The annual Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival has wrapped up in Banff, Alta. and some of the best films from this year’s celebration of mountain adventure and culture are poised to hit the road on the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour.
This year’s tour arrives in Campbell River on Friday, Dec. 2 at the Tidemark Theatre and the following night with a separate program on Dec. 3 at the Quadra Island Community Centre. This year’s Grand Prize winner is Shepherdess of the Glaciers: the story of Tsering, one of the last shepherdesses in the far northern mountains of Ladakh, India. Living 5,000 metres above sea level she leads her flock of 300 sheep and Pashmina goats to graze on the 5,500 m high Himalayan Plateaus in a dry and desolate landscape, Tsering is under the continuous threat of wolves and snow leopards.
Documented by her brother over four seasons, the film depicts both her world of icy loneliness and that unbreakable bond between humans and animals.
“Half way around the world - the filmmakers’ ability to make an intimate and isolated existence universal is what makes this film at once moving and engaging,” said Elizabeth Yake, a member of the 2016 Banff Mountain Film Festival jury. “This expansive film absorbs the viewer into the conjoined, meditative world of a harsh environment - which includes the passing seasons, a barren mountainous landscape and the intimate relationship between humans and animals in their care.
“Capturing a moment in time - quietly observing a spirited individual eking out a basic existence with all of life’s necessities - the filmmaker uncovers a life that is organic - filled with struggles - but ultimately a life abundant with awe and joy.”
Other category winners for the 2016 Banff Mountain Film Competition include The Accord (Iceland/USA, 2016, 19 min) winner of the Creative Excellence Award, Freedom Under Load (Slovakia, 2016, 58 min) winner of Best Film – Mountain Culture, and Boys in the Bugs (USA, 2016, 18 min) winner of Best Film – Climbing.
As news of the films to be screened locally becomes available it can be found online at www.wildisle.ca
Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to experience the magic of the world’s best mountain films at the Tidemark Theatre on Dec. 2 and Quadra Island on Dec. 3.
Tickets for both shows are available from the Tidemark Theatre Box Office at 250-287-7465 or online at www.tidemarktheatre.com. Tickets for the Quadra Island show are usually available at the door but to take advantage of a special double-header package price tickets need to be booked in advance.
For more information about the Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival head online to www.banffcentre.ca