2023 Banff Mountain Film Competition finalists

The 48th Annual Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival is thrilled to announce the 2023 Banff Mountain Film Competition finalists.
 
The Banff Mountain Film Competition submissions include the world’s best adventure, environment, and adrenaline sports films – this year a total of 486 films from 40 countries were submitted, with 84 films from 13 countries selected as finalists. The Festival will screen 12 World premieres, 14 North American premieres, and 26 Canadian premieres. 

International jury members include the founder and director of New Zealand Mountain Film and Book Festival, mountain guide, and author Mark Sedon (New Zealand); educator, editor of The Himalayan Journal, hiker, and traveler Nandini Purandare (India); adventure athlete and content creator (cofounder of female-led production company Well Travelled Collective) Sarah Steele (USA); filmmaker, photographer, rock-climber, co-owner of UATÊ STORIED LEARNING Peruzzo Andrade (Brazil); and founder/organizer of Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour in China, Ocean Film Festival China Tour, ReelRock Film China Tour, European Outdoor Film Tour, and Banff China Adventure Filmmaker’s Workshop Tina Qian (China).

View the full list of 2023 Banff Mountain Film Competition finalists here.

“With 84 films to choose from in person and more than 75 online, it will be hard not to enjoy this year’s program! You’ll adventure all over the world, climbing peaks, skiing lines or running trails amongst the best athletes. Whatever your niche, you’ll find the energy of the outdoor community right behind you.”

– Joanna Croston, Festival & World Tour Director

Not to be missed:
 
Wild Life (Canadian Premiere)
(USA, 2022, 90 minutes)
Directors: Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
Producers: Little Monster Films, Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Bob Eisenhardt, Anna Barnes
From Oscar-winning filmmakers Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin (Free Solo, The Rescue) comes the inspiring story of conservationist, adventurer and entrepreneur Kristine Tompkins. Thirty years ago, Kristine and her husband Doug Tompkins abandoned their successful corporate lives for a profound adventure in the wilderness of Chile. Embarking on a deep love affair with each other and with their newly adopted country, they eventually purchased over a million acres of land with the goal of environmental preservation in Patagonia.
Screenings:
Sat, Oct 28, 2 PM @ Jenny Belzberg Theatre, Banff Centre 
Sun, Nov 5, 2 PM @ artsPlace Canmore

Full Circle (Canadian Premiere)
(USA, 2023, 100 minutes)
Director: Josh Berman  
Producers: Level 1, Conor Smith 
Faced with a traumatic injury that renders you permanently disabled, how would you reinvent yourself? In 2014, Trevor Kennison's life was forever altered by a broken back – for worse and for better, in equal measures. Full Circle is both an unblinking examination of the challenges of life after spinal cord injury... and a celebration of the opportunity for growth that such a tragedy can present. 
Screenings:
Sun, Oct 29, 2 PM @ Jenny Belzberg Theatre, Banff Centre 
Sat, Nov 4, 7 PM @ Lux Cinema Banff

Chronoception (North American Premiere)
(France, 2023, 53 minutes)
Director: Guillaume Broust  
Producer: Picture Organic Clothing
On the trail of nomadic peoples and the ancient Silk Roads, Thomas Delfino, accompanied by Léa Klaue and Aurélien Lardy, embark on an expedition to reach one of the most remote places on the continent. The Kokshaal-Too range is located in the Tian Shan mountain range, on the border of Kyrgyzstan and China, and harbors unexplored mountains and faces. This skilled team, accompanied by renowned guides Hélias Millerioux and Jean-Yves Fredriksen, finds themselves propelled into a space where time seems to have suddenly come to a halt.  
Screenings:
Mon, Oct 30, 7:30 PM @ Jenny Belzberg and Margaret Greenham Theatres, Banff Centre 
Thurs, Nov 2, 7 PM @ artsPlace Canmore
Sat, Nov 4, 7:30 PM @ Margaret Greenham Theatre, Banff Centre 
Sat, Nov 4, 9:30 PM @ Lux Cinema Banff

Yamnuska: The Ragged Edge (World Premiere)
(Canada, 2023, 80 minutes)
Director: John Price
Producers: Sherpas Cinema, Malcolm Sangster
Follow two modern day adventurers as they embark on a rock climbing journey through time, celebrating the rich history and folklore of one of Canada’s most iconic climbing cliffs as they pay homage to the colourful characters who have etched their names into its vertical walls since the 1950s.
Screenings:
Thurs, Nov 2, 7:30 PM @ Jenny Belzberg Theatre, Banff Centre 
Fri, Nov 3, 7 PM @ Lux Cinema Banff

