Excitement is building for the arrival of the Banff Mountain Film Festival to the North Island.
Every year hundreds of adventure filmmakers from every corner of the globe gather in Banff, Alta., for a week-long festival of film, books, photography, presentations and seminars celebrating mountain culture.
The very best of the films, including juried award winners, then head out on a worldwide tour. Luckily for us, some of the very first stops are right here on Vancouver Island.
The travelling film show then heads across Canada, the United States, and internationally from Scotland to South Africa to China, Japan, New Zealand, Antarctica, and points in between. Each year, the films travel to 32 countries reaching more than 245,000 people at over 635 screenings.
Here, at the edge of the Pacific, in of the world’s greatest adventure destinations are three opportunities to take in an evening of high action, rich culture and environmental awareness. The tour visits Courtenay on Nov. 29 at the Sid Williams Theatre.
The main festival in Banff took place in early November and it takes a few weeks for all the licensing and preparation for the road tour, so the full program of films is yet to be finalized but one of the early titles listed catching attention is from renowned British filmmaker Alastair Lee who once again teams up with climbing legend Leo Houlding in The Last Great Climb.
Winner of the Banff Mountain Festival's Best Climbing Film, The Last Great Climb follows Houlding and Sean (Stanley) Leary, and Jason Pickles as they team up for an attempt on a bold new line on a remote spire in Queen Maud Land, Antarctica.
They’re going big. Their goal — the majestic, unclimbed Ulvetanna Peak. Lee follows the climbers to the middle of nowhere, miserably cold, a bit delirious. Hopefully it’s nothing a little adrenaline can’t cure!
The tour also stops on Quadra Island and in Campbell River.
As details of the available films is finalized, information about the local programs will be posted online at www.wildisle.ca.
For details about the screening at the Sid, visit http://www.sidwilliamstheatre.com/events/upcoming-events.
— Banff Mountain Film Festival