Banff Mountain Film Festival
October 27 – November 4

Feature-length Films

Saturday, October 27 – Eric Harvie Theatre
All programs $9

Lots of tickets available. Purchase by phone, online, or in person. Please arrive a few minutes early.

Saturday, October 27 — Noon Program ($9)

Badgered

UK, 2005, 7 minutes
Directed by Sharon Colman
Produced by Jamie Wolpert

The tale of a badger who just wants the world to let him sleep.

Committed: Keen Youth

UK, 2007, 5 minutes
Directed by Paul Diffley and Dave Brown
Produced by Dave Brown

Held in awe by climbers around the world, the hard trad scene in Britain commands both respect and bewilderment. This segment of Committed focuses on the climbing childhood of Peak District prodigy James Pearson.

Arctic Tale

USA, 2007, 84 minutes
Directed by Adam Ravetch and Sarah Robertson
Produced by Adam Leipzig and Keenan Smart

Arctic Tale is an epic adventure that explores the vast world of the Great North. The film follows the walrus, Seela, and the polar bear, Nanu, on their journey from birth to adolescence to maturity and parenthood in the frozen Arctic wilderness. Once surrounded by a perpetual winter wonderland of snow and ice, the walrus and the polar bear are losing their beautiful icebound world as it melts from underneath them. Story told by Queen Latifah.

Saturday, October 27 — 3:30 p.m. ($9)

Higher Ground: Mountain Photographer

USA, 2007, 8 minutes
Directed by Chris Alstrin and Alexander Lavigne
Produced by Chris Alstrin

Andrew Querner, a professional photographer from Canmore, Alberta, explains what drives his quest for the perfect climbing photograph. Difficulty and challenge are climbing’s chief attractions, but the hazards of climbing tap deep sources of fear as well.

Aerialist

USA, 2007, 27 minutes
Directed by Brad Lynch, Jim Hurst
Produced by Brad Lynch
Canadian Premiere

Dean Potter is obsessed with being attached to the world by as little as possible. He began his journey as a free-soloist on rock, but his refusal to be confined has pushed him to the outer edge of the climbing world and into the realms of high-lining, BASE jumping, and “bird-manning”.

Nine Winters Old

USA, 2006, 63 minutes
Directed by Bill Heath
Produced by Rich Corbett
Canadian Premiere
In person: Bill Heath

A celebration of winter and its followers, as seen through the eyes of an acclaimed yet offbeat ski photographer. Stunning visuals and complementary music highlight stories of those, young and old, who come alive for wintertime.

Saturday, October 27 — 7:30 p.m. Program ($9)

Yamabushi

Canada, 2006, 13 minutes
Directed by Will Gadd
World Premiere

This film follows Will Gadd and his climbing partners as they put up a new route on “the Yam”, as the massive rock wall in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains is affectionately called. In Will’s words, it is a “sporty sport route”: eight pitches following vastly overhanging sections of the wall that have not been climbed before.

Into the Wild

USA, 2007, 140 minutes
Directed by Sean Penn
Produced by Art Linson, Sean Penn, and William Pohlad

Into the Wild is based on a true story and the best-selling book by Jon Krakauer. After graduating from Emory University in 1992, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandons his possessions, gives his entire $24,000 savings account to charity, and hitchhikes to Alaska to live in the wilderness. Along the way, Christopher encounters a series of characters that shape his life.

Feature-length films continue on Sunday, October 28

 

Photos from the films Arctic Tale; Into the Wild (courtesy Paramount Vantage); Nine Winters Old.