Programme Descriptions and Trailers
The Banff Mountain Film Festival NZ Tour presents four programmes of films that suit single and multiple screening venues, and online viewing.
Aoraki
This programme is designed for venues that have a single screening, showing some of the best films from the latest Banff Centre Film Festival.
Check out 2024 programme details:
FUEGO;
An ode to escape and adventure travel, Fuego is a new mountain biking masterpiece. From Guatemala to Peru via Bolivia, the team scoured the most beautiful spots for two months bring back breathtaking images. Kilian Bron rides from the foot of the Fuego volcano the day before its historic eruption, to the colourful facades of Barrio Chualluma in La Paz, through the geological formations of the Valle de las Animas to an unforgettable meeting with the Cholitas Escaladoras. (2023, France, 7 min)
Filmmaker: Pierre Henni, Kilian Bron
SOUNDSCAPE;
***CREATIVE EXCELLENCE AWARD***
Soundscape shares the sightless experience of climbing a mountain via echo location, touch and imagination. Soundscape features Erik Weihenmayer, a global adventure athlete and author who is fully blind, as he ascends a massive alpine rock face deep in the Sierra Nevada. Using expert camera work from Mikey Schaefer and emotive, novel animation from Scott Hassell and Mitch Pond to bring to life a concept by adaptive climbing pioneer Timmy O'Neill, the film is a surprising and soulful adventure.(2023, USA, 14 min)
Filmmaker: Timmy O'Neill, Sarah Lee Steele, Well Travelled Collective
SUBTERRANEAN (TOUR EDIT);
***BEST FILM: ADVENTURE***
Two gritty teams of hobbyist cavers are poised to break records for the longest and deepest caves in Canada. After discovering a flooded underground chamber, Katie, a daytime accountant, becomes obsessed with returning to the Bisaro Anima cave in the Rockies to push the caving depth record. At the same time, a passionate Vancouver Island team is attempting to link two tunnel systems to create the longest known cave in the country. From abyssal, muddy crawls to heart-pounding, vertical pits, and underwater squeezes, these are places where no person has been before. (2023, Canada, 40 min)
Filmmaker: François-Xavier De Ruydts, Jenny Rustemeyer, Cold Fingers Films
HOW DID WE GET HERE? (TOUR EDIT);
The Blondes, three strange animals. Who are they? What are they thinking? Are they naturally Blonde? A film highlighting the ski crew the Blondes through their friendship and adventures in skiing and in life.(2023, Canada, 9 min)
Filmmaker: Clay Mitchell, Simon Shave, CK9 Studios
ETERNAL FLAME;
***BEST FILM: MOUNTAIN SPORTS***
After having climbed the Eternal Flame route on Nameless Tower in Pakistan (6,200m), French BASE jumpers Eric Jamet and Antoine Pecher combine the ascent with one of the most beautiful BASE jumps imaginable. Following in the footsteps of pioneer jumpers from 1990, the duo of friends devour adventure and all it offers, beauty, power and anxiety all contribute to the experience. (2023, Switzerland, 26 min)
Filmmaker: Nicolas Bossard, MS PROD
Some Subtitles - from French
PIONEERS: TANDEM XC SKIING (TOUR EDIT);
After winning the American Birkebeiner - the largest cross-country ski race in North America - Joe Dubay was disqualified for wearing the wrong bib. Now, 11 years later, Joe and his former roommate who lent him the bib -Chris - document their return to the Birkebeiner to pioneer a new sport: tandem cross-country skiing. (2023, USA, 20 min)
Filmmaker: Chris Parr, Flutter Brothers Productions
NO WAY;
Jean-Baptiste Chandelier takes his unique low-flying, ground-skimming art combining paragliding and filmmaking to a whole new level.(2023, France, 4 min)
Filmmaker: Jean-Baptiste Chandelier, Marine Pascal, EURL JB Chandelier
Ruapehu
Ruapehu shows more of the best films from the latest Banff Centre Film Festival programmed at venues that have more than 1 screening. Tasman and Ruapehu programmes offer viewers two different film selections to watch at one venue.
This programme is also a great option for venues that have a single screening.
