Small gripe: I could walk in and out of movies when I wanted. Except Sunday morning when suddenly I was not allowed in after the first movie had started.
My biggest complaint, though, is too much focus on mountaineering at the expense of all other Mountain activities. If you are not interested in climbing, don’t bother coming. That’s the message I get, as a hiker.
That’s amusing since the Canadian Rockies are infamous for dangerous rock climbing. The infamous “rotten Rockies”. Most of the world’s best climbers don’t come here — except for a holiday at the Banff Festival.
For Books, 2007 was not a banner year. The movies were better, I thought.
I’m not sure the Banff Centre could ever host a great festival. The venue is limited.
This is a spin-off of the regular Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour. But is also highly recommended. See both, if you can. Radical Reels tours much less widely.
The Radical Reels Film Tour complements the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour, and focuses on dynamic, high-adrenalin films featuring sports such as skiing, climbing, kayaking, BASE jumping, snowboarding and mountain biking.
More information for those who can tolerate long blog posts:
… the Banff Mountain Film Festival has included the Radical Reels night, which is a special screening of the wildest high-adrenaline films entered in the Banff Mountain Film Festival. So many action films were being submitted to the film festival that they could not fit into the regular screenings, resulting in the creation of the hugely successful Radical Reels evening presentation.
Now you don’t have to journey to Banff each fall to see these exciting films! Since 2004, the Radical Reels Tour has also been out on the road. The established Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour has been thrilling audiences since 1981.
Most World Tour screenings include a range of different themes (adventure sports, environment, mountain culture, heritage, etc.) and styles (action-filled shorts; longer, more comprehensive films; amateur and professional productions; etc.). The Radical Reels Tour presentations incorporate all these elements, but the focus is on dynamic, high-adrenaline films featuring sports such as skiing, climbing, kayaking, BASE jumping, snowboarding and mountain biking. These activities continue to be included on the World Tour, but Radical Reels Tour is for audiences who prefer all action films.
The Radical Reels Film Tour visits approximately 19 states and provinces, reaching over 35 different locations. Most screenings take place in the September to October and February to May time periods. …
Do what you have to to get tickets for the Film Festival if it gets anywhere close to you.
It’s brilliant. Highlights from the multi-day festival.
The Banff Mountain Film Festival is on the road across North America and around the world. Whether you are an experienced mountaineer or an armchair adventurer, this event is for everyone. Don’t miss the excitement!
The event sponsors are prominently mentioned — OK, it’s a commercial — in the second half of the video. But it’s still worth watching. This is the kind of TV commercial I like.
One man and his dog, 128 days and 1553mi (2500km), the first person to walk solo and unassisted across the continent of Australia.
Adventurer of the YearAndrew Skurka just completed 6875mi on his Great Western Loop, but I reckon John Muir’s trek across Australia in 2001, on his fourth attempt, was even tougher.
Mainly because there is no water in most of Australia.
My favourite, the People’s Choice favourite, from the Banff Mountain Film Festival 2005 was the emotional story of Jon Muir and his Jack Russell, Seraphine.
This is a survival epic. The psychology of pushing yourself to the brink.
Click through to The Adventure Blog to see a video slideshow of the world’s highest rock concert (altitude-wise).
The musical score is by participating musicians.
Jake Norton has recently returned from Nepal, where he took part in the Everest Rocks Trek in which 40 musicians turned into wandering minstrels, playing their music all the way up the Khumbu Valley before performing a concert at Everest Base Camp. It was, in fact, the highest concert ever, and was conducted to raise awareness of the Love Hope Strength Foundation. The concert was a success it would seem, as Jake reports that nearly $500,000 was raised for the Bhaktapur Cancer Hospital in Kathmandu. The funds will go a long way to making it a world class cancer treatment center.
Jake has also sorted through the 5200 photos he took on the trip to put together a great video that helps capture the spirit of the entire event. ..
I am for reintroduction of wolves to the wilderness.
Elk and porcupine worry me more than wolves in the wild. But this is significant. The first documented case of wolves hunting and killing a man:
Environmentalists backing the re-wolfing of the American West have often said, “Don’t worry, there’s no documented instance of wolves killing any person.â€
That reassurance came under question with the discovery of the body of a 22-year-old college student, Kenton Joel Carnegie, two years ago in northern Saskatchewan. …
At the Banff Mountain Film Festival I saw a fantastic slide show on some of the wildest wolves in the world.
Then watched a preview of the PBS Nature TV special:
In 1995, the first gray wolves were transported from Alberta, Canada to Yellowstone National Park, to repopulate the sprawling landscape with the species, absent for more than 70 years. …
In the Valley of the Wolves was produced and shot in High Definition by Emmy-award winning filmmaker Bob Landis.
On the Web site for In the Valley of the Wolves, you’ll learn how the successful reintroduction of Yellowstone’s apex predator has changed the entire ecosystem of the park, and about the threats that these majestic animals continue to face on their road to recovery.
Watch an exclusive online podcast. In this podcast, Emmy Award-winning wildlife cinematographer Bob Landis discusses the making of the film, including the ideal circumstances for filming a predation scene; the importance of spending a vast amount of time in the field; the uniqueness of Yellowstone’s Druid wolf pack, and more.
Bear Grylls is back with a new one-hour special and the second season of MAN VS. WILD, airing Fridays at 9 PM (ET/PT) beginning November 9. Bear travels to the Himalayas for BEAR’S MISSION EVEREST, where this past spring he attempted to fulfill a dream to fly a powered paraglider higher than Everest …
They are expecting good ratings for Bear Grylls and Discovery Channel.
