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Films 2008

page updated 8 August 2008
 

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The programme includes films from the Banff World Tour - bringing you the current and best award winning adventure and outdoor themed films to Dundee.

The audience get the chance to vote for their favourite film - "The People's Choice". Each voting slip goes into a draw for the chance to win two nights bed and breakfast for two people at the famous Clachaig Inn at Glencoe. Drawn after the interval on Saturday evening.

 

20 Seconds of Joy. Germany, 2007, 60 minutes

Directed by Jens Hoffmann and Produced by Clenonice Comino. ‘I don’t want to die, I want to live. I’m pretty good at running away, and this is my escape!’ This is how Karina Hollekim describes her dedication to BASE jumping. Documentary filmmaker Jens Hoffmann first met the now 30-year old Norwegian in 2002. He immediately started to film, planning a to follow Karina over a long period, trying to understand why a young woman would challenge herself mentally and physically in such an extreme sport. Jens accompanies her through many stages of her BASE-jumping career, until it comes to a sudden stop and changes all aspects of her life. Best Film on Mountain Sports and Peoples’ Choice Award (Banff Mountain Film Festival 2007)

Ain't Got No Friends on a Powder Day. Switzerland, 2007, 5 minutes

Directed and Produced by Nicolas and Loris Falquet. Loris is a ‘classic’ freerider, Jean-Yves, however, has a more or less ‘accidental’ style. This film draws a parallel between two styles, and two approaches to the same mountain, which are otherwise worlds apart. A Banff World Tour Film.

 

 

 

Badgered. UK, 2005, 7 minutes

Directed by Sharon Colman and Produced by Jamie Wolpert. The tale of a badger who just wants the world to let him sleep. Badgered had an Oscar nomination in 2006 in the Best Short Animated Film category. Best Film on Mountain Environment (Banff Mountain Film Festival 2007). A Banff World Tour Film.

 

Balance. Canada, 2006, 13 minutes

Directed and Produced by Paul Cotton. ‘Balance’ is a look into the rapidly growing world of new-school skiing. As the title suggest, the film profiles all aspects of the sport: big mountain lines, terrain parks and half pipes, and jibbing. With a refreshing mix of high-energy shots cut to an upbeat soundtrack, the audience is challenged to judge whether these athletes are crazy or just extremely talented, or maybe both. The athletes balance their desires to progress their skills with the obvious safety risks associated with high-calibre skiing. A Banff World Tour Film.

Cross Country with the Snakes. USA, 2007, 13 minutes

Directed and Produced by Hansi Johnson. ‘Cross-country with the Snakes’ is a short film about a Nordic skiing punk band. It documents a tour with the ‘Black-eyed Snakes’ as they ski all day and play rock at night. Nordic skiing, long portrayed as serene and classical, is cast in a new light as exciting and dynamic through the lens of punk/blues rock and fast-action photography. A Banff World Tour Film. Nordic skiing is cool. It's official.

 

Encounters at the End of the World. USA, 2007, 99 minutes

Directed by Werner Herzog and produced by Discovery Films. The South Pole has always fascinated scientists, adventurers and eccentric men, including the most renowned of them, Ernest Shackleton, who ventured to that far away place a century ago. In ‘Encounters at the End of the World’, Herzog travels to Antarctica, to McMurdo Research Station on the Isle of Ross, the headquarters of the National Science Foundation. From there, he ventured into a science-fiction landscape, from the depths under the ice of Ross Sea, to the slopes of the volcano Erebrus. During his journey, Herzog experiences many different encounters, some surrealistic, some absurd, others deeply touching. The people who have just arrived at McMurdo station get ready to face the most extreme environment, walking on the ice with a bucket on their head to simulate blindness in case of a snow blizzard. A team of diving scientists discover by chance three new species of living creatures in the same day. A Cape Royds expert who studies penguins, describes them as animals often having aberrant and mad behaviour … Along the journey, Herzog’s unmistakable voice, considers the fundamental topics of his work, such as the mystery and violence of nature and images captured at the far end of the Earth.

Entropy. Norway, 2006, 15 minutes

Directed and Produced by Morten Gjerstad. ‘Entropy’ documents the most progressive season in snowkiting so far. Join some of the world’s best riders across the globe as they search for the ultimate snow and wind conditions. Along the way, they reinvent snowkiting by taking a new-school approach and pushing the limit of wakestyle manoeuvres. A Banff World Tour Film. "Its a blinder".

