Sold out shows in Mexico City and Gibsons, British Columbia kicked off this year’s Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour. The tour began a year-long journey this month that will take the world’s best mountain films and videos to 28 countries.

Three shows in Mexico City sold out within 72 hours – before organizers even had a chance to distribute posters advertising the events. In small town Gibsons, B.C. a record-breaking crowd of 780 filled the Elphinstone Secondary School auditorium for the screening and cheered on local filmmaker Daniel Kingsbury, who won an award at this year’s festival.

The 27^th annual Banff Mountain Film Festival concluded on November 3 in Banff with the announcement of the festival awards. Within a week, festival staff hit the road to begin the North American portion of the festival world tour. The tour will visit over 175 locations across Canada and the United States, stretching from Vancouver, British Columbia to New York City and from Iqaluit, Nunavut to Greenville, South Carolina.

Internationally the 2002/2003 World Tour will touch down on six continents. Screenings will be held in the heat of a Chilean summer and the chill of a Swiss winter. The festival’s European tour includes stops in twelve countries. Films translated into Portuguese and Spanish appear in Brazil, Ecuador, Columbia, Peru and Argentina as well as at Special Edition Banff Mountain Film Festivals in Santiago and Portillo, Chile.

For a complete list of locations visit the World Tour link.

Eight of the 2002 festival award-winning films will be featured on this year’s World Tour including:

• Grand Prize — The Second Step (Australia)
• Best Film on Climbing — Vertical Frontier (USA)
• Best Film on Mountain Culture — Rescue: The Cost of Risk (Switzerland/France)
• Best Film on Mountain Sports — The Essence of Adolescence (Canada)
• Best Film on Mountain Environment and People’s Choice Award — Cannibals and Crampons (UK)
• Best Short Mountain Film— Front Range Freaks: Urban Ape (USA)
• Special Jury Award: White Trax (Canada)
• Special Jury Award: Escape over the Himalayas (Germany)

The Banff Mountain Film Festival is an international competition featuring the world's best films and videos on mountain subjects. Two hundred and sixty-three films from 31 countries were entered in this year’s competition. The annual festival is organized by Mountain Culture at The Banff Centre.

Mountain Culture at The Banff Centre promotes understanding and appreciation of the world’s mountain places by creating opportunities for people to share – and find inspiration in – mountain experiences, ideas and visions. The Banff Centre is Canada's centre for creative excellence in the arts, leadership development, mountain culture and conferences.

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