Banff Mountain Film Festival

The Banff Mountain Film Festival is an international film competition and an annual presentation of short films and documentaries about mountain culture, sports, and environment. It was launched in 1976 as The Banff Festival of Mountain Films by The Banff Centre and is held every fall in Banff, Alberta. Held concurrently is the Banff Mountain Book Festival which brings the spirit of mountain literature to Banff, and features guest speakers, readings, seminars, and an international book competition.

Immediately after the festival in November, a selection of the best films entered in the festival goes on tour. The host organization in each tour location chooses a program that reflects the interests of their community. Each community creates a unique celebration of local adventure and adventurers. The World Tour visits approximately 305 cities annually in 20 countries, reaching over 220,000 audience members.

Banff Mountain Film Festival is also one of the members of the International Alliance for Mountain Film (IAMF).

Approximately 300 films are entered into the film festival annually, and top 60 films (approximately) are selected by a pre-screening committee to be shown at the festival. During the festival, the international film festival jury chooses the best films and presents awards in various categories.

Every year the Banff World Tour team chooses about 25 films that feature a range of styles and themes, including climbing, skiing, kayaking, biking, adventure, culture, and the environment. The hosts try to choose the films that are best suited for their local audience and event. Most World Tour screenings include a range of different themes (adventure sports, environment, mountain culture, heritage, etc.) and styles (action-filled shorts; longer, more comprehensive films; amateur and professional productions; etc.). The Radical Reels Tour presentations incorporate all these elements, but the focus is on dynamic, high-adrenaline films featuring sports such as skiing, climbing, kayaking, BASE jumping, snowboarding and mountain biking, and new sports such as snow-kiting and speedriding. These activities continue to be included on the World Tour, but the Radical Reels Tour is for audiences who prefer screenings with a focus on action films.

Mi Chacra, directed and produced by Jason Burlage, was the top film at the 2010 Banff Mountain Film Festival, receiving the Grand Prize.

Finding Farley was the top film at the 2009 Banff Mountain Film Festival, receiving both the Grand Prize and People’s Choice awards.

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