand at mountain biking, climbing and another extreme sport on a camping weekend with hilarious results.
Tyrol — Land in the Mountains
Austria, 2001, 10 minutes
Directed and produced by Georg Riha
Website: www.brainsandpictures.com
Focus: Environment
Images of the Tyrolean Alps by Georg Riha combined with piano music composed by Philip Glass (“Koyaanisqatsi”) form a symphony, a declaration of love for the beauty of the Tyrolean landscape.
Unchained: New World Disorder VI [short]
Canada, 2005, 7 minutes
Directed by Derek Westerlund
Produced by Derek Westerlund, Carey Bokser
Website: www.freeride-entertainment.com
Focus: Mountain Biking
This short excerpt from New World Disorder VI: Unchained showcases a group of young, daring riders who push the limits of freeride mountain biking beyond imagination.
Yes to the No
Canada, 2006, 10 minutes
Directed by Dave Mossop
Produced by Spencer Francey, Cholo Burns
Website: www.rockymountainsherpas.com, www.biglines.com
Focus: Noboarding / Snowboarding
A look into the sport of noboarding, which is snowboarding without the use of bindings. The sport of snowboarding was essentially started by skate-boarders and surfers looking for a winter alternative to the two summer sports. Now that snowboarding has reached its peak, there is only one way to change the way snowboarding is done, and that is to take the bindings off the board and really surf the mountain.
For more film descriptions, go to: Banff Mountain Festival website (film details)
For more photos, visit: Banff Mountain Festival website (photos)
For film reviews, check out: Banff Mountain Festival website (reviews)