Check out 2024 programme details:
FUEGO;
An ode to escape and adventure travel, Fuego is a new mountain biking masterpiece. From Guatemala to Peru via Bolivia, the team scoured the most beautiful spots for two months bring back breathtaking images. Kilian Bron rides from the foot of the Fuego volcano the day before its historic eruption, to the colourful facades of Barrio Chualluma in La Paz, through the geological formations of the Valle de las Animas to an unforgettable meeting with the Cholitas Escaladoras. (2023, France, 7 min)
Filmmaker: Pierre Henni, Kilian Bron
ETERNAL FLAME;
***BEST FILM: MOUNTAIN SPORTS***
After having climbed the Eternal Flame route on Nameless Tower in Pakistan (6,200m), French BASE jumpers Eric Jamet and Antoine Pecher combine the ascent with one of the most beautiful BASE jumps imaginable. Following in the footsteps of pioneer jumpers from 1990, the duo of friends devour adventure and all it offers, beauty, power and anxiety all contribute to the experience. (2023, Switzerland, 26 min)
Filmmaker: Nicolas Bossard, MS PROD
Some Subtitles - from French
SUBTERRANEAN (TOUR EDIT);
***BEST FILM: ADVENTURE***
Two gritty teams of hobbyist cavers are poised to break records for the longest and deepest caves in Canada. After discovering a flooded underground chamber, Katie, a daytime accountant, becomes obsessed with returning to the Bisaro Anima cave in the Rockies to push the caving depth record. At the same time, a passionate Vancouver Island team is attempting to link two tunnel systems to create the longest known cave in the country. From abyssal, muddy crawls to heart-pounding, vertical pits, and underwater squeezes, these are places where no person has been before. (2023, Canada, 40 min)
Filmmaker: François-Xavier De Ruydts, Jenny Rustemeyer, Cold Fingers Films
THE ASCENSION SERIES: MORAG SKELTON
Morag, who doesn’t let being deaf limit what’s possible on the mountainside, believes that nothing should come between anyone and getting out there in nature. As a deaf climber constantly pushing the limits of possible, she lives that belief. (2023, United Kingdom, 5 min)
Filmmaker: Matt Pycroft, Matt Harmer, Harriet Sykes, Coldhouse Collective
GOING GREENLAND;
What happens when you combine a renewable energy sailboat with an arctic ski expedition in Greenland for the first time ever? Athletes Rachael Burks and Jessica Baker put the idea to test and endure a both harrowing and inspiring journey along Greenland’s West Coast fjords and towering mountains. What ensues is an inspiring and formidable journey as compromise and progress go hand in hand. (2023, USA, 23 min)
Filmmaker: Erich Roepke, Jessica Baker, Rachael Burks, Going Greenland Production
TWO POINT FOUR;
Not your typical family holiday, but this is not your typical family. Leo Houlding, his wife Jess, their two children Freya (9yrs) and Jackson (5yrs) climb Norway's national mountain via a 2,000ft (600m) big wall.(2023, United Kingdom, 20 min)
Filmmaker: Natasha Brooks, Leo Houlding
Tasman
Tasman shows more of the best films from the latest Banff Centre Film Festival programmed at venues that have more than 1 screening. Tasman and Rupehu programmes offer viewers two different film selections to watch at one venue.
This programme is also a great option for venues that have a single screening.
Check out 2024 programme details:
SOUNDSCAPE;
***CREATIVE EXCELLENCE AWARD***
Soundscape shares the sightless experience of climbing a mountain via echo location, touch and imagination. Soundscape features Erik Weihenmayer, a global adventure athlete and author who is fully blind, as he ascends a massive alpine rock face deep in the Sierra Nevada. Using expert camera work from Mikey Schaefer and emotive, novel animation from Scott Hassell and Mitch Pond to bring to life a concept by adaptive climbing pioneer Timmy O'Neill, the film is a surprising and soulful adventure.(2023, USA, 14 min)
Filmmaker: Timmy O'Neill, Sarah Lee Steele, Well Travelled Collective
NEAR THE RIVER;
In the tourism town of Livingstone, Zambia, a group of local men who make their living portering kayaks aspire to become safety kayakers on the Zambezi River. The proposed Batoka Gorge Hydroelectric Scheme threatens to flood the famous rapids of the Zambezi and eliminate river related jobs. (2023, USA, 11 min)
Filmmaker: Darby McAdams, Ashley Peel, Rush Sturges, McAdams Films
Some subtitles
CHRONOCEPTION (TOUR EDIT);
On the trail of nomadic peoples and the ancient Silk Roads, Thomas Delfino, accompanied by Léa Klaue and Aurélien Lardy, embark on an expedition to reach one of the most remote places on the continent. The Kokshaal-Too range is located in the Tian Shan mountain range, on the border of Kyrgyzstan and China, and harbors unexplored mountains and faces. This skilled team, accompanied by renowned guides Hélias Millerioux and Jean-Yves Fredriksen, finds themselves propelled into a space where time seems to have suddenly come to a halt. (2023, France, 41 min)
Filmmaker: Guillaume Broust, Picture Organic Clothing
Subtitled.