The controversy from last season — claims that some of his stunts were exaggerated or faked — will bring in more viewers.
Discovery Channel has promised to be completely transparent this season. (Film editors will not lead viewers to believe Bear is on a desert island when he is actually sleeping in a motel in Hawaii.)
Bear is the real thing. He climbed Everest at age-23. He’s a true survivalist. No question.
But his show is more about sensationalizing the outdoors. Not about informing the general public.
I can’t help cheering for the “other guy”. Survivorman — Les Stroud. I have a lot more respect for Les, a man who goes out for a week at a time, no cameraman or support crew.
My advice to hikers is to watch Survivorman instead.
Looks to me Bear has a life jacket on under his shirt. But how many people have followed his example and tried to float down a river using only a pack as a raft? What happens when one of those people drowns?
How accountable are Grylls and Discovery Channel?
As for myself, I boycott Man vs. Wild. Getting TV ratings this way is too dangerous.
“The filmmaker creates a rich and beautiful canvas on which this story is told,†says jury member Julie Tait. “This is a sensual film with an experimental treatment, a story of life, love and loss.†“It’s sex mixed up with climbing,†adds jury member Pat Morrow.
“Director Sharon Colman has given us a refreshing look at the resilience of the natural world in the face of human impact. She’s creatively delivered a serious subject in a light-hearted and humorous way,†says jury member Rob Frost.
“He has everything,†says jury member Kerrie Long. “He’s young, talented, beautiful and articulate. And yet, this is a gritty story of persistence and determination — he’s always reaching for the route he might not be able to do.â€
“It’s very difficult to deal with the philosophical approach to life in the mountains, and do it visually, not just with words,†says jury member Pat Morrow. “This film does that, with its strong synergy among visuals, narration and dialogue.â€
“We get to know the central character over time, and the film combines precipitous physical locations with insight into the deepest recesses of this athlete’s mind,†says jury member Pat Morrow.
“Mountain culture is not just about folkloric traditions,†says jury member Charlie Buffet. “It’s the way people live and dream their mountain experience. There was a sense of surprise, of playful curiosity, that carried me through this film.â€
“Rarely does Hollywood treat a delicate story with this level of integrity,†says jury member Rob Frost. “We hope that Penn’s work will lead the way for other Hollywood directors, and develop a taste for truth in their audience.â€
“For the Grand Prize, we looked to a film that transcends category,†says jury member Julie Tait. “In giving us fresh insight into a historic event and the cult of hero, Death on Nanga Parbat offers the viewer a depth of experience that underlines the power of the medium. It’s a triumph of substance over style.â€
You and I can catch these videos on the World Tour, starting today. Check the Schedule to see when it’s coming close to you.
One awesome trailer as reward for getting to the end of this post:
King Lines follows Chris Sharma on his search for the planet’s greatest climbs. From South American fantasy boulders to uncharted deep water soloing in Greece to the future of sport climbing at Mt. Clark, Sharma and friends find and climb the most spectacular routes in the world.
The last movie I watched at the Banff Mountain Film Festival was a fitting finale: The Beckoning Silence.
Joe Simpson gives his perspective on the 1936 disaster on the North Face of the Eiger when four young climbers died in public view of Eiger Bird tourists below.
The last, Kurz, perished after hanging on the end of a rope all night with 2 dead partners. Died within metres of the rescue party next morning. A tragedy in every respect.
Simpson’s Touching the Void is my favourite documentary of all time — so I kept my expectations as … realistic as possible.
But The Beckoning Silence is no sequel to Touching the Void. Though it explores similar themes, and is a remarkably parallel story, this is a made-for-TV presentation, not a feature film release.
My review …
The Beckoning Silence is excellent. It’s a must see for anyone interested in the history of mountaineering.
Joe Simpson is the best possible narrator. Articulate, compelling, flawed. He is the highlight.
Joe cannot understand why he lived, and these young men died.
Germany, 2007, 60 minutes
Directed by Jens Hoffmann
“I don’t want to die, I want to live. I’m pretty good at running away, and this is my escape!†This is how Karina Hollekim describes her dedication to BASE jumping. Documentary filmmaker Jens Hoffman first met the now 30-year-old Norwegian in 2002. He immediately started to film, accompanying her through many stages of her BASE-jumping career, until it comes to a sudden stop, changing all aspects of her life.
Karina was mad for BASE jumping the first moment she saw it. This movie documents her addiction to extreme sport and the many costs of that addiction.
It explains why extreme athletes are driven step-by-step to more dangerous stunts. She was one of the first 3 women to fly the new wing suits allowing more daring manoeuvres.
In the film she makes one mistake. And walks away. Later she crashes through equipment failure — and miraculously survives.
BASE jumping to most of us is tiny YouTube video highlight clips. This movie is essential if you really want to understand the sport.
Over 110 BASE jumpers have been killed to date. Pro jumpers last an average of 6 years.
I don’t want to do it. But this film makes me much more understanding of those that do.
BASE jumping is a sport involving the use of a parachute to jump from fixed objects. “BASE” is an acronym that stands for the four categories of fixed objects from which one can jump:
* Building
* Antenna (an uninhabited tower such as an aerial mast)
* Span (a bridge or arch)
* Earth (a cliff or other natural formation)
This was my first trip to Banff for the festivals.
