2013 Banff Mountain Film Festival

Here are my reviews of the films and presentations from the 2013 Banff Mountain Film Festival.

Jonesy and Gamme: Antarctic Adversaries

At the 2013 festival, the best film by far was Crossing the Ice, about two Australians' attempt to ski from the edge of the Antarctic to the South Pole and back. I won't spoil it by telling you how it went, but a surprise character appears in that film, and this presentation was by one of the Aussies and that surprise character. Excellent presentation and quite entertaining.

Resounding Silence

Skiing to the South Pole does not seem like an adventure I would participate in, but ski touring and paragliding in Greenland does. Great visuals, and it was good to know that a helicopter was not used to achieve the aeriel footage.

Valhalla

Ski films have matured a lot, and in general are a lot more interesting than even 5 years ago. This one was a bit too long for my tastes, but was still quite interesting and went well beyond your typical ski porn.

Down the Line

I find canyoneering films to be interesting in terms of visuals but not all that enticing in terms of narrative.

Cold Warriors: Wolves and Buffalo

If they had stayed on the wolves and buffalo theme, I would have liked this film more. Having said that, complaints about oil fields in northern Alberta have more weight when helicopters are not used to obtain footage (where does the fuel come from?).

Cascada

Kayaking film? I don't remember. I don't really like kayaking films.

High Tension

A very interesting documentary about the fight between western mountaineers and Nepalese porters that occurred earlier this year. The director said that he is still collecting interviews, so I look forward to seeing the final edit.

Je veux

A live performance by a famous (?) French singer on the summit of Mont Blanc. Maybe more appealing if you know the singer.

Kunye

A film about the 2012 Single Speed World Championships. "If you don't want a tattoo, don't win the race."

Heaven's Gate

A very impressive feat, but the characters kind of give off an "ugly American" vibe.

Keeper of the Mountains

I love quirky films, and this one is about Elizabeth Hawley, the Queen of Himalayan expeditions.

Tri(p)-color

Skiing into snow covered with coloured powder. Not very interesting.

Rockin' Cuba

Felt like a long version of your standard Petzl Roc Trip film. Entertaining, but maybe largely because there was a definite lack of climbing in this year's festival.

Sea of Rock

A mountain biking film, with an emphasis on "mountain".

A Dark Cloud on Top of the World (Un nuage sur le toit du monde)

I don't remember a lot about this film as it was at the end of a long Saturday. I guess it wasn't that interesting?

Cecilie Skog: To the Ends of the Earth

Another fantastic presentation by the perkiest and bubbliest mountaineer / adventurer I've ever seen. Quite moving as well as she describes the death of her husband on K2.

Off-width Outlaw

Very short film, somewhat interesting, but not enough real climbing footage in my opinion.

Made of Steel (Vilje av Stal)

The third Karina Hollekim film (the other two have been at previous festivals), and interestingly enough, the three movies follow the traditional three-act play plotline.

Geyikbayiri

Maybe my favourite climbing film of the festival, although that doesn't necessarily say a lot about this year's selections. Climbing in Turkey with locals.

I AM RED

Short infomercial about the Colorado River.

Walled In

More kayaking. Meh.

Notes on Ice

A concert using ice instruments on a stage made of ice. More of the actual concert should have been shown.

Flow: Elements of Freeride

I don't even remember what this film was about.

North of the Sun (Nordfor Sola)

Far and away the best film of the year, and perhaps one of the best films I've ever seen at the Banff Mountain Film Festival. This is about two young guys who decide to spend an entire winter surfing, skiing, and living off the land. Incredibly inspiring.

The Burn

Ski touring through burned out forests. Quite topical as there is a lot of terrain like this in the Kootenays.

STAND

A film about the proposed Enbridge pipeline that would go through the Great Bear Rainforest.

Let Go (Loslassen)

A climbing film, but I don't remember the details.

Return to the Tepuis

I generally like animal documentaries. This one is about a rare breed of toad living in a very isolated area in South America.

Streams of Consequence

It's not clear to me who actually wants dams in Chile, but maybe that's the point of this film.

The Moments Between

I don't remember this film at all.

Spice Girl

British trad climbing is pretty crazy. Makes my palms sweaty just thinking about it.

Kurt and the Chairlift (Kurt und der Sessellift)

Another quirky film about a guy who buys a ski lift.