The final night of the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour's Portland run was tonight. The lineup went a little something like this. (Approximate running times in parentheses)
Dream Result (16:00) - Kayak film that won a People's Choice award on Banff's Radical Reels tour. Includes some Norwegian boating, a wreck reel and a world record waterfall drop attempt. A good mix, but I don't know enough about the sport to know whether some of the things they do are intentional.
Parking Garage: Beyond the Limit (5:00) - A parody of the Everest: Beyond the Limit TV show. For those who find themselves out of breath after a flight of stairs. Sir Edmund Hilarity.
Crossing the Ditch (1:15:00) - Won the Best of Exploration and Adventure award at the festival. Two novice kayakers decide to paddle across the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand. Thousands of kilometers, months of travel. They encounter rough seas, sharks and yachtsman. Will they make it? Will they encounter the Blair Witch as per their photography? This one got my girlfriend to swear never to touch a kayak. (She left open the possibility of using parking garages, though.)
Salt (26:00) - Winner of the Creative Excellence award at the festival. By the way, it's not this one. Salt documents a photographer's multi-year journey into Australia's dry Lake Eyre to capture images and battle personal demons. Emotional story, amazing time-lapse landscapes.
Rush Hour Dream (5:00) - German businessman falls asleep on the bus, wakes up paragliding.
Last Paradise (26:00) - Tells the story of a group of Kiwi action sports pioneers. Great old-school footage of surfing, snowboarding, skiing, hang gliding and proto-wakeboarding.
Not a bad group of films this year. I like how they changed the lineup every day, instead of repeating some as they did in years past. I'd have liked to see more snow sports. If they think it's the wrong time of year for that, they're wrong (judging by all the kayaking movies, that might be the case).
Check the Banff Centre site for tour stops near you and get tickets as soon as they go on sale. These shows sell out in days in Portland. Unless you live in Banff, the tour is your only chance.
Showing posts with label banff mountain film festival. Show all posts
Showing posts with label banff mountain film festival. Show all posts
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Banff Tour: Day 2
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| Banff's signature image this year by Topher Donahue |
Another stellar lineup for a Wednesday night of mountain-film watching. All running times approximate.
The Swiss Machine - Ueli Steck speed climbs various routes in Yosemite and the Swiss Alps. Alex Honold shows up, awkward as ever. (15 minutes)
Kranked Kids: Just Down the Road - Dad leaves son alone. Dad is a bike filmer. Story of son's joyride. Cute family stuff. (5 minutes)
The Asgard Project - Story of a climbing and wingsuit BASE jump project on a remote Baffin Island peak. What an ordeal. They didn't make it look like fun at all. Except the BASE jumping. A tiny portion of the total. Too much climbing and suffering. (45 minutes)
Into Darkness - Short introspective on caving. Made me feel claustrophobic just watching it. Portland produced by John Waller and Uncage the Soul Video Productions (15 minutes)
Chimæra - Slo-mo ski movie. Some park, some pow, some landscape. I'd like it more if I wasn't so sick of slo-mo. (5 minutes)
Eastern Rises - Fly fishing porn about a trip to Russia's far eastern Kamchatka peninsula. Big fish, big laughs, bigfoot. Best film of the tour so far. (30 minutes)
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| Here fishy fishy |
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Banff Mountain Film Festival Tour Returns To Portland
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| Nothing says film fest like a 'soft focus' photo |
Here's a quick rundown of the program. Breaking the ice was The Longest Way, a short film about one man's year of walking through China told using a series of still photos. Impossible to fully grasp at best, nausea inducing at worst. Check it out on YouTube. Next up, Life Cycles, a movie about bikes. It was heavy on time-lapses and art, but the tour cut (adapted from the full-length film) left it feeling choppy. The night's feature was a movie near to many peoples' hearts. A Life Ascending told the story of Ruedi Beglinger, an elite mountain guide in BC's Selkirks, and how a fateful avalanche changed his life. Among the lives claimed in this tragedy was one Craig Elmer Kelly of Mount Vernon, WA. A heavy movie, indeed. After a short intermission (during which your humble author both polished off a bacon, egg and cheeseburger and won a raffle prize), First Ascent: Man vs. Eiger played. Dean Potter was the star and pioneer of a sport called free-basing: climbing mountains without rope, but with a BASE jumper's parachute. The idea is that if you fall, you don't die, you fly. It seemed to work. He didn't die. Sorry to spoil the ending. After the awe-inspiring Man vs. Eiger came the awww-inducing Still Motion, a short compiled of stills from Alberta foothills wildlife cameras. The final film of the evening was Wild Water, a film that sought to capture the essence of river running. That means using lots of slo-mo. An emotional movie nonetheless.
