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Cowell Theater
Mountain culture takes center stage when the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour returns to the Cowell Theater on April 21 and 22. This acclaimed festival celebrates the best outdoor productions of the year filmed in lofty terrain all over the world. Prizewinners from the 2005 festival include entries from France, Canada, Sweden, Poland, the United States, and China.
Outdoor adventure gear supplier REI hosts the Bay Area stops on the world tour, which travels to many global locations, including Antarctica. The grand prize went to a French film in 2005 — Sur le fil des 4000. Sur le fil documents climbers determined to ascend all 82 summits higher than 14,000 feet in the Alps.
A Polish film won the award for best film on mountain sports. Praszczur (Grandpa) tells the tale of a 79-year-old paraglider. Another unique adventure documentary from China, Kekexili – Mountain Patrol, depicts the struggle between Tibetan rangers and antelope poachers. Kekexili earned a prize as best feature-length mountain film.
Special jury awards acknowledged offbeat mountain films. Balancing Point, from US director Danny Brown, films people creating balanced rock sculptures with all the action played in reverse. Canada’s New World Disorder V: Disorderly Conduct follows free wheeling mountain bikers all over the globe. The Magic Mountain, a Canadian film about educator Cynthia Hunt and her efforts to help women in Ladakh, India, was voted the people’s choice by festival patrons.
The amazing variety of festival films promises an exhilarating night of entertainment for everyone. See April 21 and www.rei.com for event details. For more information on the festival and the films, visit www.banffcentre.ca/mountainculture.
— Claudia Willen
Image: Special Jury Award, 2005 Banff Mountain Film Festival “New World Disorder V: Disorderly Conduct,” Photo courtesy of The Banff Centre
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