Banff Mountain Film Competition

ENTRIES FOR THE 2012 BANFF MOUNTAIN FILM COMPETITION ARE NOW BEING ACCEPTED

Enter your film into the Banff Mountain Film Competition and bring the magic of mountain places and cultures, and the adrenaline of exploration and adventure to an appreciative, international audience.

WHY YOU SHOULD ENTER YOUR FILM INTO THE BANFF COMPETITION

Interested in reaching a global audience in 35 countries all over the world? Looking for better recognition, more revenue, and a chance to collaborate with the best in the adventure film industry? Consider entering your film into the 2012 Banff Mountain Film Competition.

A WORLD-CLASS REPUTATION

After 36 years, the Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival has a proven track record as the world’s largest and one of the most prestigious mountain festivals in the world. The Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival, presented by National Geographic and The North Face, is the flagship program of Film and Media at The Banff Centre.

OUTREACH AND PRIZES

• Be part of the largest mountain festival and film tour in the world.
• Reach broadcasters, distributors, tour hosts and acquisitions agents via our online listings and on-demand screening room at the Festival.
• Over $40,000 in cash and prizes will be awarded at the 2012 Festival.

AN OPPORTUNITY TO NETWORK

The Festival offers you the chance to meet other filmmakers and exchange ideas and collaborate in a relaxed atmosphere. It’s also a great opportunity to connect with leaders in the outdoor adventure world including climbers, mountaineers, gear manufacturers, and journalists. Festival finalists are invited to join us in Banff during Festival week. As our special guests, attending film finalists will receive:

• two film program passes
• admission to special invitation-only events during the Festival
• one hotel room for up to three nights during the Festival
• an invitation to introduce your film in person at our public theatre screenings
• an opportunity to sell copies of your films at the Festival

AN OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN

Banff Adventure Filmmakers’ Workshop: Take your next adventure film project to a new level. This workshop focuses on topics essential to every independent filmmaker. The faculty are award-winning, entrepreneurial filmmakers and influential decision-makers. The format is lively and interactive with lots of opportunity for one-on-one feedback. And best of all, attendance at the world-renowned Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival is mandatory! Reduced rates are offered to those who have submitted eligible entries into the Banff Mountain Film Competition.

Check out our Adventure Filmmakers’ Workshop and sign up for email updates.

FILM ENTRY INQUIRIES

Email: banffmountainfilms@banffcentre.ca
Phone: 1.403.762.6441

A WORLDWIDE AUDIENCE: BANFF MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL WORLD TOUR

All films entered in the Festival will also be considered for inclusion in our World Tour programs. If your film is selected, we will contact you to arrange a separate licensing agreement (including royalties).

Each year, we find that short films are very popular because of the programming flexibility they provide. No film is too short — some of our most popular films from the World Tour are less than five minutes long! If you are submitting a longer film, we encourage you to consider providing a shorter version (special edit or excerpt, 5 to 15 minutes long) for both Festival and World Tour consideration.

The World Tour programs span the globe, reaching over 280,000 audience members through more than 700 screenings in 390 locations in 35 countries. From armchair adventurers to world-class climbers, from business leaders to schoolchildren, from Argentina to Iceland, and from South Africa to Japan – the World Tour is where you want your film to be. In addition to our well-established World Tour program, we also present a high-adrenaline, sport-oriented Radical Reels Tour based on our very successful Radical Reels screenings during the Festival.

» HOW TO ENTER

How to Enter your film

The 2012 Film Competition is now open.

1. Read the 2012 Entry Procedures and Regulations (pdf)
2. Read the technical specifications (pdf)
3. Submit an entry form online or download a film entry form (pdf) or register through Withoutabox.
   
4. Complete a Canada Customs Form (pdf) and affix it to the outside of the package if your entry is from outside Canada. The declared value in Canadian dollars should be equivalent to the materials only (approximately $3.00 CAD per DVD).
5. Before you send your film please review the Film Entry Checklist
6. Find out about the Audio Post Production Scholarship at The Banff Centre

Adventure Filmmakers’ Workshop

Take your next adventure film project to a new level. Special rates are offered to filmmakers who have submitted eligible entries to the Banff Mountain Film Competition.
» More

2011 Film Jury
Past Juries

Jakub Brzosko

Jakub Brzosko is the Artc Director for Meetings with Mountain Film in Zakopane, Poland (Spotkania z Filmem Górskim), a member Festival of the International Alliance for Mountain Film. A mountain rescuer, mountain guide, climber, and ski alpinist, Brzosko has participated in the biggest ski mountaineering competitions in the world, Pierra Menta and Patrouille des Glaciers. Brzosko was also a member of the Polish National Ski Mountaineering Team from 2003 to 2004 and winner of the Polish Ski Mountaineering Cup in 2003. A graduate of the Cracow School of Arts, in his other life he is a painter, sculptor, filmmaker, journalist and sailor, and enjoys spending free time on the high seas.