If any of this sounds interesting, well the next two nights are either sold out or close. Check REI or craigslist for tickets. Also, neither of the next two nights will have the same movies as tonight did. Unlike in years past where they've repeated some of the shorts, this year the host assured us that all three nights will be totally different. Just the kind of fix I need.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour
What's better than being outside and playing around in the snow? Probably nothing, but the next best thing is surely watching others do likewise. Especially when they're insane-o pros. That's why the snow porn industry actually works. Turns out, people make videos about all kinds of other outdoor sports from BASE jumping to rock climbing and they're pretty cool, too. There's really only one place to go to watch all of the best under one roof: the Banff Mountain Film Festival.
The festival takes place every fall in late October to early November in Banff, Alberta, Canada. Problem is, Banff isn't exactly an international hub and tickets are about as scarce as sentences without the word 'like' in a high school cafeteria. Before you thumb a ride for the Canadian Rockies and sell a kidney to scalp seats, check this out: they take the best of 'em and bring them on a world tour. Not to say road trip adventures and renal dialysis aren't xtreeme, but maybe think about catching the show at a theatre near you instead. I took the plunge and I'm here with the rundown.
The festival ran three days at Portland's Bagdad Theater and all three days sold out. In fact, the show's closing on Thursday sold out in just a few days forcing me to scalp at the door. Black market organ harvest was averted by a kind patron who sold me an extra at face value. The format had a few short films (or sections from larger works), one feature length film, then an intermission, followed by more shorts. The whole night went about three hours after all the mandatory raffles and sponsor plugs.
Night one, a Wednesday, I went to with my friend Ben. We got there late-ish and ended up in the front row corner. Kinked neck city, population us. Fortunately, it would turn out to be the best night of programming of the three. The feature was called Journey to the Center and revolved around three BASE jumpers attempting a radical new project: a giant hole in the Earth in China called the Heavenly Pit. It had equal parts personal exposition, travel documentary and adrenaline-fueled action. It really had drama that I've never experienced in an outdoor film before. It was similar to First Descent, if you were to watch it never having snowboarded. Lots of great storytelling and at the end they do something that's never been done before and could easily kill someone. Easily the best film of the tour. Some other highlights from that day include a couple of cute animations. One from Switzerland called The Cable Car and another from the US called Papiroflexia, which actually played all three nights and is available here. A cool animation, but it's no Rabbit. Haha. Another short was from a trials mountain bike movie called Crux. For the uninitiated, trials is all about balance as a biker hops from obstacle to obstacle and/or rides across narrower and narrower features. It's interesting at first, but gets repetitive or as Ben said, "It's like lesbian porn, it's nice and all, but it's just the same thing over and over."
Day two I learned my lesson and got there early. Surprisingly there was no line and I walked right to the front row and took a seat. I dropped my sweatshirt to save it and went out for food until the show started. The feature that night was about a woman who was a world champion para-glider who wanted to fly with eagles. In fact, it was called Flying With Eagles. She seriously bought a fledgling eagle, kept it at a zoo and got a falconer to help her train it. It was a cool story, but not that well made. It also got corny when the love story between her and the falconer came out. Yeah, they move in together. They also showed a section from TGR's Under the Influence. Which actually had some snowboarding. An unfortunately low amount of snowboarding on the tour, but that's what you get from a spring showing. There was a funny short called Patagonia Winter about a couple British guys who try to climb some mountains. They run into some bad luck and end up backing off more than they climb. It did feature some classic quotes, "When the chips are down, he'll be the one eating the chips." Now that I mention it, that might have been the first night. Anyway, a good show.
The final day I scalped tickets and the line was two blocks long. I still got front row seats because no one likes them. In that particular theater, there's no stadium seating and the seats don't go all the way up to the stage, so front row is a great seat. I did the same seat save trick as in previous nights and missed out on sitting around for an hour. The feature that night was a rock climbing movie called The Sharp End. It had all kinds of crazy personalities and situations. Rock climbing is something I'd like to get into more. I go out a couple times a year and have a good time, but I've never made that big investment in gear to get past the gym. They showed part of a movie I've been looking forward to for a while, Rocky Mountain Sherpas' The Fine Line. This eclectic bit of celluloid tells the tale of the water cycle with emphasis on avalanche safety. Not a point-to-point narrative in any way, it's still an informative movie. I'm sure I'll buy it if only to see how/if it all comes together. One last movie I remember was Silent Snow, a documentary about communities in Greenland and how pollutants affect everything from seal meat to the ice sheet.
This fall, I'd like to make the trek to Banff to see all the movies for myself. Seeing only clips of some was little better than watching trailers. If I can't make it or don't get in, I'll take solace that the tour will be around. They even have showings in Antarctica, so check out the site and see when, not if, they're coming to your hood.
The festival takes place every fall in late October to early November in Banff, Alberta, Canada. Problem is, Banff isn't exactly an international hub and tickets are about as scarce as sentences without the word 'like' in a high school cafeteria. Before you thumb a ride for the Canadian Rockies and sell a kidney to scalp seats, check this out: they take the best of 'em and bring them on a world tour. Not to say road trip adventures and renal dialysis aren't xtreeme, but maybe think about catching the show at a theatre near you instead. I took the plunge and I'm here with the rundown.
