26 March,2011 08:05 AM IST | | Soma Das
The international Banff Film Festival returns to Mumbai, with a bouquet of 11 critically acclaimed short films on mountain climbing that will inspire and challenge amateur and professional adventure sport buffs
Mountaineers consider climbing as a microcosm of life, where one overcomes mountains (hurdles) to prove oneself. It's a sport where the boundaries of gravity and the human body are defied with every upward move.
Life Cycles provides stunning images of biking across green
valleys and wheat fields
Such countless stories of struggle and heroism have contributed towards the success of the Banff Film Festival. This travelling showcase of mountain films began in 1976 in Canada's mountainous Banff resort town.
As It Happens profiles video dispatches from two mountaineers'
attempt to scale Nepal's Tawoche Himal mountain
The annual festival includes short films and documentaries on mountaineering where award-winning entries are screened in 20 countries across the world. A collaboration between The Himalayan Club, the Canadian High Commission and the Banff Centre ensured this film fest returned to Mumbai for the second consecutive year.
The Swiss Machine profiles Ueli Steck who makes
record-breaking ascents in the Alps
"The film festival educates amateurs and professionals of the strides made by the mountaineering fraternity worldwide. Enthusiasts can look forward to familiarising themselves with adventure sports, local culture, environment as well as cutting-edge developments. While the films have been made in Canada and the United States, they capture the mountain experience from all over the world," shares Mallikarjun Singh, honorary local secretary at The Himalayan Club.
A still from Dream Result which takes you white water kayaking
through waterfalls in Argentina and the US
Movie Marathon
Watch Life Cycles that celebrates mountain biking across snow-capped mountains, deciduous forests and sun-kissed wheat fields. Get an adrenaline rush with Fly or Die about daredevil climber Dean Potter who introduced Free Base, an innovative rock climbing technique that includes base jumping (jumping from a spot using a parachute).
A still from Chim ufffdra which blurs the border between the real
and the imaginary
Share the agony and ecstasy of mountaineers Renan Ozturk and Corey Richards in As It Happens, where a series of file video dispatches record their attempt at ascending Nepal's 6,000 metre high Tawoche Himal mountain range. If you think life is tough, check out the heart-warming story of travelling vagabond Renan Ozturk in Living The Dream, where he sleeps outdoors, hitches rides, drains his bank account, and occasionally, goes dumpster diving to live his dream of mountaineering every day.
Into Darkness pursues a group of cavers who push through
tiny passages to access the final frontiers of the earth
Speed gets a new meaning in Swiss Machine, an account of Ueli Steck's record-breaking ascent in the Alps where he raced up to 2,500 metre Alpine slopes. As if that wasn't tough enough, he embarks on a mission to take his speed game to the highest walls in the world.
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On: Today, 6.30 pm onwards
At: Maharashtra Seva Sangh, above Apna Bazaar, JN Road, Mulund (West).
Cost: Rs 50 (inclusive of tea)
Call: 24912829 to register
