BLUE Film program

It is with great pleasure that we present this year’s two film programs. Here you can see a selection of the best festival entries, prize winners and audience favorites from the festival in Canada.

The BLUE film program brings you 8 films straight from the Canadian festival scene. It’s a diverse mix of films with different themes and lengths that will keep you glued to the screen. Our awesome host will be there to introduce the festival and each film, plus they’ll be rockin’ some great giveaways and more.

We’ll take a break around halfway through the evening for about 20 minutes. And don’t worry about the language barrier, because all the films either have English audio or English subtitles.

BLUE Program – 8 epic mountain stories


DESERT WINGS

Paramotoring is a niche, largely undocumented, and little-known flying sport. This piece brings it to light in a rightfully epic way. Shot over 6 days, with multiple paramotor pilots, Desert Wings highlights some of the most dramatic desert landscapes in the American Southwest.

2023, USA, 4 min
Filmmaker:Nathan McBride, NVisualMedia
Focus:Paramotoring
Photo: Courtesy Banff Mountain Festivals

THE BEST SKIER YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF

Adrien Grabinski needed a change. After a successful ski racing career that took him from the Alberta team to the Canadian national team as a junior, he ventured further west. He discovered his true calling at Shames Mountain, a remote little co-op non-profit ski area near Terrace, B.C. The mountains, the snow, and the big lines first captivated him, but the local ski community truly stole his heart.

2023, Sweden, 8 min
Filmmaker:Marcus Ahlström, Mattias Fredriksson, Stellar Equipment
Focus:Skiing
Photo: Mattias Fredriksson
Photo: Mattias Fredriksson
Photo: Mattias Fredriksson

ONE DEGREE #PERU

ONE DEGREE is kitesurfing adventure at the crossroads of outdoor sport and activism showcasing the changes our environment is currently experiencing. Embark on this journey looking for places to ride on some of the highest alpine lakes in the world in the Andes. Stunning high-altitude cinematography brings you the colors of the high mountains and their turquoise lakes as the viewer is confronted with the causes and consequences of the disappearance of glaciers.

2023, France, 15 min
Filmmaker:Alex Lopez, Riding to Explore
Focus:Kite boarding
Photo: Riding to Explore
Photo: Riding to Explore

SUBTERRANEAN (TOUR EDIT)

In a remarkable year, two gritty teams of hobbyist cavers are poised to break records for the longest and deepest caves in Canada. After discovering a flooded underground chamber, Katie, a daytime accountant, becomes obsessed with returning to the Bisaro Anima cave in the Rockies to push the caving depth record. At the same time, a passionate Vancouver Island team is attempting to link two tunnel systems to create the longest known cave in the country. From abyssal, muddy crawls to heart-pounding, vertical pits, and underwater squeezes, these are places where no person has been before

Photo: Fix de Ruydts
2023, Canada, 40 minBest film Adventure
Filmmaker:François-Xavier De Ruydts, Jenny Rustemeyer, Cold Fingers Films
Focus:Caving, Adventure
Photo: Matt Maddaloni

INTERMISSION

Halfway through, we’ll take a 20-minute break so you can step out, grab some fresh air, and get something to eat or drink. Take the chance to chat with some of the exhibitors and partners on-site!


GOING GREENLAND

What happens when you combine a renewable energy sailboat with an arctic ski expedition in Greenland for the first time ever? Athletes Rachael Burks and Jessica Baker put the idea to test, and endure a both harrowing and inspiring journey along Greenland’s West coast fjords and towering mountains. What ensues is an inspiring and formidable journey as compromise and progress go hand in hand.

2023, USA, 23 min
Filmmaker:Erich Roepke, Jessica Baker, Rachael Burks, Going Greenland Production  
Focus:Skiing, Environment
Photo: Sophie Danison
Photo: Erich Roepke

TO BE FRANK

Frank Paine is a 73-year-old South Bay icon and humble local legend whose life orbits around a two-block stretch of beach. His unforgettable mustache and magnetic spirit are what most first notice, but Frank’s layers expose a depth that might answer some questions that surfers continually ask themselves. Surfing, which, for some, becomes lost in isolation, is made whole again with Frank.

2023, USA, 12 min
Filmmaker:Anna Wilder Burns, Morgan Sliff
Focus:Life style, Surfing
Photo: Courtesy Banff Mountain Festivals
Photo: Anna Wilderburn
Photo: Anna Wilderburn

EL GAVILÁN

Rising out of the arid Mexican Desert lies a 900 ft ship’s prow of elegant limestone sporting a 9-pitch 5.13 established in the 90s by Jeff Jackson. A cutting-edge big wall free climb at the time, this route shut down hard men for years. Shrouded in mysticism, the bolts rusted, and the holds collected dust until a couple of young gals from Canada decided to give it a try.

2022, USA, 20 min
Filmmaker:Bronwyn Hodgins, Savannah Cummins, Savy Media
Focus:Climbing

Photo: Sav Cummins
Photo: Sav Cummins

MUSTAFA CEYLAN

This is the story of a young Turkish immigrant, destined to play football and take over his parents’ kebab restaurant. But one day, fate put a pair of skis in his way.

2022, Switzerland, 12 min
Filmmaker:Jules Guarneri, Benoît Goncerut, Cause
Focus:Skiing
Photo: Courtesy Banff Mountain Festivals
Photo: Courtesy Banff Mountain Festivals

Festival partners


Huge shoutout and thanks to our partners who are making this tour possible! We couldn’t do it without your support and we’re stoked to have you on board.


The Banff Mountain Film Festival is all about awesome people and epic places! Want to help out at one of our tour spots or get involved with the tour?

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