After the global success of the popular film Touching the Void, many people are familiar with the remarkable story of Joe Simpson, who survived a fall into a crevasse in the Andes and a tortured crawl alone down the face of Siula Grande. Fewer people are aware of a similar story that took place in 1936, during one of the first attempts to summit the Eiger. Three members of a four-man German team, turned back from the summit by weather and injury, were killed by an avalanche. The fourth, expert climber Toni Kurz, hung onto the sheer face by a shortened climbing rope, slowly succumbing to the cold. Though a rescue team got Kurz remarkably close to safety through a railway tunnel cut into the mountain, Kurz died.
The similarities between Simpson’s story and Kurz’s, along with a lifelong fascination with the Eiger, drove the narrative for Simpson’s book, The Beckoning Silence. On November 3, the film version of The Beckoning Silence will premiere at the 2007 Banff Mountain Film Festival, one of 53 film finalists chosen from close to 300 entries. Over the nine days of the festival, Banff audiences will experience the world’s best films chronicling the passions and obsessions of mountaineers, endurance and extreme athletes, and environmental and cultural advocates.
The Festival opens with Feature Film Weekend October 27 and 28, screening a couple of recent full-length films, including the family-friendly global warming film Arctic Tale and Sean Penn’s film adaptation of Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild. On Tuesday, October 30, the popular Radical Reels film night features a selection of high-adrenaline films hosted by climber Timmy O’Neill. Radical Reels will screen 11 short films that take viewers on high-rising aerial skis, precipitous kayaking drops, vertiginous climbing lines, and spectacular mountain-biking routes.
Audiences will see a great selection of ski films this year, from Nelson, B.C.-based filmmaker Bill Heath’s latest, Nine Winters Old, a celebration of powder and old-school style, to It’s Fantastic, Team 13’s gut-dropping doc on the new paragliding and skiing combo sport, speedflying. On Friday, November 2, the popular Snow Show brings in four top ski films, including the finely crafted skier’s-eye-view of the spectacular 2007 season, Lost and Found, and Nicolas Falquet’s self-explanatory new film, Ain’t Got No Friends on a Powder Day.
Two of the most anticipated mountain films of the year will screen at the 2007 Festival. On Friday, November 2, the Festival features The Alps, following John Harlin III on his tribute to the memory of his father, who died on the Eiger north face 40 years earlier. On Saturday, November 3, audiences will see Remnants of Everest, David Breashears’ return to the harrowing and life-defining story of the 1996 climbing season on the world’s highest peak.
As always, the Festival delves into the history and culture of the mountains, including a re-screening of the classic Yosemite climbing film, El Capitan, which won the Festival’s Grand Prize in 1979. Filmmaker Fred Padula will present the HDTV digitally remastered version of his masterpiece, in person. The German film Death on Nanga Parbat uses archival footage and interviews to follow the story of the mountaineering accident that claimed Günther Messner, brother of acclaimed alpinist Reinhold Messner.
On Sunday, November 4, an international jury will announce the Best of the Festival awards in nine categories, and most of the winners will be screened (time allowing). Jury members for the 2007 festival include China-based mountaineering journalist and filmmaker Charlie Buffet, climber and filmmaker Rob Frost, Canadian film producer Kerrie Long, Canmore-based photographer and filmmaker Pat Morrow, and Julie Tait, co-director of the Kendal Mountain Festival in England.
Founded in 1976, the Banff Mountain Film Festival has become the biggest and best-known mountain film festival in the world. Accompanied by the Banff Mountain Book Festival, it is held annually at The Banff Centre in Banff, Alberta, Canada. Following the festival, films are selected for the popular Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour, which takes Banff films on a circuit around the globe.
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For high resolution photos of Banff Mountain Film Festival films and guests:
http://www.banffcentre.ca/mountainculture/media/images/2007/films_in_competition.asp
For media accreditation for the 2007 Banff Mountain Festivals:
https://secure.banffcentre.ca/mc/media/accred.htm
For a complete schedule for the Banff Mountain Film Festival:
http://www.banffcentre.ca/mountainculture/festivals/2007/schedule.asp
Media Contact
Jill Sawyer
Media and Communications Officer, The Banff Centre
403.762.6475
