Everyday Activist - Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour 2018/19: Blue Program

Posted on Sunday, February 10, 2019 at 06:00 PM

Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour 2018/19: Blue Program

Movie Review by Everyday Activist X CalgaryMovies.com

Brothers of Climbing

I completely understood this film as the visible minority in my caving club. While we’ve added significantly more women, we don’t have much Asian representation. I think part of it has to do with Asian parents being protective of their children, except my dad, who likes to say, “If they aren’t getting hurt, they aren’t playing hard enough." When my nephew, Avi, who liked to repel off the bannister at my parents house, the only comment my dad made was, “At least the knot was safe.” To harness his curiosity for climbing, I take Avi to the bouldering wall whenever I’m in Lethbridge, even though climbing doesn’t interest me. Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi puts it best, “The mystique of rock climbing is climbing; you get to the top of a rock glad it’s over but really wish it would go on forever. The justification of climbing is climbing, like the justification of poetry is writing; you don’t conquer anything except things in yourself.”

Rogue Elements First Ever Mountain Bike Descent of Corbet's Couloir

Teton Gravity Research (TGR) does it again with incredible footage of athletes doing what they do best. I never tire of watching this video. Women don’t often get a chance to “strut” their stuff side by side men. In a 2017 TGR idea to have mountain bikers drop into Corbet’s Couloir, Todd Jones invited mountain bikers Cam McCaul and Casey Brown to realize his vision. Part of me wonders how many takes it took to get the final product of them along with skier Tim Durtschi to get down Corbet’s Couloir so smoothly and how much preparation the mountain bikers did before doing the run. This behind the scenes video gives some insight into the filming and the epic spills that were inevitable.

Skier versus Drone

I’m not sure why this one made the tour. It’s mildly entertaining and short.

Fast Horse

This one seems odd for a mountain film festival, given that it all takes place in the foothills of Alberta. I enjoyed learning about some of the history behind the race and seeing that unlike many competitions, the riders were respectful towards each other even after a major event when tensions and emotions run high.

For more mountain film, Free Solo is still playing at Canyon Meadows Cinemas. I’ve been writing a review for it since December. Hopefully, this week I’ll be able to finish it!

Everyday Activist Film Review (CalgaryMovies.com): Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour 2018/19: Red Program Part 1 > | Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour 2018/19: Red Program Part 2 >

Calgary Local Scene:  Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour 2018/19 #1 > | Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour 2018/19 #2 >