2014 Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour Review

Friends and I have been attending the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour when it shows up in our area the last several years....and I've been posting reviews of it the last few years.   Here is my review of the 2014 spring showing...in the order they were shown to us.  These films continue to raise the bar in outdoor adventure filmmaking, inspiring me to get more creative right here in my own backyard.  Enjoy!


Banff Mountain Film Festival Tour 2013/2014 Trailer





Split Of A Second  -  a short film following wing suit world champion Espen Fadnes with incredible POV footage of wing suit flyers.  Amazing how these guys are not just dropping, but actually flying horizontally across the sky and dangerously close to mountainous terrain.

SPLIT OF A SECOND from Goovinn on Vimeo.



Keeper Of The Mountains  -  a documentary about the legendary Mt Everest historian, Elizabeth Hawley, who is now in her late 80’s.  She is interviewed about her unique history and vantage point on Himalayan mountaineering history.  Interestingly, she has often decided who has earned a Mt Everest summit and has helped resolve many mountaineering controversies.  She keeps an amazing archive of Himalayan mountaineering expeditions.  And she will crack you up.

Keeper of the Mountains Trailer from Allison Otto on Vimeo.



North Of The Sun  -  our favorite of the festival.  A film following the adventures of two Norwegians who decide to spend 9 months camping and surfing on a remote uninhabited bay in northern Norway, above the Arctic Circle.  This is a true adventure and the film reflects their free spirited nature as they build their campsite out of items found on the beach.  It also makes me appreciate our relatively warmer water even in our own winters.  You can rent this movie on Vimeo...I promise you its worth the small rental fee.  Give it a watch.

North of the sun - Trailer from weggebros on Vimeo.



Spice Girl  -  follows young British female climber Hazel Findlay as the first woman to climb the British grade of E9 and does a marathon climb in Morocco.  I couldn't find the actual trailer or film we saw, but here is footage from the Morocco climb.





Cascada  -  the level of whitewater kayaking has gotten insane with guys bucking themselves off very tall waterfalls.  Amazing that more people don't get more hurt but the footage will blow you away.  Filmed in the deep jungle of Mexico.

CASCADA from NRS Films on Vimeo.



Flow, The Elements of Free Ride  -  cool graphics add to this illustrative scientific look at a downhill mountain bike run in Central Washington state.

FLOW - The Elements of Freeride from North 40 Productions on Vimeo.



I Am Red  -  a short film highlighting America's most endangered river, the mighty Colorado River.





Kayak Free Kayaking  -  each year, the festival throws in a humorous flick.  This one is a funny parody on extreme sports action films.  It starts out very cheesy but then you start to get the joke and the rest of the film will make you laugh.





The Last Ice Merchant  -  once in a while, its fun to watch a film or read a story about a culture you know nothing about.  Perhaps even a culture gone by.  This was our second favorite film.  Its the story of Baltazar Ushca, who for 50 years has harvested the glacial ice of Ecuador's Mount Chimborazo.  Its a story of cultural change and how Baltazar and his family have adapted to it, all in different ways.

The Last Ice Merchant (El Último Hielero) from Sandy Patch on Vimeo.



35  -  I've found that as I've gotten older, I want to experience more adventures.  This short film describes that urge.  From a climber's viewpoint, this film is a dedication to the big and small joys of the adventurous life.  Middle age crisis be damned.

35 from ARC'TERYX on Vimeo.