 MEDIA RELEASE |
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MEDIA RELEASE |
The Banff Mountain Film Festival, presented by Eagle Creek Travel Gear and National Geographic Society, is seeking films that deliver the power of mountain experiences to the big screen.
The 25th annual festival is soliciting films and videos on mountain and adventure subjects to compete for screening at this year's event, to be held November 3-5, 2000 at The Banff Centre. The deadline for entries is September 8.
An international jury will choose winners in eight categories including Grand Prize, Alpine Club of Canada Best Film on Climbing, Best Film on Mountain Sports, Best Film on Mountain Environment and Best Film on Mountain Culture; and two new categories: Best Short Mountain Film (15 minutes or less) and Best Feature-length Mountain Fiction Film (70 minutes or more). The festival audience selects the winner of the People's Choice Award. Over $20,000 CAN in prize money is on offer.
Filmmakers Say Banff Opens Doors
The Banff Mountain Film Festival offers filmmakers an opportunity to showcase their films before a worldwide audience. Winning films will tour internationally following the festival, reaching a live audience of more than 120,000 in 15 countries.
Dan Austin of Salt Lake City, Utah, whose film True Fans won the People’s Choice award at the 1999 Banff Mountain Film Festival, says the Banff award gave his career a boost. "Banff carries a lot of weight with sponsors … it has made things easier in looking for support for my next film." As a result of his screening in Banff, Austin was invited to take True Fans to the International Adventure and Discovery Film Festival in Val d’Isere, France. Austin is now working on a new film and he says one of the first things he’ll do when it is complete is enter it in the 2000 Banff Mountain Film Festival.
U.K. filmmaker Richard Else of Triple Echo Productions sees the Banff Mountain Film Festival as a place to make connections. "In the U.K. adventure filmmakers usually work in isolation, so the Banff Festival is a great opportunity to get a broader perspective; meet friends old and new and also to see a live audience reacting to your films. The feedback we get from the showing of our films - especially on the World Tour - is invaluable and something that both encourages us and helps in developing our business." Else’s film’s The Climbers, The Edge, The Face, and Wild Climbs have all been featured in Banff.
Nic Good of South Africa’s Fresh Air Crew is even more succinct: "All I can say is that since Banff, my life has been kicked in the butt, people are a little bit more interested in my ideas and projects." Good’s film Oceans of Fear won the Best Film on Climbing Award at the 1999 Festival.
Held in the spectacular Canadian Rockies in the town of Banff, Alberta, the Mountain Film Festival is one of the world's largest and most prestigious mountain film competitions. "Our vision is to bring the power of mountain experiences alive for audiences around the world," says Bernadette McDonald, director of The Banff Centre for Mountain Culture which organizes the event. "This year we will celebrate our 25th anniversary with a week-long festival that will feature seminars by the world’s top mountaineers and climbers and, of course, a retrospective of 25 years of great mountain films."
In addition to continuous film and video screenings, the festival also features internationally renowned speakers, an adventure trade fair, a mountain art and craft sale, and a climbing wall.
The Banff Centre for Mountain Culture 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.
For entry forms or more information please contact:
Banff Mountain Film Festival
Box 1020, Station 38
Banff, Alberta, Canada T0L 0C0
Tel: (403) 762-6441 Fax: (403) 762-6277
www.banffcentre.ab.ca/CMC/
An electronic version of this release is available at http://www.banffcentre.ab.ca/CMC/media/
The 25th Annual Banff Mountain Film Festival,