Cold sweeps Best of Banff awards

Adventure filmmakers Cory Richards and Anson Fogel took top honors in each relevant category at the 36th annual Banff Mountain Film Festival. Recognized for excellence in audio post-production and best climbing film Cold was also awarded the Grand Prize. “We never thought this raw, dark, R-rated movie would appeal to audiences. It was an experiment,” Fogel said. “Apparently the...

Banff Film Fest Fun Photos

Friday night is typically when the fun really begins at the Banff Mountain Film Festival. The day of book lectures and workshops conclude with a gala cocktail party for guests and presenters. Late in the evening ticket holders gathered at the Eric Harvie Theatre for a special screening of the film “Cold” by Corey Richards and Anson Fogel followed by a Q&A featuring...

Banff Snow Show inspires

  Seven sensational ski movies screened to a packed audience at the Banff Mountain Film Festival’s annual Snow Show. A pretty ambitious program spanning almost three hours delivered the season’s first big dose of white powder with steep downhill descents, inspiring stories of courage, a nod to environmental protection and a romance that alpine passion made possible....

Foodie on the Poutine Express

My wife Shamane, ace reporter and culinary connoisseur, asked while I was packing. “What kind of food will you eat in Banff?” Even after several visits to Canada I wasn’t really sure what kind of goodies I had to look forward to. So while I gave it some thought I stalled with the first thing that came to mind. “Canadian bacon,” I said as with chuckle.   A year ago I...

Banff Mountain Dream Festival

  I’ll probably never see the summit of Everest. I’ll likely not pilot a wingsuit from the snow-capped peak of the Eiger through the Swiss Alps. And even on my best day will I ever set a speed record climb to the top of Yosemite’s El Capitan. But I can dream, can’t I? The 2011 Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival has begun in Alberta, Canada to give vision to the dream of...

New Pic Peek: Take A Seat Egypt

The latest installment of the random tandem adventure travel series by Dominic Gill and Encompass Films premieres this week at the Adventure Film Festival in the United Kingdom. “Take A Seat Egypt” peddles across the North African Sarah Desert to bring the story of this most ancient civilization as it makes the transition to democracy through non-violent revolution. In his third...

Adventure Film announces Boulder premier...

Become what you dream at the seventh annual Adventure Film Festival premiere November 3-5, 2011 in Boulder, Colorado. Through the craftsmanship of award-winning filmmakers, extreme athletes, and adventurers take a rite of passage to live out your deepest desires in nature’s most mysterious and enchanting kingdoms. Presented by Patagonia, this three-day festival at the Boulder Theater...

Banff schedules 71 mountain films

  Last week the Banff Mountain Film Festival published its list of alpine inspired movies scheduled to be screened late this month in Alberta. A whopping 71 titles will be shown over nine days at the Canadian Rockies’ Banff Center. With adventure filmmakers, authors, athletes and activists en route from around the world to attend, the 2011 festival promises to be an exciting...

The Reel Rock Film Tour 2011

The fall adventure movie season kicks off in Boulder next week with the Reel Rock Film Tour. A collaboration between Colorado’s Sender Films and Big Up Productions of New York, Reel Rock is an inspiring international event that brings together local outdoor enthusiasts to revel in the sport of climbing. “We’ve come a long way in six years,” said co-founder Josh Lowell....

The Raven’s Gift

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (13.4MB) An interview with writer and explorer Jon Turk Many of us put a lot on the line for the sake of adventure. And for writer and scientist Jon Turk the decision to paddle a kayak across the Pacific Ocean from Asia to North American was in keeping with a tradition of discovery as old as humanity itself. “You look for an audacious and...

Adventure Media: Happy a new film by Rok...

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 10:23 — 9.7MB)   If you haven’t figured it out yet, a big part of this program is trying to figure out what makes people happy. Personally I believe happiness isn’t just something that happens. I think we all try to create things in our lives that bring us joy. But as Benjamin Frankly once said The Constitution...

Adventure Media: With My Own Two Wheels

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 3:30 — 3.3MB) The transformational power of bicycles is the subject of a new film by brothers Jacob & Isaac Seigel-Boettner. “With My Own Two Wheels” takes us on a ride through the developing world to see how these simple mechanical devices are changing peoples’ lives. Though here in the U.S. we take for granted...