A few years ago some friends got me tickets to see the best of the Banff Mountain Film Festival playing at Campbell Hall on the campus of the University of California at Santa Barbara. What an experience! The giant screen of the lecture hall was painted with images and sounds that were a barrage to the senses. From fearless paragliding to free climbing thousand foot mountains, the stories in these documentaries wrenched my heart as I imagined a life unchained, where your daily rountine was not commuting to a 9 to 5 job, but packing up sports equipment and letting adrenaline guide you towards yet another gorgeous sunset.

This year's nominees selected by the Banff Mountain Film Festival council were similarly scintillating. Here are some abstracts and annotations from my seat way in the back of the univeristy hall:




The Long Walk

Taking a mere 128 days to achieve the impossible, Jon Muir and his loyal companion (a dog named Seraphine) made a trek on foot across the vast continent of Australia. In order to put this impressive feat into perspective, one must ponder Muir's other accomplishments: reaching both the North and South poles, sea kayaking to the tip of Cape York, and even an ascent of the infamous Mt. Everest. Of all these previous incredible journeys, none could come close to matching the hardships Muir and his canine sidekick endured. Intense heat in the central desert region of Austrailia caused horrible dehydration. Also, considering the fact that he carried only a small cart and two trekking poles, finding food and water were integral parts of each travel day - not just making mileage. Captured in the award-winning documentary, Alone Across Austrailia, are all of the spiritual physical and mental ramifications of attempting to complete something that has never been done before, and likely will never be repeated.

Snowboarders Find the Meaning Of Life

Why do we love action sports? Why do we throw ourselves in situations that are dangerous, unpredictable and could have dire consequences for failure? That is the topic addressed in the Jones brothers' latest snow sports documentary: Soul Purpose. Indicative of the new film's title, Todd and Steve Jones, long time snowboard and ski/action sports movie producers, wanted to answer questions that most of us ask when witnessing such incredible stunts in such dangerous conditions. What drives a person to charge like that? What makes them want to ride an avalanche? Well, the answer is in the title of the film, the guys that perfrom these miracle tricks have a sole pupose in life and it is direct accord with what their souls are telling them. Each day becomes another day of challenge and excitement. Each morning brings fresh powder and thousands of miles of mountainous terrain with which to let loose - adrenaline pumps in the hearts of the hearty!

Try, Try and Try Again!

Banff Mountain Film Festival always gives us stories of the hardships endured through action sports and adventuring. But some of the films are polished, with a director and producer meeting in the drawing room to pour over the collected footage. They slice out the failures, they cut out the mistakes, and they erase the frustration and Agony of defeat. Not so in the documentary Realization by Josh Lowell, who decides to focus his theme on the nemesis of one particularly talented rock climber. Chris Sharma is the central figure highlighted in this wonderful story of perserverance, as he attempts to reach the top of one of the most difficult rock climbing sections in the world. The section can be found on a cliff known as Ceuse in southeastern France. Again and again he is thwarted. Screaming in disgust, flailing his arms and legs wildly while held by ropes in the deflating moment after falling. This is captured over and over, with the camera depicting Sharma as someone who seems to have met his match in the inanimate sandstone rock that presides over the small community below. But his never quit attitude also shows signs of humility and respect. His interviews belay an inner conifidence that contradict his statement that: " . . . I will probably never complete this climb, it is too difficult. " The wonderful short movie brings it all together when, supported by shouts and cries from the camera team and fellow climbers, he passes the critical section that had been shutting him down for over a year of consistent climbing.




Gorgeous Gorges

Another award winning finalist among the fantastic display of adventure sports documentaries was the river kayaking extravaganza captured in the short film, The Yunnan Great Rivers Expedition, directed by Jim Norton. Although one of the poorest regions in China, the Yunnan river basin area has some of the richest (and deepest) gorges in the world, offering up some fantastic routes to fantatical kayakers willing to take the risk. With runoff from the Everest portion of the Himalayan mountain range pouring vociferously into carved out rock beds, there is little room for error when attempting to navigate through these treacherous waters. During one particularly upsetting sequence of events, a 21 year old up and coming professional kayaker is unable to successfully avoid a deep pit that was pointed out by dialogue as one of the most dangerous parts of the descent. What follows is a lengthy hold down for the rookie, with helpless camera teams capturing the footage from the safety of an overlook. Luckily, he survives, but in a later interview he confesses that: "the feeling of helplessness and the disempowering force of the river are undeniable aspects of taking on such a challenge."

Wear A Helmet

Playing around in your backyard can be a boring afternoon premise in most children's daily lives. Not so for the risk-taking twelve year olds featured in the short documentary, Heavy Fork, which also appeared at the Banff Mountain Film Festival. The inventive and and ingenious young stars of the film create their own unique ramps and jumps out of wood and twine, then proceed to propel themselves fearlessly off, into, over and through these sections of a self-made "course". Bumps and bruises can be expected by most parents when they let their kids go into the backyard to play, but these enterprising youngsters will amaze you with their toughness as the camera catches fall after painful fall. You will laugh heartily (wincing inside) as you witness their travails in this amusing documentary that lasts less than fifteen minutes.

For more information about any of these spectacular documentaries or to find out more about the annual film festival check these sites out:

http://www.banffcentre.ca/mountainculture/ER Harris