Banff Mountain Film Festival 2006
October 28 – November 5

Feature-length Films

Saturday, October 28 and 29 – Eric Harvie Theatre
All Programs $9

Lots of tickets available. Purchase by phone or in person only (no on-line purchases). Please arrive a few minutes early.

Saturday, October 28 — Noon Program ($9)

The Cave of the Yellow Dog

Germany, 2005, 89 minutes — Canadian Premiere
Directed by Byambasuren Davaa
Produced by Stephan Schesch

A Mongolian nomad family find themselves in disagreement when the oldest daughter, Nansal, finds a dog and brings it home. Believing that it is responsible for attacking his sheep, her father refuses to allow her to keep it. When it’s time for the family to move on, Nansal must decide whether to defy her father and take her new friend with them. Oscar-nominated director Byambasuren’s follow-up to the hugely successful The Story of the Weeping Camel (winner of Best Feature-length Mountain Film, 2005 Banff Mountain Film Festival) is a thought-provoking mix of documentary and drama which tells the story of the age-old bond between human and dog — a bond that experiences a new twist through the eternal cycle of reincarnation in Mongolia.
Language: Mongolian; English subtitles

Pandas in the Wild

Japan, 2006, 52 minutes
Directed by Tatsuhiko Kobayashi
Produced by Yoshimizu Kawano, Masaru Ikeo

NHK film crews lived deep in the mountains in China for a year and a half and captured the behaviours of rare and beautiful animals that have never been featured in a documentary. The Qinling mountains expand northeast of the Himalayas. These 4,000-metre-high mountains are carved by dry north winds and provide a unique environment for a diverse range of animals that have nestled here since the last ice age. Rare animals that have adapted to one of the most unforgiving environments on our planet thrive here.

Saturday, October 28 — 3:30 p.m. program ($9)

39 Pounds of Love

USA, 2005, 70 minutes
Directed by Dani Menkin
Produced by Dani Menkin, Daniel J. Chalfen

The inspirational and humorous story of Ami Ankilewitz, a 3-D animator in Israel whose bodily motion is limited to a single finger on his left hand. At birth, Ami was diagnosed with a rare form of muscular dystrophy, later diagnosed as spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), and was predicted to survive only to the age of 6. The film follows Ami’s journey — his “Everest” — as now, 30 years later, he leaves the woman he loves and returns to the U.S. to confront the childhood doctor who predicted his early demise. Along the way, he comes to terms with a major incident from his past and pursues a lifelong dream: to ride a Harley Davidson. 39 Pounds of Love is an emotional roller coaster — a fascinating ride through life with someone who embodies the very term carpe diem.

Frozen Motion

France, 2005, 49 minutes
Directed by Gilles Chappaz
Produced by Gilles Galud

Dominique Perret is one of those rare people who combines extraordinary physical ability with personal discipline and insight. Perret is a free-ride skier, an engineer, an entrepreneur, and an ambassador. He has been named Best Free-ride Skier of the Century by the media. For many years he trained in traditional ski techniques, achieving excellent results in slalom and giant slalom. Later, he concentrated on his personal interpretation of skiing, focusing on extreme descent, which became not only a sport but a real philosophy and lifestyle for him.

Saturday, October 28 — 7:30 p.m. program ($9)

The Journals of Knud Rasmussen

Canada/Denmark
Directed by Zacharias Kunuk, Norman Cohn
Produced by Norman Cohn, Zacharias Kunuk, Vibeke Vogel, Elise Lund Larsen

“Acclaimed filmmakers Zacharias Kunuk and Norman Cohn return to the screen with The Journals of Knud Rasmussen, the follow-up to their 2001 hit Atanarjuat — The Fast Runner. Set in and around Igloolik in 1922, the film is the story of the last great Inuit shaman, Avva, and his beautiful and headstrong daughter, Apak, who lives one foot in her father’s world and the other on the verge of the future. As Avva strives to keep his family together on their path into the twentieth century, where the rise of Christianity and commerce is putting a swift end to their culture, a team of Danish scientists arrives to record his way of life.”
— Calgary International Film Festival
“Journals is both an intimate family drama and a stirring, powerful account of cultures colliding.”
— Toronto International Film Festival
Language: Inuktitut, English; some subtitles
Rated PG (parental guidance): Nudity, mature themes

Feature-length films continue on Sunday, October 29

Program subject to change.