9:00 a.m.

9:00 a.m.

Light in Liquid — A Kayak Collage of Movement and Sound

USA, 2007, 15 minutes
Directed and produced by Adrian Matthew Glasenapp
Canadian Premiere
In person: Adrian Matthew Glasenapp

Light in Liquid features expeditions and adventures on rivers and creeks in Colorado, Idaho, and Mexico. This kayak collage pushes the creative edge in the whitewater film genre and focuses on the process of travel, the paddlers themselves, and the world around us, just as much as it does on running waterfalls and creeks.

9:25 a.m.

9:23 a.m.

Borneo’s Pygmy Elephants

The Netherlands, 2006, 53 minutes
Directed by Joe Kennedy
Produced by Michael Patrick Wong

Until very recently, Borneo’s forest elephants were thought to be tame elephants gone wild. However, DNA testing has proven that they are a new species unique to the island and now under threat from habitat loss and conflict with humans. This is the story of one man’s mission to track and monitor these mystery elephants in order to protect them.

10:21 a.m.

10:17 a.m.

Break

10:41 a.m.

10:32 a.m.

Higher Ground: Black Canyon

USA, 2007, 14 minutes
Directed by Chris Alstrin and Alexander Lavigne
Produced by Chris Alstrin
In person: Chris Alstrin

Black Canyon features Josh Wharton and Phil Gruber, who explain the importance of friendship and of climbing efficiently while ascending the Free Nose (5.12c) in Colorado’s notoriously adventurous Black Canyon.

10:58 a.m.

10:47 a.m.

20 Seconds of Joy

Germany, 2007, 60 minutes
Directed by Jens Hoffmann
Produced by Clenonice Comino
World Premiere
In person: Jens Hoffmann

“I don’t want to die, I want to live. I’m pretty good at running away, and this is my escape!” This is how Karina Hollekim describes her dedication to BASE jumping. Documentary filmmaker Jens Hoffman first met the now 30-year-old Norwegian in 2002. He immediately started to film, accompanying her through many stages of her BASE-jumping career, until it comes to a sudden stop, changing all aspects of her life.

Noon

Break

2:00 p.m.

2:15 p.m.

Last Chance Journeys: Across the Himalaya

Ireland, 2007, 52 minutes
Directed and produced by John Murray

This documentary follows a clan of Buddhist yak herders on a breathtaking journey unmatched anywhere on the planet. Starting from the nomads’ tiny village close to the Tibetan border, the film shadows the group through a soaring landscape, traversing some of the highest mountain passes in the world, until the exhausted caravaneers eventually reach their destination—the lowland valleys of southern Nepal.

2:55 p.m.

3:08 p.m.

King Lines

USA, 2007, 50 minutes
Directed and produced by Josh Lowell and Peter Mortimer

Filmed on location in France, California, Venezuela, Greece, Utah, and Mallorca, King Lines captures Chris Sharma’s most outrageous ascents and visionary projects, and explores his fascinating lifestyle as a nomadic professional climber and global citizen.

3:48 p.m.

3:59 p.m.

Break

4:08 p.m.

4:14 p.m.

Vicious Circle (Festival edit)

Canada, 2007, 16 minutes
Directed and produced by Jonathan Desrosiers
In person: Jonathan Desrosiers

A bike movie shot in North America, from the wildest areas of the rain forest, to the baking-hot sun of California, and the fastest trails on the east and west sides of Canada.

4:27 p.m.

4:31 p.m.

The Beckoning Silence

UK, 2007, 73 minutes
Directed and produced by Louise Osmond
North American Premiere

Joe Simpson, whose battle for survival featured in Touching the Void, travels to the Eiger to tell the story of one of mountaineering’s most epic tragedies. Toni Kurtz was a brilliant mountaineer who in 1936 tried to be the first to conquer the Eiger. The climb started well, but disaster struck and Kurtz’s climbing colleagues were killed, leaving him alone and fighting for his life. The Beckoning Silence recounts Kurtz’s heroic battle for survival but it also forces Simpson to confront some fundamental questions of his own. Why continue climbing when you have come so close to oblivion?