The Banff Mountain Film Festival stops in 40 countries.
The Banff Mountain Film Festival is returning to Santa Barbara next week for its annual two-night screening. The World Tour travels the globe each year showcasing the best from the prestigious film festival that occurs each fall in Canada.
A Santa Barbara institution, the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour is a perennial favorite of the UCSB Arts & Lectures program. Featuring the world’s best films and videos on mountain subjects, the tour awes viewers with thrills and grandeur captured in exotic locations the world over. The show’s wide variety of film subjects – from extreme sports to mountain culture and environment – will amaze audiences. An entirely different program of nine films screens each night.
The Banff Mountain Film Festival is one of the largest and most prestigious mountain festivals in the world. The “mothership” festival has been held at the start of November each year since 1975 in Banff in Alberta, Canada. Immediately after the festival ends in November, a selection of the best films goes on tour across Canada, the U.S. and across the globe, from Scotland to South Africa, China to Antarctica and points in between. Each year, the films reach more than 390,000 people at more than 840 screenings in 40 countries.
The Best of the 39th Annual Banff Mountain Film Festival is presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures. The Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour is presented by National Geographic and The North Face and is sponsored by Deuter, Cushe, Clif Bar & Company, Bergans of Norway, and Icebreaker Merino Clothing, with support from Petzl, Kicking Horse Coffee, World Expeditions, Lake Louise Ski Resort and Summer Gondola, and Mammut.
Tickets for each night are $16 for the general public and $13 for UCSB students with a current student ID. (An Arlington facility fee will be added to each ticket price.)
For tickets or more information, call UCSB Arts & Lectures at (805) 893-3535 or purchase online HERE
FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
DAY 1 – WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25
Danny MacAskill: The Ridge
World-renowned trials rider Danny MacAskill is back! Filmed on the stunning Isle of Skye in Scotland, MacAskill returns to his childhood haunt for a new challenge: riding a mountain bike on the infamous Cuillin Ridge.
(Scotland, 2014, 7 min. Filmmaker: Stu Thomson.)
Arctic Swell: Surfing the Ends of the Earth
Surfing photographer Chris Burkard loves capturing cold water surfers. He’s prepared to venture to the ends of the Earth to snap that once-in-a-lifetime shot.
(U.S., 2014, 8 min. Filmmakers: Anton Lorimer and Chris Burkard.)
Happy Winter
Being grateful makes you happier, and there is so much to be grateful for. Especially if you spend as much time in the mountains as Andreas Fransson did.
(Sweden, 2013, 8 min. Filmmaker: Bjarne Salén, EndlessFlowFilms.)
Wild Women: Faith Dickey
Smile and laugh along with slackliner Faith Dickey as she shows us just how fun life on the line can be.
(U.K., 2014, 3 min. Filmmaker: Lukasz Warzecha, Polished Project.)
And Then We Swam
Most adventurers who set out to cross the Indian Ocean have some rowing experience. For two blokes from the U.K., that seemed like a minor detail, not a death wish.
(U.K., 2013, 37 min. Filmmakers: Ben Finney and Robb Ellender.)
*Best Film – Exploration and Adventure, sponsored by MSR
Intermission
Sun Dog
What could be better than riding gorgeous lines of untouched snow with your best friend at your side?
(U.S., 2014, 5 min. Filmmaker: Ben Sturgulewski.)
Mending the Line (special edit)
In 1944, 20-year-old Frank Moore landed on the beaches of Normandy. Now, at the age of 90, he returns with his wife and son to heal the wounds of his past by fly-fishing the streams he once helped free.
(U.S., 2014, 20 min. Filmmakers: Steve Engman and John Waller, Uncage the Soul Productions.)
*People’s Choice Award, sponsored by Treksta
Vasu Sojitra: Out on a Limb
Vasu Sojitra lost his right leg to a blood infection at 9 months old, but that doesn’t stop him from venturing deep into the backcountry to ski challenging lines – entirely unassisted.
(U.S., 2014, 7 min. Filmmaker: Tyler Wilkinson-Ray.)
Sufferfest 2: Desert Alpine
Cedar Wright and Alex Honnold are back! This time, a month riding their bikes and climbing desert towers in the American Southwest should be a piece of cake for these fast friends. Or will it?
(U.S., 2014, 27 min. Filmmaker: Cedar Wright.)
*Radical Reels People’s Choice Award, sponsored by Deuter
DAY 2 – THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26
Touch
A colorful and spectacular flying tour of Santorini in Greece, the Aiguille du Midi above Chamonix and the Col du Galibier in France, with a bit of cheekiness added in, just for fun.
(France, 2014, 5 min. Filmmaker: Jean-Baptiste Chandelier.)
14.c
Kai Lightner discovered rock climbing at the age of 6. Now 14, he is pushing the limits of hard climbing and trying to staying focused, all with his single mom on belay.
(U.S., 2014, 9 min. Filmmaker: George Knowles, EVOLV Sports & Designs.)
Trailer: http://www.banffcentre.ca/mountainfestival/worldtour/films/#1
Into the Empty Quarter (special edit)
Inspired by their hero Wilfred Thesiger, adventurers Alastair Humphreys and Leon McCarron attempt a trip into the Empty Quarter desert on the Arabian Peninsula. The 1,000-mile journey sometimes puts the cart before the camel, and then, all you can do is laugh along the way.
(England, 2013, 20 min. Filmmakers: Alastair Humphreys and Leon McCarron.)
DRAWN
Four years, four cardinal points, four epic adventures. Acclaimed climbing artist Jeremy Collins embarks on four journeys, from the Venezuelan Amazon, to the China-Mongolian Border, to the northern reaches of Canada, and closer to home in the Yosemite Valley.
(U.S., 2014, 40 min. Filmmakers: Jeremy Collins and James Q. Martin.)
Trailer: http://www.banffcentre.ca/mountainfestival/worldtour/films/#11
Intermission
Afterglow (special edit)
This film turns big mountain skiing on its end, and then turns it upside down again, heading into the night through a wintery glow of trippy Technicolor.
(U.S., 2014, 3 min. Filmmakers: Michael Brown, Nick Waggoner, Zac Ramras, Sweetgrass Productions.)
Caleb
Paralyzed in a skiing accident in 2007, Caleb has defied the odds and continued to thrive in his chosen passions. Learning to kayak after his injury, Caleb is positive, inspiring and one epic human!
(New Zealand, 2014, 4 min. Filmmakers: Blair Trotman, Papatuanuku Film.)
Trailer: http://www.banffcentre.ca/mountainfestival/worldtour/films/#6
Africa Fusion (special edit)
Climbers Alex Honnold (U.S.) and Hazel Findlay (U.K.) team up for a journey into the exotic landscapes of South Africa. Breathtaking scenery and some of the best climbing in the world await.
(South Africa, 2014, 20 min. Filmmakers: Robert Breyer and Nic Good.)
Sculpted in Time: The Wise Man
Eddie Hunter is 88 years old and has skied over 2,500 days during the past
79 years. Follow him as he continues to shred on the hometown mountain he just can’t seem to get enough of.
(Canada, 2014, 5 min. Filmmakers: Dave Mossop, Malcolm Sangster, Sherpas Cinema.)
Valley Uprising: The Golden Age
Take a journey through an amazing period in the climbing history of Yosemite, from the counterculture lifestyle to the legendary big wall rivalry of pioneers Royal Robbins and Warren Harding.
(U.S., 2014, 28 min. Filmmakers: Peter Mortimer, Nick Rosen, Josh Lowell, Zachary Barr, Sender Films and Big Up Productions.)
*Grand Prize, sponsored by MEC
