Artistic Merit, Creativity, and Technical Sophistication
By Sarah Kerton
For the 28th year in a row, Thunder Bay is about to be treated to an evening of high-flying adventure, heartfelt characters, and breathtaking scenery, all from the comfort of a seat at the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium. The Banff Mountain Film Festival will be making its annual tour stop here January 26 at 7 pm, hosted by the Alpine Club of Canada Thunder Bay Section.
The Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival is held each Fall in Banff, Alberta, and the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity then takes the best films and audience favourites on a world tour to share with everyone else. In what promises to be a sold-out show, the evening will feature a number of films hand-picked by the local organizers from the tour menu.
Frank Pianka, the ACC section rep and events coordinator says that this year was tough with the tour menu being more extensive than ever before. What really stands out to Pianka is the artistic merit, creativity, and technical sophistication of the films, which amazingly seems to increase every year. It is his hope that the films chosen inspire people not only to appreciate outdoor adventure and mountain culture, but to see what is possible in terms of creating a film with today’s technology, and to perhaps try it out themselves. Wouldn’t it be great to see a local film up there on the screen?
Keep a lookout for a future BMFF-inspired event as the local club’s favourite film Dirtbag was too lengthy to be included in this year’s local evening and may make a standalone appearance in the next few months.
The Banff Mountain Film Festival takes place at the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium on January 26 at 7 pm. Tickets are available at tbca.com.
