Friday Evening Program at the Eric Harvie Theatre
$32

sponsored by Mountain Equipment Co-op

Official Welcome and Opening Address
8 p.m.

Welcome by Mary Hofstetter, president and CEO, The Banff Centre; opening address by Bernadette McDonald, vice-president, Mountain Culture, The Banff Centre

Sir Ranulph Fiennes
8:20 p.m.

Fiennes’s travel is generously provided by Air Canada

He is called “the world’s greatest living explorer” in the Guinness Book of World Records. Sir Ranulph Fiennes’s 35-year career is staggering: he has led 30 expeditions, ten of which were world records; he completed seven marathons in seven days, just months after suffering a heart attack; he found the lost city of Ubar; and he attempted Everest at the age of 61. He has written 16 books, including a U.K. best-selling thriller, and has raised over five million pounds sterling for various charities, for which Queen Elizabeth awarded him the Order of the British Empire. Fiennes will open the 30th Banff Mountain Film Festival with what all are expecting to be a wickedly funny yet truly inspirational presentation.  

High Fly Summits
9:45 p.m.

(France, 2005, 13’) North American premiere
Director/Producer: Claude Adam

In 2004, the Soul Flyer team aimed to fly over many of the planet’s emblematic summits. The rides in this film combine snow, mountains, and high altitude with wing suits, skydiving, paragliding, and skiing — on Mont Blanc on the French-Italian border, and on Mount Fuji in Japan.

Of Penguins and Men
10:00 p.m.

(France, 2004, 53’) North American premiere
Directors: Luc Jacquet, Jérôme Maison
Producers: Yves Darondeau, Christophe Lioud, Emmanuel Priou

Two filmmakers abandon themselves to the brutal Antarctic winter in order to film the life cycle of the Emperor penguin. They describe their existence and that of “their” penguins during nine incredible months at the South Pole.

Friday Evening Program at the Margaret Greenham Theatre
$32

Sponsored by Mountain Equipment Co-op

Simulcast of Festival Opening and guest speaker Sir Ranulph Fiennes
8:00 p.m.

Arktos — Le voyage intérieur de Mike Horn (The Inner Voyage of Mike Horn)
9:45 p.m.

(Switzerland, 2005, 84’) North American Premiere
Director/Producer: Raphaël Blanc

Covering over 20,000 kilometres in 27 months, in extreme Arctic conditions, solo, and without using dogs or any form of mechanized transport, Mike Horn becomes the first man ever to circumnavigate the globe along the Arctic Circle.

Friday Evening Program at the Max Bell Auditorium
 $20

The Snow Show

Sponsored in part by Lake Louise Mountain Resort

Get revved up for the coming ski season with four steep-and-deep films sure to get your adrenaline going!

Flying Downhill — The Art of Bode
8:00 p.m.

(USA, 2005, 75’) World premiere
Director/Producer: W. C. Rogers (appearing in person)

Bode Miller is among the world’s fastest skiers and is arguably the very best American to ever hit the slopes. His style is wild and untamed, as was his childhood on a 500-acre homestead near Franconia, New Hampshire. This film chronicles Miller’s meteoric rise in the realm of the giant slalom — a path beset with major injuries and alternative training methods en route to Olympic gold.

Bulletins from a Colder Planet: Cream Show
9:40 p.m.

(Canada, 2005, 13’) World premiere
Directors: Dave Mossop, Eric Crosland (both appearing in person)
Producer: Robin Scrimger

The passion of backcountry skiers and snowboarders resonates in a landscape of untouched powder and coated peaks. But as bold athletes push their physical and mental limits, humanity is pushing nature and weather patterns into uncharted territory.

Solilochairliftquist
9:56 p.m.

(USA, 2005, 4’) Canadian premiere
Director/Producer: Thomas M. Faversham (appearing in person)

The time involved in riding chairlifts while skiing a hundred days a year can lead to many profound realizations. This short explores the complexities of life as a ski bum.

The Tangerine Dream [short]
10:03 p.m.

(USA, 2005, 27’)
Directors/Producers: Todd Jones, Dirk Collins, Steve Jones, Corey Gavitt

This story about the origins of TGR represents 10 years of wanderlust, brokendown vehicles, and down-and-dirty skiing and boarding. Take a ride in the orange truck that started it all, on a rowdy road trip through Utah and Alaska, with a side trip to India.

Saturday Evening Program at the Eric Harvie Theatre
$32

Sponsored by Mountain Equipment Co-op

Marko Prezelj — Style Matters
8 p.m.

