Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival announces 2025 lineup to celebrate a half-century of adventure, inspiration, and storytelling

Media Release | August 07, 2025 | Banff, AB

The 50th anniversary Festival includes a new symposium, film pitch session, retrospective podcast, and legendary names like Børge Ousland, Christina “Lusti” Lustenberger, James Balog, Wade Davis, and Lynn Hill. Single tickets go on sale today, August 7.

Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival is excited to announce its milestone 50th anniversary and the 2025 Festival schedule.

Since its inception in 1976, the Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival has grown from a small gathering in the heart of the Canadian Rockies into an internationally recognized Festival and industry leader that showcases the very best in mountain culture, outdoor sports, adventure travel, environmental awareness, and storytelling.

A flagship event produced by Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity – a post-secondary institution in Banff, Alberta specializing in training programs and events in arts, leadership, Indigenous culture and mountain culture – Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival draws thousands of outdoor, film, and book enthusiasts every year for nine days of events and screenings, plus access to Festival films online following the conclusion of the in-person Festival.

This year’s 50th anniversary (November 1-9) will welcome adventurers, filmmakers, authors, and photographers from around the world for an exceptional lineup featuring over 80 epic films (including World and North American premieres), plus a special Fire and Ice Symposium (November 4-5), the bustling Festival Marketplace, free talks on the Rab Stage, happy hours with live music, downtown events, exhibitions, and much more! See below for 2025 Festival highlights.

The Festival schedule is now available to view online and single tickets go on sale today, Thursday, August 7 at 12 p.m. MT (tickets from $20). Tickets and passes can be purchased at banffmountainfestival.ca or Banff Centre Box Office.

Film finalists will be announced October 2.

Passes available to purchase are: Chomolungma Pass (November 1-9), Opening Weekend Pass (November 1-3), Fire and Ice Symposium Pass (November 4-5), and Closing Weekend Pass (November 7-9).  
 

“The 50th anniversary marks a truly special milestone in the Festival’s history. For five decades, we’ve had the privilege of bringing people together through shared stories of adventure, environmental passion, and the pursuit of knowledge. As we celebrate this historic moment, we are inspired to reflect on the past and look ahead to shaping a future filled with inspiration and deeper connection to the great outdoors.”
- Joanna Croston, Director of Mountain Culture at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity

2025 Festival Highlights:

November 1: Christina Lustenberger, Guillaume Pierrel – and Films
Local B.C. extreme skier Christina “Lusti” Lustenberger returns to the Banff Centre stage with Guillaume Pierrel to premiere a new film and share tales about their spectacular and revered first descent of the South Face of Mt. Robson. Followed by films in competition.

November 2: Snow Show
Huge air, steep couloirs, and wild lines are all in the cards. Join us at this fan favourite, big-screen event that kicks off another epic season!

November 3: Radical Reels
Epic adventures, fearless athletes, and high adrenaline films abound at one of Banff’s most popular programs!

November 4-5: Fire and Ice Symposium: The Stories We Tell
You are invited to a special 50th anniversary public symposium exploring the role of storytelling to create positive impact and action, through the lens of changing ice and wildfire. Featuring scientists, authors, filmmakers, changemakers and communication specialists. The symposium will take place November 4-5 and includes keynote speakers, breakout sessions, and the symposium reception. Passes are available to purchase for $190 (until October 6).

November 4: Børge Ousland, Vincent Colliard – and Films
Join us for an evening of exceptional storytelling with Børge Ousland and Vincent Colliard, two celebrated polar adventurers as they share tales from their Ice Legacy expeditions. Followed by films in competition.

November 5: James Balog – and Chasing Time
Photographer James Balog presents findings from his Extreme Ice Survey paired with a screening of his new film Chasing Time.

November 6-7: Daytime book events
Featuring authors, photographers, and explorers from around the world, including Hamish Frost, Guy Robertson, Sonnie Trotter, Joanna Croston, Hazel Findlay, Lynn Hill, Lydia Bradey, Sarah Hueniken, Brette Harrington, Sharon Wood, Tom Bell, Jean McNeil, Jeremy Collins, Cassidy Randall, Greg Hill, and Craig Childs.

November 6: Yosemite Women Firsts, Book Awards – and Films
Women have long played a significant role in the Yosemite climbing scene. Lynn Hill famously broke the gender barrier with her first free ascent of The Nose on El Cap and climbers like Lydia Bradey paved the way for a new generation of women climbers with her first ascents of Yosemite’s big walls in the 1980s. More recently, Hazel Findlay has freed El Cap on four different occasions as well as the notoriously difficult trad route, Magic Line (5.14c). This past year, Babsi Zangerl stunned the climbing world by flashing Free Rider on El Cap in a four-day ground up push with no falls.

