BANFF Mountain Film Festival World Tour – Review

Zack Giffin, Paul Kimbraugh, Matt Steinman ski toruing out the Shuskan Arm

I think I do quite well at cynicism. Every now and then I enjoy trying to project a world-weary image of myself to others (I’ve been reliably informed on multiple occasions that what I’m actually projecting is the image of something slightly less cool and maybe too rude to write down here). Take now for example (about week ago in real terms I guess), I’m sat alone in the dark corner of a bar, The Girl from Ipanema’s playing in background, my drink and cigarettes are on the table and I’m writing this into my faux-leather notebook. I don’t know a lot about Hemmingway but I assume this is the kind of thing he’d have done.

The problem is, at my core I’m fundamentally not a cynical person. If the image I’m frantically trying to portray actually worked and the attractive barmaid with the piercings, tattoos and bandana actually found herself irresistibly drawn to me the illusion would fall away pretty swiftly.

Barmaid: “Hey, I saw you moodily sitting over there writing. I just had to come over.”

Me: “Take a seat it’s a free country, at least that’s what they tell me.”

Barmaid: “Wow, that’s so profound, and attractive. What are you writing? Some kind of anarchical poetry?”

Me: “Actually it’s a film review for this really cool thing I went to, I kinda feel inspired to do some stuff but I’m not too sure what yet. Anyway have you seen this video of cat being tickled? It’s both cute and funny which is always impressive.”

I just can’t maintain it and she walks away (I assume, that’s what would happen given that she seems resolutely immune to my loner writer vibes at the moment, I’ll keep you updated). The film event in question and the reason for my current positive outlook is the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour.

Running over two nights, the festival showcased the very best from the hundreds of entries into the most recent Banff Mountain Film Festival (it took me a depressingly long time to realise Banff wasn’t an acronym by the way). Focusing on extreme sports and including some beautiful locations this was always the type of event that had the strong possibility to inspire me. As I walked into the screening, past the conveniently placed booths offering travel to far-flung locations, I told myself “Not this time, don’t base life decisions on what you see in a film. Remember the Jurassic Park fiasco?”  (for the record, I didn’t try to create a dinosaur theme park but I did start wearing unbuttoned black shirts and try to impress girls with my dodgy chaos theory knowledge).

Alas, no luck. I’ve found myself thinking about what I saw at the festival and the old rumblings for travel have begun to stir again. I’ve even considered (considered, I tell you!) going to the post office and asking for a passport application form. So what were these magical films? Well for the purposes of this piece I’ve selected the three that inspired me the most and put together three short reviews (reviewettes if you will) below.

35 (Nasa Koski, Austin Siadek, Matthe Van Biene and Fitz Cahall)

This was the last film of the night and to be honest by this point my head was spinning with future plans for my new wing-suit wearing, kayak-riding lifestyle, even so the topic of this short has really stuck with me. The film follows climber Derek Craig’s challenge to climb thirty-five routes on his thirty-fifth birthday.

While the film’s imagery is incredible it was the audio that truly captured me. As we see Derek attempting to complete his mission he provides commentary on his personal philosophy and motivations. His idols aren’t high-powered business folk, super successful musicians or artists but the friends and family members that he sees every day and the things he’s thankful for include being able to go dumpster diving for a meal. The film is a powerful advocate for a lifestyle that doesn’t revolve around mortgages and paydays and a reminder that success should always be measured by your own benchmarks, no-one else’s.

Keeper of the Mountain (Allison Otto and Scott McElroy)

What do you think the most challenging part of climbing Everest would be? The oxygen deprivation? The biting cold? The lack of readily available takeaway pizza? Prior to seeing this film I would’ve agreed with you, now I know better, the trial doesn’t end at the summit that’s when it begins.

If you’ve completed your climb and want it officially recorded in The Himalayan Database then you must now face the 90 year old Elizabeth Hawley and convince her of the validity of your claim. If you don’t pass muster with her then, officially, you never made it.

I enjoyed this film for two main reasons, on the one hand I’m a data nerd so getting an insight how a feat like climbing Everest is recorded is fascinating for me. Secondly, and more importantly, Elizabeth Hawley herself. First off, she’s an amazing character, the archetypical stern, matriarch figure. Watching Hawley confront climbers and questioning in minute detail their journey up Everest makes for wonderful cinema.  Some seem shocked to be questioned others are clearly indignant but all are put swiftly put in their place by a withering glace or rebuke from the Hawley.

It’s not just Hawley’s present position which is fascinating but the journey she’s taken to get there. When Nepal opened its borders Hawley perceived that there could be an opportunity for someone ambitious and fluent in English. Going against the social conventions of the time, Hawley arrived in Kathmandu and proceeded to work for Time magazine chronicling the first American expedition to Everest before going on to oversee The Himalayan  Database and hasn’t left Nepal since 1960.

In terms of forging you own path Hawley is an inspiration and the film manages to capture her humility and humour perfectly. My only problem is that the film’s short running time (16 minutes) means that you get the feeling that there’s a lot more to this story that they have time to show. I hope it’s a topic that the filmmakers return to later.

North of the Sun (Inge Wegge and Anne Bergseng)     

My favourite film of the evening and, I think, the best film I’ve seen this year, North of the Sun has actually made me revaluate my current life situation. At its heart it’s a simple story (aren’t the best ones always?). Two best friends, seeking to escape the pressures of society, hike out to an isolated Norwegian beach and spend the summer building a cabin out of flotsam and winter skiing and surfing.

It’s a tantalising glimpse into an alternative way of life, both simpler and more challenging than what many of us experience. The two friend’s outlook on life is refreshingly simple; in the course of their stay on the beach they clear around 3 tonnes of debris claiming that the beach has become their yard. What gets them through the rough patches is the satisfaction of task well done, whether that be breaking open a frozen river to get drinking water or constructing an oven and chimney out of an abandoned steel drum.

The film is full of wonderful moments like this. Their food consists of out of date supplies from a supermarket (which can’t be sold and is therefore given away free) and the excitement they feel at finding an expired bag of meatballs is both infectious and a reminder that sometimes it’s the little things that are most important

I think that at some point we’ve all been tempted to try and escape the stress of the modern world, yet for one reason or another we’ve decided to put that desire to the back of our mind and, for better or worse, we’ve chosen to get back to the grind. These guys took the other route. While I don’t envy surfing the freezing Norwegian I waves I am jealous of the courage it took for these two to exchange everything they knew for a shot at freedom, jealous and just a little bit tempted myself.

The Banff Film Festival is continuing to make its way around the country and I’ve touched briefly on just some of the films on offer. To find out more about the films and where you can see them make sure to check out: www.banff-uk.com (by the way the bandana girl never came over. What’s up with that?).

One comment

  1. thanks for the review ,i will be going to see it in Belfast Northern Ireland this Friday. Glad I got the tickets.

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