Prezelj’s appearance is generously sponsored by Grivel North America

Slovenian climbing superstar Marko Prezelj is known for his spectacularly difficult routes and his impeccable style. Born in 1965, he describes himself as an “old school” alpinist, yet most would regard his accomplishments as futuristic. He was brought to the sport by curiosity, but it’s his passion that continues to drive him to higher and wilder places. Prezelj has paired up with some of the world’s best alpinists on some astonishing climbs: Kapura Peak in Pakistan, the North Face of North Twin in the Canadian Rockies, the South-Southwest Pillar of Nuptse, the first ascent of Menlungtse, the first ascent of the Southwest Ridge of Kangchenjunga South, and many others. What advice does this driven überclimber have for others passionate about the sport? “Have fun!”  

Announcement of the 2005 John Lauchlan Memorial Award
9:00 p.m.

Sur le fil des 4000 (France, 2004, 50’) North American premiere
9:25 p.m.

Director: Gilles Chappaz
Producers: Philippe Savoyat, Babeth Leprince, Quentin Mourey, Eric Blanc

On March 1, 2004, Patrick Bérhault and Philippe Magnin set out to climb all 82 summits above 4000 metres in the Alps. Well-known for their solid experience and purist approach to climbing, they brave changing weather and strong emotions as they proceed on their long journey. On April 28, they are making their way along Nadelgrat, an interminable ridge leading up to their 67th summit, when destiny steps in.

Shining Mountains: Land of Riches
10:18 p.m.

(Canada, 2004, 47’)
Director/Producer: Guy Clarkson (appearing in person)

Mountain guide and cinematographer Guy Clarkson flies his Piper Super Cub from Yellowstone to the Yukon in a four part series that explores the past, present and future of the “Shining Mountains”. Journeying by dogsled, locomotive, canoe, and crampons to the top of the Rockies, episode two, Land of Riches, features a winter ascent of Mt. Assiniboine with Barry Blanchard and Pat Morrow.

Saturday Evening Program at the Margaret Greenham Theatre
$32

Sponsored by Mountain Equipment Co-op

Simulcast of guest speaker Marko Prezelj
8:00 p.m.

Prezelj’s travel is generously sponsored by Grivel North America.

Announcement of the 2005 John Lauchlan Memorial Award
9:00 p.m.

The Other Face of K2
9:25 p.m.

(Spain, 2005, 43’)
Directors: Óscar Cadiach, Xavier Casillanis, Narcís Noguera
Producer: Lluís Palahí

Filmed by the climbers themselves, this documentary about the Catalan expedition that became the first to repeat the Magic Line — the hardest route on K2, the world’s second-highest peak (28,250 ft.) — deals with the most human part of this challenge, which came to a bittersweet end.

Nature: The Good, the Bad and the Grizzly
10:11 p.m

(USA, 2004, 57’)
Producers: Shane Moore, Janet Hess

After a decades-long comeback, the grizzly bears of Yellowstone National Park appear to be thriving. Should they now be removed from the protection of the Endangered Species Act? This question has provoked one of the most emotionally charged wildlife controversies in the United States today. Discover the complex issue of grizzly bear management and conservation from ranchers, conservationists and government officials who share their stories and insights.

Saturday Evening Program at the Max Bell Auditorium
$32

Retro Reels: Chic Scott and The Eiger Sanction
8 p.m.

Long before Hollywood jumped on the climbing bandwagon with films such as Cliffhanger and Vertical Limit, Chic Scott was suspended high above terra firma on the forbidding north face of the Eiger: The year was 1975 and the film was The Eiger Sanction. Shot on location in Switzerland, it starred the legendary actor and director Clint Eastwood. Saturday night’s Retro Reels will celebrate the 30th anniversary of The Eiger Sanction with vintage slides and film clips and Scott’s rollicking storytelling style. Scott has been climbing, skiing, and guiding — and writing about it — for the past forty years. His Pushing the Limits: The Story of Canadian Mountaineering is considered a modern classic.

Mr. Everest
9:20 p.m.

(UK, 2003, 25’)
Director: Eric Robson

This film offers an intriguing profile of Eric Shipton and his “wilderness years” after losing the leadership of the 1953 Everest expedition.

Amazonia Vertical
9:48 p.m.

(Slovakia, 2004, 62’)
Director/Producer: Pavol Barabás

Auyan Tepui, “Mount of the God of Evil”, is the highest table mountain in the Amazon. The Indians believe that its summit is inhabited by demons. Slovak Becko Ondrejovic, a former mountaineer, accomplished the first complete traverse of the mountain. He was so fascinated with its vertical lines that he decided to return with his friends in order to climb its totally virgin face. The expedition used neither a guide nor porters and had no communication with the outside world. This film presents the power of nature and the adventurous discovery of a lost world.