Banff, Alberta, November 8, 2015- The Great Alone, which captured the inspiring comeback story of champion sled dog racer, Lance Mackey, has won the Grand Prize at the 2015 Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival.
From his sunniest days as a boy to his darkest hours trapped in the arms of substance abuse, dog sledding just may be Lance Mackey’s road to salvation as he embarks on the Iditarod, one of the hardest sled dog races in the world.
Good films are hard to make…but great films are nearly impossible…and often times they sneak up on you without warning,” said Cory Richards, a member of the 2015 Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival film jury. “Our grand prize winner this year subtly weaves threads of family, unexpected friendship, raw vulnerability and extreme perseverance. The tapestry created is a powerful and deeply emotional human portrait, illuminating our innate shortcomings and vulnerabilities…and our ultimate drive to connect with ourselves and the wilderness…..and overcome.”
Category winners for the 2015 Banff Mountain Film Competition include:
Grand Prize – Sponsored by MEC
The Great Alone
(USA, 2014, 84 min)
Director/Producer: Greg Kohs
Creative Excellence Award- Sponsored by Mountain Life Media
Cailleach
Director: Rosie Reed Hillman
Producer: Carole Cooke
Production Company: Scrumptious Productions Ltd.
Best Film – Exploration and Adventure - Sponsored by MSR
The Great Alone
(USA, 2014, 84 min)Director/Producer: Greg Kohs
Best Film – Mountain Culture- Sponsored by Helly Hansen
Sherpa
(Australia, 2015, 96 min)
Director: Jennifer Peedom
Best Film – Climbing - Sponsored by Alpine Club of Canada
A Line Across the Sky
(USA, 2015, 40 min)
Director/Producer: Peter Mortimer, Josh Lowell
Best Film – Mountain Sports- Sponsored by Sea &Summit
Chasing Niagara
(USA, 2015, 76 min)
Director: Rush Sturges
Producer: Red Bull Media House
Best Film: Snow Sports - Sponsored by Bergans of Norway
Eclipse
(Canada, 2015, 31 min)
Director: Anthony Bonello
Producer: Anthony Bonello, Mike Douglas
Best Film – Mountain Environment and Natural History - Sponsored by Vasque
Hadwin’s Judgement
(Canada, 2015, 88 min)
Director: Sasha Snow
Producer: Elizabeth Yake, David Allen, David Christensen, Yves Ma
Production Company: True West Films, Passion Pictures and The National Film Board of Canada
Best Short Mountain Film - Sponsored by The North Face
The Important Places
(USA, 2015, 9 min)
Director/Producer: Gnarly Bay, Forest Woodward
Best Feature Length Mountain Film-Sponsored by Town of Banff
K2: Touching the Sky
(Poland, 2015, 72 min)
Director: Eliza Kubarska
Special Jury Mention
Operation Moffat
(UK, 2015, 20 min)
Director: Jen Randall, Claire Carter
Producer: Alex Messengerp
Overburden
(USA, 2015, 65 min)
Director: Chad A. Stevens*
Producer: Elena Rue, Catherine Orr
Production Company: milesfrommaybe Productions
People’s Choice Award for Radical Reels - Sponsored by Oboz Footwear
Showdown at Horseshoe Hell
(USA, 2015, 20 min)
Director/Producer: Pete Mortimer, Josh Lowell
Producer Zachary Barr
Production Company: Sender Films, Big Up Productions
People’s Choice Award – Sponsored by Osprey
Unbranded
(USA, 2015,105 min)
Director: Phillip Baribeau
Producer: Denis Aig
Jury members in 2015 included climber, photographer and filmmaker, Cory Richards; professional Canadian climber Sarah Hueniken; British documentary director Dina Mufti; Vice President of Petzl, Peter Popall.
The Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival, established 40 years ago, is presented by National Geographic and The North Face, and sponsored by Deuter, Clif Bar, Bergans of Norway, Icebreaker, Banff Lake Louise Tourism and Treksta, with support from PETZL, World Expeditions, Kicking Horse Coffee, The Lake Louise Ski Resort and Summer Gondola, Mammut, MEC, Banff Lake Louise Tourism and the Alberta Foundation for the Arts.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
Louise Healy,
Media Relations, Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival
403.762.6395