Deep Rising
(USA, 2023, 94 minutes)
Director: Matthieu Rytz
Producers: Deep Rising PTE, Matthieu Rytz
Narrated by Jason Momoa, Deep Rising illuminates the vital relationship between the deep ocean and sustaining life on Earth. The documentary also follows mining startup The Metals Company, as it pursues funding, public favor, and permission from the International Seabed Authority to mine wide swaths of the Pacific Ocean floor.  
Screenings:
Fri, Nov 3, 7:30 PM @ Margaret Greenham Theatre, Banff Centre 
Sun, Oct 29, 7 PM @ artsPlace Canmore

Nuptse: Touching the Intangible (North American Premiere)
(France, 2023, 66 minutes)
Director: Hugo Clouzeau
Producer: L'Endroit
Hélias Millerioux, Frédéric Degoulet, and Benjamin Guigonnet are dreaming of opening a new extreme route on the legendary south face of Nuptse. A wall approaching 8000m in the heart of the Himalayas. "Nuptse l'inaccessible absolu" or the obsessive quest of three French mountaineers trapped in their desire for a summit. 
Screenings:
Sat, Nov 4, 9 AM @ All venues, Banff Centre 

Subterranean 
(Canada, 2023, 87 minutes)
Director: François-Xavier De Ruydts
Producers: Cold Fingers Films, Jenny Rustemeyer
In a remarkable year, two gritty teams of hobbyist cavers are poised to break records for the longest and deepest caves in Canada. After discovering a flooded underground chamber, Katie, a daytime accountant, becomes obsessed with returning to the Bisaro Anima cave in the Rockies to push the caving depth record. At the same time, a passionate Vancouver Island team is attempting to link two tunnel systems to create the longest known cave in the country. From abyssal, muddy crawls to heart-pounding, vertical pits and underwater squeezes, these are places where no person has been before. 
Screenings:
Sat, Nov 4, 2 PM @ All venues, Banff Centre 

Keepers of the Land (Alberta Premiere)
(Canada, 2023, 28 minutes)
Directors: Deirdre Leowinata, Douglas Neasloss  
Producers: Moonfish Media Inc, Deirdre Leowinata, Douglas Neasloss 
In the heart of British Columbia’s Great Bear Rainforest, one Nation is reclaiming the power they held for millennia. As the impacts of colonial exploitation and mismanagement take an increasing toll on their territory, the Kitasoo Xai’xais Nation finds strength in its stories and culture, emerging as a stewardship leader in a new age of reconciliation in Canada. A powerful story of resurgence told through the eyes of elder and hereditary chief Nismuutk, Ernest Mason Jr., and the new young leaders following in his footsteps.
Screenings:
Sun, Nov 5, 9 AM @ All venues, Banff Centre

The nine-day Festival will be held from October 28 through to November 5 and will feature 84 epic films (including World and North American premieres), live in-person events with adventurers, authors, photographers, and filmmakers sharing their inspiring stories, an expanded Festival Marketplace (including the new Rab stage hosting free presentations), happy hours with music, campfire conversations with special guests, downtown events and exhibitions, and much more!

The Festival schedule is available to view online and tickets are on sale (tickets from $18 - $38, and $75 for all-day films). Tickets can be purchased online or at Banff Centre Box Office. 

Returning in 2023 – online films to watch from home (available in CAN/USA only). 
Online Film Passes: On sale October 5. Early Bird pricing until October 16! 

Please visit banffcentre.ca/film-fest for more information.

If you’d like to provide media coverage of the 2023 Festival, please submit a media accreditation application form.

For more information or image requests, please contact:

Jess Elliott
Media and Communications
Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival
107 Tunnel Mountain Drive
Banff, Alberta
T1L 1H5 
jess_elliott@banffcentre.ca

About Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival: Created 48 years ago, Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival has become the premier event of its kind in the world. The nine-day Festival hosted by Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Banff, Canada, showcases the world’s best films, books and photographs on mountain subjects – climbing, culture, environment and natural history, exploration and adventure, wildlife, and sport – and attracts the biggest names in mountaineering, adventure filmmaking, and explorers as presenters and speakers. An international jury will also award over $40,000 in prizes for films and books submitted to this year’s Festival competitions. banffmountainfestival.ca

Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival Partners: The 2023 Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival Presenting Partners are: Banff and Lake Louise Tourism and Rab. The Festival is also sponsored by BUFF®, Yeti, Oboz Footwear, Lowe Alpine, Lake Louise Ski Resort and Summer Gondola, Kicking Horse Coffee, World Expeditions, Happy Yak, Doña Paula, and KORE Outdoors.

About Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity: Founded in 1933, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity is a learning organization built upon an extraordinary legacy of excellence in artistic and creative development. What started as a single course in drama has grown to become the global organization leading in arts, culture, and creativity across dozens of disciplines. From our home on Treaty 7 territory in the stunning Canadian Rocky Mountains, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity aims to inspire everyone who attends our campus – artists, leaders, and thinkers – to unleash their creative potential and realize their unique contribution to society through cross-disciplinary learning opportunities, world-class performances, and public outreach. banffcentre.ca