The Banff Mountain Film Festival is the crème de la crème of outdoor and film showcases, and this year was no exception. This year’s festival took place this past week, and the winners cover a range of topics from ski-racing Afghan youths to Mongolian conservation and everything in between. Let’s look at a few of the winners. And while you’re at it, check out the always spectacular trailer, just below.
Grand Prize and Audience Choice: Champions of the Golden Valley
This tale of passion and politics set in rural Afghanistan wowed judges and the Banff audience alike. It follows a group of young Afghan skiers in a friendly rivalry as they pit their skills against each other, sometimes using makeshift wooden ski equipment. Village girls even begin to take part in the burgeoning pastime.
But following the U.S. withdrawal in 2021, the Taliban returned to the region, forcing all involved to radically change their lives once again.
A still from “Champions of the Golden Valley.” Photo: Banff Mountain Film Festival
ExplorersWeb editor-in-chief Jerry Kobalenko said of Champions of the Golden Valley, “This labor of love was years in the making, and the unexpected return of the Taliban added a dark edge to what began as a feel-good story about the discovery of outdoor sports in Central Asia.”
Best Adventure: 109 Below
The icy 109 Below chronicles a fateful rescue attempt on New Hampshire’s ferocious Mount Washington — a mountain famously known to have “the worst weather in the world.” The rescue in question takes place in 1983, but the events of 109 Below continue to resonate today.
“Directed with empathy and gravitas, the narrative spans decades of moral reconciliation in a mere 14 minutes while opening up a debate it can’t hope to resolve,” jury member Brian Johnson noted.
Best Environment: The Giants
The Giants weaves two narratives as closely together as tree roots: the intertwined stories of politician and conservation activist Bob Brown and the giant trees he fights so hard to protect.
A still from ‘The Giants.’ Photo: Banff Mountain Film Festival
Using lush live-action cinematography paired with gorgeously rendered animation, the film examines the dueling powers at war for the soul of the Australian landscape: human passion for wild places and the human desire for resources.
Best Mountain Sports: Big Water Theory
If you haven’t heard of Nouria Newman, French extreme kayaking phenom, you’re in for a treat. Big Water Theory is as good a place as any to start learning about the skilled and ambitious Newman. The film follows her on a quest to make the first female descent of the Indus River’s Rondu Gorge.
A still from ‘Big Water Theory.’ Photo: Banff Mountain Film Festival
“Ultimately, this is a story of small humans bravely facing vast nature — tiny figurines in plastic kayaks amid the foaming, powerful waters of the Indus, seemingly on the brink of disaster yet miraculously making it down the rapids unscathed, jury member Masha Gordon shared. “Is it luck or skill? Mostly the former, with just a touch of the latter.”
While you’re waiting for Big Water Theory to hit streaming services, go check out some of Newman’s other adventures.
Best Mountain Culture: Mongolia, Valley of the Bears
Jury member Brian Johnson described Mongolia, Valley of the Bears as a “movie of many genres. A cinematic spectacle that distills poetry from landscape. An eco-documentary too complex to be doctrinaire. A character drama with a trickster protagonist. A western about an enforcer who fights an outlaw band of poachers by recruiting warriors from their ranks.”
A still from ‘Mongolia, Valley of the Bears.’ Photo: Banff Mountain Film Festival
At its heart, the film is about former hunter turned ranger Jal Tumursukh as conservation efforts and traditional cultural practices clash across the vast Mongolian landscape.
Other winners
Here are the remaining winners across the Banff Mountain Film Festival’s other categories. According to the festival, all of the winning films will be available online in the U.S. and Canada from November 6-13.
Best Climbing: Adra
Best Snowsports: Wild Days
Best Feature: Ashima
Best Short Film: The Bird in my Backyard
Creative Excellence Award: The Smoke that Thunders
Special Jury Mention: The Last Observers, Sadpara