Granite in Spires. UK, 2008, 37 minutes

Directed and Produced by Jim Osborne. Scots Jim Osborne, Rob MacCallum, Mike Schauch, Joe Taylor, Steve George and George Galluch climb Bugaboo Spire and Pigeon Spire in the footsteps of Austrian born guide Conrad Kain in Canada’s British Columbia. Imaginative and metaphorical writing and beautiful narration describe the ascents and descents of two of the Bugaboos granite skyscraper towers. I guarantee that if you see this film, you will be checking out map, guidebook and flights to visit this amazing area for yourself. Inspiring, of course.

Great Day for Climbing. USA, 2007, 7 minutes

Directed and Produced by Stephen Burgess. A sleepy climber has trouble distinguishing dream from reality as his climbing buddy bursts into song at the most inopportune moments. Who are these guys dancing in his driveway? A Banff World Tour Film. A break from the adrenaline laced extreme climbing films!

Ice Mines. Canada, 2007, 30 minutes

Directed and Produced by Will Gadd. What’s an ice climber to do in the age of global warming? Go underground. Deep underground. Five years ago, Will Gadd heard rumours of ice hidden in the blackness of abandoned mines in Sweden. This is the story of what Gadd and his friend Spak found. You all loved Will's talk last year, and his two amazing films (Aweberg and Grand Canyon Dreams, and you won't be disappointed with Ice Mines. A Banff World Tour Film.

 

 

Il Neige a Marrakech. Switzerland,2006,15 minutes.

Directed by Hicham Alhayat. Produced by Bord Cadre Films

. "It snows in Marrakech".To fulfill the last wish of his dying father, who has always dreamt of skiing in Switzerland, Karim (who lives in Geneva), his son, tries to obtain a visa for him. The visa denied, Karim decides to take his father to Oukaimeden, a Morrocon Atlas ski resort, and make him believe he is really in the Swiss Alps. Assisted by his best friend, his sister, and by a very special restuarant keeper, he will display treasures of imagination in offering his father a most unforgettable day. This film won the Silver Gentian Award for the Best Short Film at the Trento Mountain Film festival 2008. Touching. With sub titles.

 

In-Flux. France, 2005, 17 minutes

Directed and Produced by David Arnaud. ‘in-Flux’ is about the true meaning of paddling – the perpetual need to go out and travel the globe in your kayak in search of this little something you can find nowhere else than on a river. Whether it be adrenaline-driven action, unexpected cultural experiences, inaccessible natural wonders or, more generally, strong and unique moments, you’ll find it in this movie! A Banff World Tour Film.

Iran - A Mountain Journey Part 1). Ireland, 2004, 50 minutes

Directed and Produced by John Murray. Irish writer and mountaineer Dermot Somers travels with a group of nomads on a spectacular mountain journey across Iran. Dermot’s hosts are a family of shepherds who travel 400 kilometres on foot across a forgotten corner of his extraordinary country. Stunning landscapes and a forgotten tribe reveal aspects of Iranian life almost never seen in the West.

Islenska. France, 2007, 26 minutes

Directed by Cécile Cusin. Produced by Jordan Campbell. Lured by timeless volcanoes, sweeping glaciers, and medieval landscapes, three journalists and friends descend on Iceland, an island of mystery and intrigue, isolated high in the North Atlantic Ocean, cresting the artic circle. The trio aims to ski the country’s impressive volcanoes, glaciers and share a lighthearted journey together, but they are also committed to go beyond and unearth Iceland’s untold stories; whether it’s the overwhelming forces of nature, the country’s remarkable sustainable energy usage or secret myths sewn in the tapestry of the culture for hundreds of years.

Islenska is a nuevo-style documentary that celebrates an island nation's remarkable people and natural beauty. It is a film that captures one team's vision of what is Icelandic - "islenska" - spiced by music from Icelandic artists Wulfgang and Hermigervill.

 

Krypt. Germany, 2007, 7 minutes

Directed and Produced by Lars Nagler. ‘Krypt’ is an artistic 3D animation video that investigates the topic of Man and Earth. It is a sensitive and refined carousel of musical and visual images and sensations, all inspired, according to its author, by Thomas Lehr, Ludwig Klages e Coil. A Banff World Tour Film.