Hill, Bradey, Findlay, and Zangerl join us for an evening of spectacular tales of Yosemite firsts. Followed by films in competition.

November 7: Leading Edge Alpinism – and Films
With increased demand for commercial expeditions in mountain ranges around the world, alpine style ascents have maintained their role as one of the only methods for exploring new routes and finding solitude in the peaks. In this world of changing climates and socio-political turmoil, global expeditions may become more perilous than they were a few decades ago.

Renowned alpinists Hélias Millerioux, Quentin Roberts, Alik Berg, Chantel Astorga, and Brette Harrington join us for a panel discussion about the future of alpinism and the magic the mountains still hold. Moderated by Michael Kennedy. Followed by films in competition.

November 8: Wade Davis – and Films
An ethnographer, writer, photographer, professor, and filmmaker, Wade Davis holds degrees in anthropology and biology and received his Ph.D. in ethnobotany, all from Harvard University. Between 2000 and 2013 he served as Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society. Named by the NGS as one of the Explorers for the Millennium, he has been described by David Suzuki as “a rare combination of scientist, scholar, poet and passionate defender of all of life’s diversity.” Davis is the author of 375 scientific and popular articles and 23 books including One River (1996), The Wayfinders (2009), Into the Silence (2011), and Magdalena (2020).

Davis returns to the Banff stage to not only celebrate the 50th anniversary, but to also reflect on his life’s work with friend and former National Geographic Executive Vice President and Chief Science and Exploration Officer Terry Garcia. Followed by a book signing at intermission and films in competition.

November 8: Trango – and Films
At 6,000 metres, trust in your team means everything. Skiers Christina Lusti, Jim Morrison, Nick McNutt, and Chantel Astorga navigate unimaginable risk, grief, and constant exposure as they attempt the impossible—the first ski descent of the Great Trango Glacier. Athletes from the film join us for an on-stage Q&A. Followed by films in competition.

Banff @Altitude Podcast: Mountain and Adventure Stories
Just launched! Available on Spotify, Apple, Amazon Music, YouTube, episodes of Banff @Altitude feature the world’s top mountain athletes, adventurers, and storytellers from Festival history. Check out the first two episodes featuring an interview with alpinist Steve Swenson and a presentation by author Kate Harris. New episodes are released weekly, including content from Cory Richards, Lynn Hill, Jimmy Chin and David Roberts, and more!

BANFFPitch
In celebration of the 50th anniversary, the Festival will launch its newest initiative to support young and emerging filmmakers in pitching their film ideas to an international jury in front of a live audience. Five applicants (ages 18-35) will be selected from an open call for submissions to pitch their project. The winning pitch will receive a $25,000 CAD cash award to support their film. BANFFPitch is open for applications August 11-21, and the live pitch session will take place on November 8 (free and open to the public).

Please visit banffmountainfestival.ca for more Festival information.

Online films will be available following the Festival from November 12-23, 2025 (available in CAN/USA only).

Watch the archival trailer video here or below.

If you’d like to provide media coverage of the 2025 Festival, please submit a media accreditation application form (submissions open until October 1).

For more information or image requests, please contact: 
Jess Elliott
Media and Communications, Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival
Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity
Box 1020,107 Tunnel Mountain Drive
Banff, Alberta
Canada T1L 1H5  
jess_elliott@banffcentre.ca 

About Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival: Created 50 years ago, Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival has become the premier event of its kind in the world. The nine-day Festival hosted by Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Banff, Canada, showcases the world’s best films, books and photographs on mountain subjects – climbing, culture, environment and natural history, exploration and adventure, wildlife, and sport – and attracts the biggest names in mountaineering, adventure filmmaking, and explorers as presenters and speakers. An international jury will also award over $40,000 in prizes for films and books submitted to this year’s Festival competitions. banffmountainfestival.ca    

Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival Partners: The 2025 Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival Presenting Sponsors are Rab and Banff and Lake Louise Tourism. The Festival is also supported by YETI, Oboz Footwear, World Expeditions, The Lake Louise Ski Resort, Grangers, SLY Foods, Duer, Alpine Club of Canada, Arc’teryx, Durston, Wild Life Distillery, Wild Rose Brewery, and KORE.

About Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity: Founded in 1933, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity is a post-secondary institution built upon an extraordinary legacy of excellence in artistic and leadership development. What started as a single course in drama has grown to become the global organization leading in arts, culture, and creative decision-making across dozens of disciplines. From our home on Treaty 7 territory in the stunning Canadian Rocky Mountains, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity aims to move everyone who attends our campus – artists, leaders, thinkers, and audiences – to unleash their creative potential and realize their unique contribution to build an innovative, inspiring future through education, performances, convenings, and public outreach. banffcentre.ca