The annual Banff International Mountain Film Festival runs in SA from 26 October to 4 November. The festival showcases some of the best films from around the globe set in mountainous terrain, which tell stories of ‘remote journeys, ground-breaking expeditions, and cutting-edge adventures’.
These include films that cover a climb of Kilimanjaro, travelling across volcanic fields and tackling the fabled corrugated spine lines of the Tsirku Glacier, plus more ( see the line up below).
The film festival is brought to South Africa by Cape Union Mart, which ran it’s own local, Cape Union Mart Adventure Film Challenge ahead of the screening of the Banff festival. This gave an opportunity for local filmmakers and adventurers to submit short films of under 5 minutes long that ‘capture and celebrate South Africa’s outdoors culture as well as the spirit of adventure.’ The winning South African entry, The Landscape Hunter will be screened to attendees of the Banff International Mountain Film Festival.
The International Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour will be screened at the following Ster-Kinekor cinemas:
• Cavendish – 26 Oct – 4 Nov ‘18
• Tygervalley – 26 Oct – 4 Nov ‘18
• Sandton – 26 Oct – 4 Nov ‘18
• Brooklyn – 26 Oct – 4 Nov ‘18
• Getaway – 3 & 4 November ‘18
• Baywest – 4 November ‘18
Tickets went on sale on 24 September at sterkinekor.com
The following films will be shown during the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour:
Surf The Line
Filmmaker: Hello Emotion
Website: www.helloemotion.com
Film Synopsis: For The Flying Frenchies, thinking out of the box isn’t a choice – it’s a way of life.
My Irnik
Filmmaker: Matthew Hood
Website: http://hoodvisuals.com/
Film Synopsis: Originally from Montreal, Conor falls in love with the northern way of life, and a woman, in the Canadian Arctic. The young father now helps to pass on the native traditions and ancestral culture to his son as he gains an understanding of it himself.
Dreamride 2
Filmmaker: Mike Hopkins, Juicy Studios
Website: juicystudios.com/
Film Synopsis: Poetic, artistic and inspiring, ride along as we travel across volcanic fields, explore hidden lava caves, and race down rivers of ice.
Planet Earth II – Mountain Ibex (Tour Edit)
Filmmaker: Justin Anderson, BBC Worldwide
Website: bbcearth.ca/show/planet-earth-ii/
Film Synopsis: Only a few pioneering animals have what it takes to bear the world’s highest mountain ranges and tend to be some of the most elusive and mysterious animals on the planet. Climb to a world that is beautiful, but full of danger, where only the most adventurous animals can hope to survive.
Loved by All: The Story of Apa Sherpa
Filmmaker: Sherpas Cinema
Website: sherpascinema.com/
Film Synopsis: Although Apa Sherpa has climbed Mount Everest 21 times, he wouldn’t wish this upon anyone. Having grown up in the remote Khumbu region of Nepal, Apa was forced to leave school and work as a porter at the age of 12. For Nepal’s rural people, the income earned as a high altitude porter conflicts with the dreams made possible only through education and knowledge.
Tsirku (Tour edit)
Filmmaker: Sherpas Cinema
Website: www.sherpascinema.com
Film Synopsis: A team of athletes set out to tackle the fabled corrugated spine lines of the Tsirku Glacier, located deep in the Saint Elias Mountains where Alaska, British Columbia, and the Yukon converge. Needless to say, it is no easy task.
Why
Filmmaker: Hugo Clouzeau, We Are Hungry
Website: www.wearehungry.fr/
Film Synopsis: Iceland. A cold, rugged and forbidding landscape where powerful rivers plunge through bedrock gorges and over massive waterfalls towards the sea, a crew of French kayakers travel here to ask the question, “Why do we do this?”
Where the Wild Things Play
Filmmaker: Krystle Wright
Website: www.krystlewright.com
Film Synopsis: There’s an ongoing discussion on why there aren’t more females in the adventure industry – whether it’s in big mountain skiing, climbing, or white-water kayaking. Well, it’s about time we found out where the wild things play!
Imagination: Tom Wallisch
Filmmaker: Sherpas Cinema
Website: www.sherpascinema.com
Film Synopsis: Have you ever been that little kid sitting in the back seat of your parents’ car wishing you were somewhere else? So you imagine a skier on the side of the road, your fingers commanding backflips and roof drops, improbable rail slides and huge airs. But what if your imagination came to life?
Pedal
Filmmaker: Scott Hardesty, Ultralite Films
Website: www.ultralitefilms.com/
Film Synopsis: Forty-three countries down, Hera van Willick rides her bicycle across continents fully self-supported, sharing her journey and what she has learnt along the way.
The Frozen Road
Filmmaker: Ben Page
Website: www.anotherhorizon.org
Film Synopsis: Ben Page sought an adventure of perfect solitude in the Canadian Arctic, yet the harsh truths of travelling in such a formidable environment were a long way from the romanticism of a Jack London book.