La Jeune Fille Et Les Loups (The Maiden and the Wolves). France, 2006, 110 min

Directed by Gilles Legrand and Produced by Frédéric Brillion. After the First World War, twenty year old Angèle is determined to become the first female vet. Having a particular passion for wolves, Angèle moved to the Alps with the main purpose of saving some wolf packs from extinction. Her adventurous spirit forced her to get involved in a furious struggle among her fellow citizens, thus becoming the object of ruthless rivalry. In fact she is helped by a visionary unscrupulous industrialist and by a simple man who lives like a hermit in the mountains, in total symbiosis with the animals and far from the mad crowd. Angèle will provoke their differences in order to reach her true goal: to save her beloved wolves.

Messner. USA, 2002, 47 minutes

Written and Directed by Les Guthman. The first documentary on Reinhold Messner, the world's greatest mountaineer, since Werner Herzog's "Dark Glow of the Mountains" in 1984. Messner looks back over his career with surprising candor and self-revelation. His solo climb of Mt. Everest without using bottled oxygen, in 1980, was described by Jon Krakauer as "a deed widely regarded as the greatest mountaineering feat of all time." Previous films produced by Les Guthman, shown at Dundee include "Farther than the Eye can see" and "Into the Tsangpo Gorge".

King Lines: Es Pontas. USA, 2007, 13 minutes

Directed and Produced by Josh Lowell and Peter Mortimer. A segment from King Lines, filmed on location in Mallorca, Spain. This spectacular piece captures Chris Sharma's challenging ascent of the Es Pontas arch. Deep water soloing at its best. Sharma, age 26, is generally recognised as the best climber in the world, the king of the king line. “I’ve always been dreaming of finding the biggest, most badass line you can imagine,” he says. “The line that’s just calling out to you, beckoning to be climbed. That’s the king line.” A Banff World Tour Film, this film has proved very popular at other festivals.

 

 

 

Reticent Wall. Germany, 2004, 30 minutes.

Directed and produced by Stipe Bozic.
One of the world’s most respected Alpinists, Tomaž Humar from Slovenia, solo climbs one of hardest technical routes in the world, A5, on Reticent Wall, on El Capitan at Yosemite. In its award of the Silver Gentian for the Best Mountaineering Film (Trento Film Festival 2001), the jury remarked that ‘Tomaž Humar exemplifies the leading edge of today’s alpinism. The film shows both a perspective of super alpinism and difficult technical rock climbing. To solve the most difficult and dangerous aid route on A5 Reticent wall, on El Cap shows a tenacity and diversity most climbers only aspire to.’

The Western Lands - Hoy. UK, 2007, 9 minutes

Directed and Produced by Grant Gee. Writer Jim Perrin’s attempted climb of the Old Man of Hoy on his 60th birthday. A poetic documentary of love, loss, and landscape under the dying of the light. Best Short Mountain Film at the Banff Mountain Film Festival 2007. Contains suggestive language. A Banff World Tour Film.

Towers of Paine. UK, 1962, 25 minutes

Edited by Leo Dickension

Leo Dickinson’s re-editing of the classic first ascent of the Central Tower of Paine in Patagonia. The 44 year old original footage was salvaged from a loft and shows Chris Bonnington and Don Willans in action. Readings from Don’s journal add depth and a recreation of a double rope snapping incident adds the necessary spice. What marks this film apart is the film stock which makes the image seem to glow and the leisurely pace Leo has treated the edit. It makes a refreshing contrast to many contemporary films and modern digital film makers could be well served by taking note. Hilarious.

Trial and Error. Canada, 2006, 8 minutes

Directed and Produced by Bjørn Enga. Mountain biker Ryan Leech sets out to ride a very challenging trail in the coastal mountains of British Columbia. During his attempts at riding the trail, he reflects on the erroneous ways in which our society keeps clear-cutting its forests and how he feels about this. Peoples’ Choice Award for Radical Reels (Banff Mountain Film Festival 2007). A Banff World Tour Film. Awesome control and artistry.

 

White Men Can Jump (Gravity Chasers 2). UK, 2008, 7 minutes

Directed by Robb Wallace, Produced by Richard Steel. A short film exploring the underground scene of bridge and cliff jumping in the Highlands of Scotland. If it’s high enough, dangerous enough and above water, they’ll jump off it! See if you can recognise the locations of the stunts. An earlier film by these film makers(Gravity Chaser 1 would you believe) won the People's Choice Award at the Edinburgh Mountain Film Festival last year, and this year's effort will also have the voters jumping for joy. Some subtitles in English where appropriate! Complete madness.