Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour

On December 5th I had the opportunity to patronize the Banff Mountain Film Festival World tour. This program, created by the Banff Centre in Banff, Alberta, Canada, is a selection of short films submitted to the festival each fall.

The first film, The Space Within was a rather short introduction to get the audience in the mood. It began with a person walking along a beach. This person found some glass orbs with pictures inside. This acted as the transition between the beach, Japan, and the snowy landscape where the skiing action was filmed. While short, I thought this film was a good introduction to the types of film that one could expect.

The second film, Sky Migrations, followed some biologists who track the paths of migratory raptors through the center of the United States. This film was fascinating and important for a couple of reasons. First of all, I have never seen a Cooper's Hawk or Golden Eagle up close before, which was humbling. Secondly, the film showed how one migratory species can be indicative of the health and wellbeing of a whole swath of habitat that extends through North America. Conversely, this shows how dependent these species are on that whole extent of land, so maintaining an preserving the health and integrity of those areas are vital to ensure the survival of these magnificent birds.

The third film (Into Twin Galaxies - A Greenland Epic)was the longest of the night and tracked the incredible expedition of three people who kite skied across 1,000 kilometers across the Greenland Ice Cap to reach the northernmost river ever kayaked. The logistics of this trip stunned me, as there were so many things could (and did) go wrong. One person's back was broken after being tossed into the air by a kite while skiing. The whole trip was 45 days and the trip seemed immensely taxing both physically and mentally.

The fourth film was titled Johanna, and--I believe--encapsulates a whole segment of the activities represented in the Banff Festival. Johanna's method of relaxation is to go swimming under the ice of a frozen lake. This is a wonderful example of the kinds of amazing extreme activities that are common in this film festival.

Tsirku was the next film, in which some skiers conquered corrugated snow: steep ridges of untouched snow that require both a massive amount of technical skill and bravery to even attempt. As someone who like skiing, this short made me wish for more snow so I could go skiing.

The sixth film was titled La Casita Wip. The two women in the film worked to create their own dirt bike path. This was interesting to see, and I liked to see their dedication, but more importantly, they show young girls that they do not need to be dainty and feminine, but also that those don't define them.

Following this was Loved By All - The Story of Apa Sherpa, which was a poignant look at the less-than-glamorous life of Sherpa porters climbing Mount Everest. Everest provides a source of income for this impoverished region, but the danger is extreme. Apa Sherpa, who has summited Everest twenty-one times, has created an organization to support rural teachers and education systems so that children can have other opportunities than being porters, opportunities that are safer and well-paying.

The final film of the night was Imagination, a 5 minute short that supposes that children imagine being able to ski or snowboard across the landscape as they ride in cars. The film's whimsical transition showing professionals doing stunts off of buildings and vehicles. I thought this was a wonderful conclusion to the evening.

This event really drove home the point that geography is not an isolated thing; the environment is very closely interconnected with the humans and animals that live in and interact with it. I liked the event, and think that it was a good exposition of the films shown at Banff. I would recommend this event to everyone; it is a unique look at the interaction between humans and the environment.