Media Release | July 28, 2026 | Banff, AB
The 51st Annual Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival has unveiled its 2026 lineup and festival schedule. Single tickets are now on sale.
Since 1976, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity has been a global leader in celebrating mountain culture. This year’s nine-day festival of mountain art, music, film, and literature, taking place October 31 to November 8, 2026, will welcome adventurers, filmmakers, authors, photographers, and mountain enthusiasts from around the world. Audiences can look forward to an exceptional lineup featuring more than 80 inspiring films—including World and North American premieres—alongside the return of the bustling festival marketplace, free talks on the Rab stage, outdoor patio parties with live music, exhibitions, and much more!
The 2026 lineup of keynote speakers and featured guests includes renowned climbers Barry Blanchard, Ines Papert, and Sarah Hueniken, a special fundraising event with British mountaineer Leo Houlding, environmental author and ecologist Suzanne Simard, conservationists Ben Weissenbach and Dillon Osleger, Canadian novelist and journalist Claire Cameron, and naturalist and conservation biologist Kevin Van Tighem.
Film finalists will be announced October 5.
Holding true to the spirit of our mountain community, this year’s festival will feature an exciting mix of films, books, exhibitions, and music. We’re thrilled to share inspiring new stories—including an exceptional selection of world premieres—with our audiences in 2026.
– Joanna Croston, Director of Mountain Culture at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity
The 2026 Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival schedule is now available to view online, and single tickets go on sale today, Tuesday, July 28 at 12 p.m. MT (tickets from $20). Tickets and passes can be purchased at banffmountainfestival.ca or Banff Centre Box Office.
2026 Festival Highlights:
October 31: Opening Night
Kick off the festival with an unforgettable Opening Night celebration! A special announcement is on the way—stay tuned for more details. Followed by films in competition.
October 31: The Wardens
Join us for an exciting performance by The Wardens! The Rocky Mountain-based band's stories and songs rise from the very land they've protected as Canadian national park wardens. With haunting three-part harmonies and chilling tales, the band's mountain music—blending folk, roots and western styles—reflects Canada's protected wilderness areas. Celebrating the return of wild buffalo, wrangling grizzly bears, lonely nights on the packtrail and reflecting on an environment in crisis, a performance by The Wardens has been dubbed "the quintessential mountain-culture concert experience."
November 1: Snow Show
Waist-deep pow, big air, steep and deep couloirs, and sick lines are all in the cards for Snow Show. Join us at this favourite big screen event that rings in the riding season!
November 2: Radical Reels
Experience high-adrenaline short films surging with energy on the big screen! Epic adventures and fearless athletes abound in one of Banff's most popular programs.
November 3: Special Event – An Evening with Leo Houlding
Join us for an exclusive, limited-seating fundraising event in support of the Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival, featuring world-renowned adventurer and climber Leo Houlding. Pushing the limits of exploratory adventure by taking extreme sports to the world's most extreme environments, Houlding has experienced epic expeditions in some of the most remote corners of the earth. This special event (not included in festival passes) includes pre-event cocktails, a film premiere and presentation, and a private VIP reception and book signing. Ticket purchasers will receive a copy of Houlding's book, Closer to the Edge.
November 5: Suzanne Simard, Book Awards – and Films
Raised in a family of loggers committed to sensible forest stewardship, trailblazing ecologist Suzanne Simard has watched as timber companies leave forests at higher risk for wildfires, water crises, and plant and animal extinction. But her research has the potential to chart a new course. The forest, she reveals, is a symphony of finely honed cycles of regeneration—from mushrooms breaking down logs to dying elder trees passing their genetic knowledge to younger ones—that hold the key to protecting our forests. Working closely with local Indigenous communities, whose models of responsible forestry have been largely dismissed, Simard's new book When the Forest Breathes examines how human interventions—particularly destruction of the overstory's mother trees—endanger new growth and longevity. Followed by films in competition.
November 5-6: Daytime book events
Featuring authors, photographers, filmmakers, and explorers from around the world, including Kevin Van Tighem, David Smart, Dianne Chisholm, Dillon Osleger, Heather Dawe, Claire Cameron, Trina Moyles, Gloria Dickie, Gabriela Oiso Vanden, Ben Weissenbach, Rosemary Brown, Angela Waldie, Saraswoti Lamichhane, Trisia Eddy Woods, and a celebration of the late Karsten Heuer, a previous Summit of Excellence Award winner at the festival.
November 6: Sarah Hueniken, Ines Papert – and Films
Ines Papert and Sarah Hueniken are two of the world's most accomplished ice climbers and alpinists. Both hold numerous records and have made many bold first ascents around the world and right here at home in the Canadian Rockies. Editor Erin Moroz joins them on stage for an honest conversation about leading hard lines, ageing, and what it means to climb with other strong women. Followed by films in competition.
November 7: Barry Blanchard – and Films
Most memoirs tell a life story in a single volume. Barry Blanchard’s life requires two. Reflecting on over 40 years pioneering routes on the world’s most challenging peaks—surviving avalanches, enduring mountain storms, and gaining recognition as one of the world’s leading alpinists—Barry Blanchard’s highly anticipated new book, The Echo, is the sequel to his first book, The Calling. Canmore, Alberta-based Blanchard reveals a different side of his life as a legendary alpinist: one whose edges have been softened by experience, parenthood, mentorship, loss, and a life-changing accident that reset everything. Followed by films in competition.
November 7: BANFFPitch
Now in its second year, BanffPitch is our newest initiative to support emerging filmmakers. Five young filmmakers will be selected and invited to pitch their film projects live in front of an international jury and audience. The winning pitch will receive a $25,000 CAD cash award to support their film project. This event is free and no registration is required.
Banff @Altitude Podcast – Season Two
Starting today, new podcast episodes of Banff @Altitude, which began in 2025 as part of the festival’s 50th anniversary celebrations, will launch weekly until October 5 (available on Spotify, Apple, Amazon Music, YouTube) featuring the world’s top mountain adventurers, athletes, and storytellers from past festivals! Check out the first two episodes of Season Two, now available, featuring an interview with Lydia Bradey, and Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold in conversation with Kelly Cordes.
Please visit banffmountainfestival.ca for more festival information.
Online films will be available following the festival from November 12-22, 2026 (available in CAN/USA only).