The festival ran three days at Portland's Bagdad Theater and all three days sold out. In fact, the show's closing on Thursday sold out in just a few days forcing me to scalp at the door. Black market organ harvest was averted by a kind patron who sold me an extra at face value. The format had a few short films (or sections from larger works), one feature length film, then an intermission, followed by more shorts. The whole night went about three hours after all the mandatory raffles and sponsor plugs.
Night one, a Wednesday, I went to with my friend Ben. We got there late-ish and ended up in the front row corner. Kinked neck city, population us. Fortunately, it would turn out to be the best night of programming of the three. The feature was called Journey to the Center and revolved around three BASE jumpers attempting a radical new project: a giant hole in the Earth in China called the Heavenly Pit. It had equal parts personal exposition, travel documentary and adrenaline-fueled action. It really had drama that I've never experienced in an outdoor film before. It was similar to First Descent, if you were to watch it never having snowboarded. Lots of great storytelling and at the end they do something that's never been done before and could easily kill someone. Easily the best film of the tour. Some other highlights from that day include a couple of cute animations. One from Switzerland called The Cable Car and another from the US called Papiroflexia, which actually played all three nights and is available here. A cool animation, but it's no Rabbit. Haha. Another short was from a trials mountain bike movie called Crux. For the uninitiated, trials is all about balance as a biker hops from obstacle to obstacle and/or rides across narrower and narrower features. It's interesting at first, but gets repetitive or as Ben said, "It's like lesbian porn, it's nice and all, but it's just the same thing over and over."
Day two I learned my lesson and got there early. Surprisingly there was no line and I walked right to the front row and took a seat. I dropped my sweatshirt to save it and went out for food until the show started. The feature that night was about a woman who was a world champion para-glider who wanted to fly with eagles. In fact, it was called Flying With Eagles. She seriously bought a fledgling eagle, kept it at a zoo and got a falconer to help her train it. It was a cool story, but not that well made. It also got corny when the love story between her and the falconer came out. Yeah, they move in together. They also showed a section from TGR's Under the Influence. Which actually had some snowboarding. An unfortunately low amount of snowboarding on the tour, but that's what you get from a spring showing. There was a funny short called Patagonia Winter about a couple British guys who try to climb some mountains. They run into some bad luck and end up backing off more than they climb. It did feature some classic quotes, "When the chips are down, he'll be the one eating the chips." Now that I mention it, that might have been the first night. Anyway, a good show.
The final day I scalped tickets and the line was two blocks long. I still got front row seats because no one likes them. In that particular theater, there's no stadium seating and the seats don't go all the way up to the stage, so front row is a great seat. I did the same seat save trick as in previous nights and missed out on sitting around for an hour. The feature that night was a rock climbing movie called The Sharp End. It had all kinds of crazy personalities and situations. Rock climbing is something I'd like to get into more. I go out a couple times a year and have a good time, but I've never made that big investment in gear to get past the gym. They showed part of a movie I've been looking forward to for a while, Rocky Mountain Sherpas' The Fine Line. This eclectic bit of celluloid tells the tale of the water cycle with emphasis on avalanche safety. Not a point-to-point narrative in any way, it's still an informative movie. I'm sure I'll buy it if only to see how/if it all comes together. One last movie I remember was Silent Snow, a documentary about communities in Greenland and how pollutants affect everything from seal meat to the ice sheet.
This fall, I'd like to make the trek to Banff to see all the movies for myself. Seeing only clips of some was little better than watching trailers. If I can't make it or don't get in, I'll take solace that the tour will be around. They even have showings in Antarctica, so check out the site and see when, not if, they're coming to your hood.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Digital Relapse Week?
Digital Detox Week went pretty well for me. We got great weather here in Portland, I got outside a bunch and even exercised some. When I did stay inside, I was catching up on reading and catching up with friends and family. The Banff Mountain Film Festival was in town, so that was three nights of entertainment (moron the specifics next post). I probably spent half an hour a day online. That was last week.
The first two days of this week have been a total relapse. I'm back to my old ways: staying at the computer all day, obsessively checking my e-mail, facebook and youtube as if something important is going to happen, blogging... How important is this writing that I do? Ultimately, I hope to find the middle road, perhaps an hour a day. It all starts with getting out there right now. The Banff Mountain Film Festival was pretty cool, though, you should go check that out.
The first two days of this week have been a total relapse. I'm back to my old ways: staying at the computer all day, obsessively checking my e-mail, facebook and youtube as if something important is going to happen, blogging... How important is this writing that I do? Ultimately, I hope to find the middle road, perhaps an hour a day. It all starts with getting out there right now. The Banff Mountain Film Festival was pretty cool, though, you should go check that out.
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