Calgary Media Launch of the 2003 Banff Mountain Festivals
Tuesday, October 7, 2003 at 10 a.m.

Sneak a PEAK at this year’s Banff Mountain Film and Book Festivals
“Bringing mountain stories to life through films, books,
readings, presentations, and seminars.”
November 4 – 9, 2003

SPECIAL GUESTS

Warren Mcdonald, adventurer, filmmaker, motivational speaker. The Second Step, a film about Warren’s 28-day journey to hike to and climb Federation Peak in Tasmania, won the 2002 Banff Mountain Film Festival Grand Prize. Warren is an Australia native and double-leg amputee who moved to Canmore last year following his appearance and win at last year’s festival. This year, he’s the focus of a film entered into the competition by climber Will Gadd of Canmore. This new film, Part Machine, documents Warren’s mixed climb of “The Weeping Wall” in Banff National Park. Warren is just back from a trip Down Under where he took part in a series of events highlighting the plight of Tasmania's old growth forests.

AND

Maria Coffey, an evening presenter at this year’s Book Festival and the author of the recently released book Where the Mountain Casts Its Shadow. The book is an examination of the toll mountaineering takes on those left behind. An excerpt from her book appeared in the September issue of Outside magazine. Maria is a festival regular and conducted many of her interviews for the book here at the Centre during past festivals. She also worked on her book as a participant in a Banff Centre writing residency program. Maria lives in Nanaimo, B.C.

RSVP: by Wednesday, October 1 to Sarah Fabbri