The world’s best mountain films are making their annual stop on campus once again. Hosted by the Outdoor Adventure Center along with presenting partners National Geographic and The North Face, the 2010/2011 Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour will be here Feb. 15-16 in the Ragan Theater.
Similar to the Sundance Film Festival, this festival’s films have independent style but are all mountain-themed.
The Banff Center is Canada’s leader of inspiring creativity. It is located in the heart of Canada’s Banff National Park, and they held their film festival in November. Those festival film winners are the films showing on this year’s 2010/2011 world tour.
There is a mixture of high adrenaline and culture films as athletes explore and document their adventures in different countries. As Kim Reynolds, Outdoor Adventure Center coordinator explains, “It’s just an amazing festival; that’s why we keep bringing it back.”
A time slot of two and-a-half hours is open for showing films, and Reynolds decides what films fill that space. As the tour host, Reynolds chooses from about 30 films that she thinks will best fit with the Orem crowd. “I try to get a good mix of skiing, hiking, mountain biking – and cultural stuff too,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds started working at UVU 14 years ago and brought the Banff Mountain Film Festival with her. Before coming to Orem, she volunteered at Utah State and they had the Banff Mountain Film Festival in Logan. She knew Orem needed it too.
So far, Reynolds has decided that there will be a couple films on kayaking, skiing and one on a backcountry snowboarder who hikes everything he snowboards down.
Ramsay Beecher, a leader of adventure trips at the Outdoor Adventure Center, has been to the Banff Mountain Film Festival many times. “I’ve seen some pretty amazing films,” Beecher said. “One guy walked over the entire country of Australia.”
Combining a wide variety of emotions and excitement, the films take audiences to places they normally wouldn’t go or get to see.
“It’s just fun to watch these athletes do what they do,” Reynolds said.
