Banff Mountain Film Festival
October 27 – November 4

Film Competition Award Winners

» List of finalists by category
» Complete list of entries

Winners were announced at the 2007 Banff Mountain Film Festival awards program on November 4. The 2007 Banff Mountain Film Festival jury included Julie Tait, co-director of England’s Kendal Mountain Film Festival, as well as China-based mountaineering journalist and filmmaker Charlie Buffet, American climber and filmmaker Rob Frost, Canadian film producer Kerrie Long, and Canadian mountaineer, photographer, and filmmaker Pat Morrow.

Click on the film images to view short video clips (Windows Streaming Media)
View Clip	Grand Prize Sponsored by Mountain Equipment Co-op ($4000) Death on Nanga Parbat (Tod am Nanga Parbat — Die Messner-Tragödie) “For the Grand Prize, we looked to a film that transcends category,” says jury member Julie Tait. “In giving us fresh insight into a historic event and the cult of hero, Death on Nanga Parbat offers the viewer a depth of experience that underlines the power of the medium. It’s a triumph of substance over style.”
View Clip	Best Short Mountain Film Sponsored by Mountain Hardwear ($2000) The Western Lands — Hoy “The filmmaker creates a rich and beautiful canvas on which this story is told,” says jury member Julie Tait. “This is a sensual film with an experimental treatment, a story of life, love and loss.” “It’s sex mixed up with climbing,” adds jury member Pat Morrow.
View Clip	Best Film on Mountain Environment Sponsored by Patagonia ($2000) Badgered “Director Sharon Colman has given us a refreshing look at the resilience of the natural world in the face of human impact. She’s creatively delivered a serious subject in a light-hearted and humorous way,” says jury member Rob Frost.
View Clip	Alpine Club of Canada Award for Best Film on Climbing Sponsored by the Alpine Club of Canada ($2000) King Lines “He has everything,” says jury member Kerrie Long. “He’s young, talented, beautiful and articulate. And yet, this is a gritty story of persistence and determination — he’s always reaching for the route he might not be able to do.”
View Clip	Best Feature-length Mountain Film Sponsored by Camper’s Village ($2000) Loop “It’s very difficult to deal with the philosophical approach to life in the mountains, and do it visually, not just with words,” says jury member Pat Morrow. “This film does that, with its strong synergy among visuals, narration and dialogue.”
View Clip One View Clip Two	Best Film on Mountain Sports Sponsored by Big Rock Brewery ($2000) People’s Choice Award Sponsored by Ortovox ($2000) 20 Seconds of Joy “We get to know the central character over time, and the film combines precipitous physical locations with insight into the deepest recesses of this athlete’s mind,” says jury member Pat Morrow. This film was also voted the favourite of 53 finalists by festival attendees.
View Clip	Best Film on Mountain Culture Sponsored by Petzl ($2000) Nine Winters Old “Mountain culture is not just about folkloric traditions,” says jury member Charlie Buffet. “It’s the way people live and dream their mountain experience. There was a sense of surprise, of playful curiosity, that carried me through this film.”
View Clip	Special Jury Award The Beckoning Silence “High quality re-enactment, spectacular production values,” says jury member Charlie Buffet.
View Clip	Special Jury Award Becoming a Woman in Zanskar “Gives voices to two women from a remote and relatively closed culture,” says jury member Kerrie Long. “It moved me to tears.”
View Clip	Special Jury Award Into the Wild “Rarely does Hollywood treat a delicate story with this level of integrity,” says jury member Rob Frost. “We hope that Penn’s work will lead the way for other Hollywood directors, and develop a taste for truth in their audience.”
View Clip	People’s Choice Award for Radical Reels Sponsored by Fido ($350 plus a selection of prizes) Trial & Error Voted most radical of the high adrenaline films screened at Radical Reels on Tuesday, October 30.