23^rd Annual Banff Festival of Mountain Films

"Best of the Festival" North American Tour

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1998

7:30 INTRODUCTION

7:40 PROGRESSION

7:50 BHUTAN - THE LAST SHANGRI-LA

8:44 KAYAK ISLANDA

8:53 INTERMISSION

9:18 DOOR PRIZE DRAWS

9:33 THE FACE: VIETNAM

10:03 HANDLE WITH CARE

10:06 POLAR BEAR

10:54 END

Progression Sport

(USA, 1997, 10 min)

Directors/Producers: Todd Jones, Steve Jones, Dirk Collins

Kent Kreitler, a skier, and Jeremy Jones, a snowboarder, team up in Valdez, Alaska. Here they shed the distinction between the two sports by going line for line in the world's most classic big-mountain arena.

Bhutan – The Last Shangri-La Environment

(USA, 1998, 54 min)

Producers: Alex Gregory, Dennis B. Kane, Harry Marshall

There is a place on earth where time stands still — where nature and religion have combined to turn a tiny Buddhist kingdom into the world's last Shangri-La. Locked between Tibet and India, Bhutan is the jewel of the Himalayas.

Grand Prize & the Best Film on Mountain Environment - 1998 Festival

Kayak Islanda Sport

(Italy, 1998, 9 min)

Director: Alessio Viola

Producer: Stefano DeBenedetti, Artime S.p.A.

Extreme kayaker Shawn Baker returns to the big screen in Kayak 2, displaying his incredible style of descents in the wildly beautiful landscape of Iceland. Known for its grand icefields and rushing rivers, Iceland offers Baker the ultimate playground for his special skills. Best Film on Mountain Sport - 1998 Festival

The Face – Great Climbing Adventures: Vietnam Climbing

(Scotland, 1998, 30 min)

Greg Child is one of the world’s most accomplished climbers and an award-winning author as well. He is well-suited to team up with Andy Parkin, a British artist and climber whose life is nothing short of a miracle. A climbing accident left him severely injured, but a combination of willpower, hard work and creative problem solving allows him to climb at a very high level. The two travel to the beautiful and exotic Ha Long Bay to test themselves against the bay’s spectacular, unclimbed limestone pillars.

Handle with Care Environment

(Germany, 1998, 3 min)

Directors: Lorenz Trees, Susanne Buddenberg

Producer: Academy of Film and Television, Potsdam

A man in his mountain cabin is being struck by mysterious tremors...

Polar Bear Environment

(England, 1997, 48 min)

Producer: Martha Holmes, BBC Natural History Unit

The world’s leading polar bear biologist, Ian Sterling, says "The importance of such films as Polar Bear increases almost by day as humans continue physically encroach upon and pollute the last remore corners of the earth". Narrated by David Attenborough and filmed in Northern Canada, every frame of this film appears created with patience and care. People’s Choice Award - 1998 Festival

23^rd Annual Banff Festival of Mountain Films

"Best of the Festival" North American Tour

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1998

7:30 INTRODUCTION

7:40 THE FACE - SCOTLAND

8:10 PURE

8:13 LES FORÇATS DU VOLCAN

(SLAVES TO THE VOLCANO)

9:01 INTERMISSION

9:26 DOOR PRIZE DRAWS

9:41 ICE IN ICELAND

10:17 LÉGENDE DES TROPIQUES

10:43 ODE TO AVALANCHE

10:50 END

The Face - Great Climbing Adventures: Scotland Climbing

(Scotland, 1998, 30 min)

Director/Producer: Richard Else

On the southernmost tip of the Outer Hebrides is a small, uninhabited island called Pabbay. For Lynn Hill and Scotland’s best all-round climber, Dave Cuthbertson, it holds an unclimbed gem waiting for their combined talents. Lynn, a world-famous, instantly recognizable climbing personality, joins the low-profile "Cubby" to create a formidable team that even the severely overhanging "Arch" can’t repel.

Pure Sport

(Germany, 1998, 3 min)

Director: Joachim Hellinger

Producer: HelliVentures Film Productions

Two snowboarders are carving the powder slopes of the Swiss Alps on a perfect day. Snowboarding in its purest form. Skilful black-and-white cinematography reduces shapes and movement into shadow and light and transforms this ride into a psychedelic experience for the viewer. Special Jury Award - 1998 Festival

Les forçats du volcan (Slaves to the Volcano) Culture

(France, 1997, 48 min)

Directors: Patrick and Axel Charles-Messance

Producer: Protécréa, TF1

On the slopes of Cumbal, a 4800-metre-high volcano in Colombia, thirty Pastos Indian families eke out a living by exploiting its sulphur and its ice. Each day they climb with their mules up to the heights to battle icy winds and toxic fumes as they risk their lives worming their way into rock crevices and toiling in unimaginable conditions, all for 30 Francs a day. Best Film on Mountain Culture - 1998 Festival

Ice in Iceland Climbing

(USA, 1998, 36 min)

Director of Photography: Dan Mannix

Producers: Cherie Silvera, John Wilcox (in person)

In the quest to push the boundaries of ice climbing, the new genre of "mixed climbing" has emerged, where the hardest possible climbs are sought out on combined pitches of both ice and rock. X-Games winners Will Gadd and Kim Csizmazia travel to Iceland on a mission to achieve their personal best, and possibly even the world's hardest climb.

Légende des Tropiques Climbing

(France, 1996, 26 min)

Director/Producer: Rémy Tézier

Gilbert, a young climber from Réunion, has a dream to become the Island’s first local mountain guide. In this film, he learns the art of guiding and rappels some spectacular waterfalls.

Ode to Avalanche Environment

(USA, 1998, 7 min)

Director: Ken Bailey (in person)

Producers: Ken Bailey, Michael Friedman

We fall in love with Mother Nature's delicate charms, only to be enraptured by her dark side. She is a goddess, nothing but pure power, and we are enthralled. In the high mountains of the Rockies, this love affair can be fatal. Few people have ever witnessed the terrifying beauty of powder avalanches and lived to tell the tale.