HOW DID WE GET HERE? (TOUR EDIT);
The Blondes, three strange animals. Who are they? What are they thinking? Are they naturally Blonde? A film highlighting the ski crew the Blondes through their friendship and adventures in skiing and in life.(2023, Canada, 9 min)
Filmmaker: Clay Mitchell, Simon Shave, CK9 Studios
EL GAVILÁN;
Rising out of the arid Mexican desert lies a 900ft ship’s prow of elegant limestone sporting a 9-pitch 5.13 established in the 90s by Jeff Jackson. A cutting-edge big wall free climb at the time, this route shut down hard men for years. Shrouded in mysticism, the bolts rusted, and the holds collected dust until a couple of young gals from Canada decided to give it a try. (2022, USA, 20 min)
Filmmaker: Bronwyn Hodgins, Savannah Cummins, Savy Media
PIONEERS: TANDEM XC SKIING (TOUR EDIT);
After winning the American Birkebeiner - the largest cross-country ski race in North America - Joe Dubay was disqualified for wearing the wrong bib. Now, 11 years later, Joe and his former roommate who lent him the bib -Chris - document their return to the Birkebeiner to pioneer a new sport: tandem cross-country skiing. (2023, USA, 20 min)
Filmmaker: Chris Parr, Flutter Brothers Productions
NO WAY;
Jean-Baptiste Chandelier takes his unique low-flying, ground-skimming art combining paragliding and filmmaking to a whole new level.(2023, France, 4 min)
Filmmaker: Jean-Baptiste Chandelier, Marine Pascal, EURL JB Chandelier
Tūtoko
Tūtoko offers more of the best mountain films, unique to the films shown at live screenings (above), for viewing from the comfort of home. Option available to turn on closed captions.
Check out the 2024 programme details:
DESERT WINGS;
Paramotoring is a niche, largely undocumented, and little-known flying sport. This piece brings it to light in a rightfully epic way. Shot over 6 days, with multiple paramotor pilots, Desert Wings highlights some of the most dramatic desert landscapes in the American Southwest. (2023, USA, 4 min)
Filmmaker: Nathan McBride, NVisualMedia
STILL ALIVE;
Doctors gave him until age twenty-five to live and now 10 years after his expiration date, he is still climbing. Klaas Willems is a Rock Climber who, due to his Cystic Fibrosis, has dedicated his life to climbing in clean air. He has bolted hundreds of routes in non-polluted areas like Sardinia, Italy and found great success and peace in the process. His journey takes on a new dimension when he is also diagnosed with cancer. (2023, USA, 27 min)
Filmmaker: Santino Martirano
MUSTAFA CEYLAN;
This is the story of a young Turkish immigrant, destined to play football and take over his parents’ kebab restaurant. But one day, fate put a pair of skis in his way. (2022, Switzerland, 12 min)
Filmmaker: Jules Guarneri, Benoît Goncerut, Cause
CANADA VERTICAL (TOUR EDIT);
After years of preparation, a team of highly motivated Quebeckers set out on one of the longest wilderness expeditions ever documented. Stage one involves skiing in relentless polar conditions from Ellesmere Island to the Northwest Passage where the challenge was reaching the mainland. Cue canoes for a 2,000km journey across Nunavut and the Northwest Territories until they reach the first dirt road available where bikes are waiting to be pedaled 4,000km to Point Pelee in Ontario. (2023, Canada, 35 min)
Filmmaker: Laurent Poliquin, Nicolas Roulx
SCHOOL OF FISH;
***BEST SHORT FILM***
Indigenous people and salmon have been intertwined for thousands of years in Bristol Bay, Alaska. The knowledge of harvesting, preserving, and sharing fish is as important here as any lesson in a book. Today, kids must not only learn from their elders how to fish, but also how to fight. For the last century, corporations have sought to extract the wealth of this rich region. Now Pebble Mine threatens to pollute the pristine headwaters of Bristol Bay. Can the next generation step up to defend the most prolific salmon run left on earth? (2022, USA, 19 min)
Filmmaker: Colin Arisman, Oliver Sutro, Wild Confluence Media, Orvis
GEORGIA ASTLE: FLIP THE SWITCH;
If you don’t have role models to look up to, it’s harder to progress as a rider. Georgia Astle grew up chasing her older brother. “If he could do it, I could do it” she figured. She got comfortable “flipping the switch” and pushing against the clock. Watch Georgia Astle explore some of British Columbia’s most striking landscapes, on a search for terrain to push her riding, inspired by a rising tide of female freeriders around the world. (2023, Canada, 3 min)
Filmmaker: Scott Secco, Scott Secco Films
REEL ROCK: DNA;
29-year-old French sport climber Seb Bouin has been quietly working his way through the elite grades, culminating in his attempt to establish a long pitch through an overhanging cave in the Verdon Gorge of France. His proposed line is so futuristic, the moves so improbable, that if Seb can put it all together it may be the most difficult route ever climbed. (2023, USA, 23 min)
Filmmaker: Josh Lowell, Zachary Barr, Reel Rock