Manuel Catteau

Manuel Catteau co-founded Société ZED, one of Frances’s top exporters of documentary films and has managed operations there for over 15 years. Within ZED, and as an executive producer, Catteau has been involved in more than 150 documentary films, including the series Becoming a Man, which aired in more than 50 countries. He has brokered many co-production agreements that have enabled the funding of ambitious productions requiring substantial investments, creating loyal global partners like Discovery Channel and National Geographic.

Chris Davenport

Aspen's Chris Davenport is widely regarded as one of the most progressive and accomplished big mountain skiers of his generation. As a competitive skier, Davenport won two World Championships, an ESPN Winter X medal, many Powder Magazine Readers’ Poll awards, the 24 Hours of Aspen, and was a fixture on the podium of the Freeride World Tour. He has been featured in over 35 feature ski films, has produced two of his own: Ski the 14ers and Australis: An Antarctic Ski Odyssey, and has written two acclaimed books, Ski the 14ers and most recently, Fifty Classic Ski Descents of North America.

Tracey Friesen

Tracey Friesen joined the National Film Board of Canada as producer ten years ago, and in 2007 became executive producer at their Pacific and Yukon Centre. Friesen works with the independent community to create innovative and socially-relevant documentaries, animation, and original digital content. She has credits on over two dozen projects, including Being Caribou, Finding Farley, Carts of Darkness, This Land, and Force of Nature: The David Suzuki Movie. As the interactive media landscape evolves, Friesen is striving to diversify her slate to include new creators and alternative forms of narrative expression.

“It’s an intense schedule, but wow, so worth it! I came away from my week in Banff entirely inspired and creatively recharged. It can’t help but touch you, watching dozens of films by and about people living with such passion. And I made some great new professional AND personal connections – with filmmakers, authors, adventurers, festival staff, and of course, my exceptional international jury-mates!”

Tracey Friesen, National Film Board of Canada

Jacki Ochs

Jacki Ochs is an award-winning documentary producer/director whose films include Vietnam: The Secret Agent about the herbicide Agent Orange; and Letters Not About Love, a poetic journey through Russian and American cultures. Jacki was executive producer of Emmy Award-nominated Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till, winner of the National Board of Review’s Freedom of Expression award. Currently she is producing The Migraine Project, a feature film about the ubiquitous and devastating disease, and executive producing Everybody Knows… Elizabeth Murray, about the monumental painting of an important 20th century artist. Jacki is executive director of Human Arts Association, a not for profit arts organization which sponsors educational and artistic media, events and spaces in New York City. Her work has been broadcast worldwide and she teaches film and video at the Pratt Institute.  

“The extraordinary vista of the Canadian Rockies which welcomed us each morning, was an alluring counterpoint to the many hours shared watching incredible mountain-themed adventure, sporting and cultural films. Nothing compares to slamming together a group of international opinionated professionals for an intense week of evaluating films. Strong bonds are formed as we quickly learn to confer, debate, and appreciate each others’s unique sensibilities. It was an honor to serve as juror at the BMFBF, to gain new friends and colleagues, to meet inspiring filmmakers and writers. Each juror left wishing there were more time, and vowing to stay in touch, and we have!”

Jacki Ochs, Producer/Director, USA

The Banff Centre Audio Post Production Award

Charlie Robinson

No stranger to The Banff Centre, Robinson is back – this time to adjudicate films with the goal of awarding the 2011 Audio Post Production Scholarship. The recipient, chosen from the finalists in this year’s film competition, will receive approximately $10K in Banff Centre studio services and on-site expertise to produce a surround DVD soundtrack for their chosen project. The winner will be announced at the Best of the Festival awards night on Sunday, November 6. According to Robinson, sound for film should strive for “being better than being there” — sometimes quieter and cleaner, sometimes more intense and complex — while maintaining some production sounds to give a first-person feel. Robinson is a leader in the field of surround sound formatting for Dolby Research. As an engineer who studied at the University of Illinois, he worked on real-time music synthesis at the CERL Music Laboratory. Current areas of interest include acoustics, audio coding, interactive audio, spatial audio, and audio production with applications to broadcast, gaming and cinema. He has authored or coauthored nine patents in audio signal processing, contributed to two Emmy-award winning products, and is a member of AES and IEEE.  

“Being a film juror for the Banff Mountain Festival is like kayaking class 5 whitewater: it comes at you quickly, requires complete focus and is full of surprises. You have to process the now, keep the big picture in mind, trust your instincts and make your choices. It’s a blast! Great setting and people, inspiring adventures, and the thrill of accomplishment and camaraderie, both vicarious through the films and personal thru your efforts as a jury member.”

Charlie Robinson, Dolby Research, USA