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The Daily Wildcat

The Daily Wildcat

 

    Film festival spotlights mountain culture

    Banff Film Festival, one of the largest mountain festivals in the world, will appear at Fox Tucson Theatre this weekend. The festival will showcase footage of mountain-based adrenaline sports, adventure, travel and environments around the world.

    The 50 best mountain films in the festival were shown in November in Banff, Canada, at a nine-day long event. Those films were narrowed down to selected nights for the Banff Film Festival’s road tour, which spans 40 countries.

    Adventures that will be shown include climbing, biking, snowboarding, wingsuit flying, ski jumping and paddling. For the Tucson presentation of the mountain festival, selectors chose films based on factors such as range of adventure, geographic location and environmental consciousness.

    This is the 35th year of the festival, which originally began as a tour across three cities in Canada. Banff organizers aim to connect mountain filmmakers with larger audiences.

    “It’s a travelling outdoor adventure film festival,” said Landon Vincent, marketing manager for Summit Hut and one of the selection members for the films. “We chose based off what looks impactful, what looks great. We want to get a good mix of sports, so that also plays a role in deciding.”

    The proceeds from the festival support five local outdoor nonprofits: the Cienega Watershed Partnership, Friends of Catalina State Park, Southern Arizona Climbers Coalition, Southern Arizona Rescue Association and Sierra Club (Rincon Group).

    The local mountainous regions are what attracted the Banff Film Festival. Tucson is surrounded by five mountain ranges: the Rincon Mountains to the east, Tucson Mountains to the west, Santa Catalina Mountains in the north, Santa Rita Mountains in the south and the Tortolita Mountains to the northwest.

    “Tucson has an amazing outdoor community,” Vincent said. “Seeing that brought to film through the festival is a real treat. It inspires people to go out and explore their own adventure. You leave the evening just wanting to go out in nature and do something amazing.”

    The Banff Centre partners with National Geographic and The North Face to show the diverse range of activities in the mountains.

    “We’re all used to seeing our own landscapes. These films are a chance to show some of the exotic landscapes and cultures with these adrenaline-packed sports,” said Tamara Mack, the house manager of the Fox Tucson Theatre.

    The festival shows at the Fox Tucson Theatre on Friday and Saturday night at 7 p.m. and doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets are $15 for one night or $25 for both nights.

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