Banff Mountain Film Festival

Saskatoon Centennial Auditorium 

Monday, January 18th, 2010, 7 pm

NOTE:  Some of these videos have been classified as "Parental Guidance" because of the use of some coarse language.  If you're bringing young children, just be aware of this.  Unfortunately, we don't have an indication of exactly which ones will fall into that category.

The initial, tentative lineup (subject to change, as usual) for the evening's entertainment is:

 

The Ultimate Skiing Showdown    
  • Focus: Nordic Skiing, Family-friendly

The final sprint showdown between the fastest skiers on Earth in juxtaposition with a stunt performer showing some of the sickest moves on Nordic skis. A lot of fun!
 
Africa Revolutions    
  • Focus: White-water kayaking, Sun Catcher’s Project (NGO in Africa)

From the crocodile-infested White Nile in Uganda, to big-water first descents in Madagascar, the film follows this group of friends on their dangerous mission.
Accompanying the team is Rita Riewerts, the founder of the Sun Catchers Project, a non-profit that installs solar cooking facilities
in African orphanages, hospitals and communities.
Join the team as they set out on an ambitious kayaking expedition in eastern Africa.
Every cent this film generates will be donated to the Sun Catchers Project

Kranked: Revolve   
  • Focus: Mountain biking

The coolest human-powered adrenaline tool ever invented -- the mountain bike? "Revolve" blasts in cinematic glory from the French Alps to the lush coast of B.C., incorporating dirt jump, trail, freeride, slopestyle and downhill.

Signatures : Canvas of Snow     
  • Focus: Skiing, snowboarding and noboarding

In Japan there is a cultural connection to the different signatures of terrestrial home - a sense that the rhythm of fall, winter, spring and summer influences the rhythm of the person, their energy, their riding style and the lines they choose.
This special edit features skiers, snowboarders, a photographer and a noboarder who are each in tune with this connection to winter and the environment they ride in.

Azazel   
  • Focus: Mountaineering, family friendly

Four friends set out to establish a new route on the Trango Pulpit Tower, a mythic 6000-metre-high rock wall in Pakistan.
Days and days of pleasure, quantities of testosterone expended, frozen fingers and naps on the wall.

MedeoZ 
  • Focus: Multi-sport, humour, family-friendly

Filmed in the Mont Blanc range, this short features six different mountain sports: climbing, skiing, snowboarding, speed riding, paragliding and BASE jumping.
A photographer wants to take one shot showing all the sports, instead of taking separate photos of each sport. It takes a lot of work!

Pick-up Sticks 
  • Focus: Environment, family-friendly

Take an aerial plunge off the edge of an Arctic coastal headland into the abyss of a seabird colony to find out how marine environmental change is affecting the delicate balance of life for a hardy creature of the northern seas. A visual and metaphorical cliffhanger for our times!
Revolution One  unicycling  10 minutes   (Parental language, coarse language)
  • Focus: Unicycling

"Revolution One" takes a look into the history, people and places that have defined the rapidly emerging sport of off-road unicycling.
Follow world champion unicyclists Kris Holm and Dan Heaton as they display riding that has blown the minds of viewers worldwide.

First Ascent:  Alone on the Wall
 
  • Focus: Rock Climbing, free solo climbing

After gaining international climbing renown for his landmark free-solo of "Moonlight Buttress" (V, 5.12+, 9 pitches) in Zion National Park, Utah, in April 2008, 24-year-old Alex Honnold moves on to his next big challenge: the first free-solo of the "Regular Northwest Face" route (VI, 5.12a, 23 pitches) on Yosemite’s Half Dome.

Mustang

Lost in time, the Himalayan kingdom of Mustang is one of the last sanctuaries of authentic Tibetan Buddhist culture. However, long isolated by geography and politics, the people struggle to survive, and the centre of their culture -- the 15th-century monasteries and the art within -- is dangerously close to collapse. Narrated by Richard Gere and featuring the Dalai Lama, the film tells the compelling story of the efforts to rescue this ancient place from the brink of extinction and to help spark a cultural renaissance.

 

Last updated April 25, 2010