Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival
Sunday March 28th, 2010 Miner's Hall (Rossland, BC)
Expedition Manaslu – Moving Adventures (30 min)
In fall 2007 both Munich-based extreme alpinists Benedikt Böhm and Sebastian Haag took off to Nepal to climb „Manaslu“ (8.163 m). Accompanied by the French junior alpinist Nicolas Bonnet they wanted to reach the eighth highest peak of the planet at top speed and ski down again - right through the death zone. But the weather conditions were very bad. In base camp everybody had to stay calm, waiting for the prefect day to start. The climbers made several attempts and had already established some higher camps on the mountain. But then an avalanche struck and destroyed everything. After that the expedition was teetering on the brink of collapse. Fortunately, the forecasters give them the green light again. So Beni, Basti and Nicolas set off immediately and 200 meters below summit they have to make a difficult decision.
Bro vs Mtn – Brock Anderson (15 min)
Bro vs. Mtn tries to capture the light side of the struggles a “bro” may encounter when riding his bike on the mountainous trails. The film follows loveable ginger, Wylie Easton as he travels alongside film maker Brock Anderson through the BC Interior, the Lower Mainland and the North Shore of Vancouver, hitting all of our favourite riding spots along the way. With the yellow and red leaves on the ground, we can expect some wet, tacky trails along the way.
What would Darwin think? Man vs nature in the Galapagos - Jon Bowermaster (25 min)
After Charles Darwin first visited the island archipelago of Galapagos in 1839, it took him another twenty years to decipher the scene he’d witnessed, the most perfectly preserved biodiversity on the planet. His theory of evolution – published 150 years ago – pulled back the curtain on a debate that had been simmering for years, and still percolates. Today Darwin would be surprised by the tourist Mecca Galapagos has become; 200,000 visitors a year, 40,000 permanent residents. The impact on the most unique collection of endemic wildlife in the world has been heavy; too many people bringing too many of their ways (and invasive species) from the outside world threatening the future of this one-of-a-kind place. What would Darwin think of how Galapagos has evolved in the twenty/first century?
The Argentine Project – Freeride Entertainment (7 min)
3 friends taking a trip and hoping to create a mountain bike flick with one bike, 2 cameras… and a little Spanish.
It all started with 3 friends taking a trip and hoping to create a mountain bike film with one bike, 2 cameras… and a little Spanish. All in it for the journey first and the project second, the small crew sets out into an unknown land which proves to be more than they could have ever imagined.
Samsara - Renan Oztruk (19 min)
In the heart of the lofty, knife-sharp Vindhya Mountains in India sits a 2200 m rock and ice route that resembles a massive shark fin and rises from the ocean of crags. This fin, which is twice as long as anything on El Capitan and just as steep, has denied many notable climbers from reaching its summit.
In Samsara Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin and Renan Ozturk set out to attempt a first ascent. The film is woven together with art, journal excerpts and still photography. Produced by the athletes, Samara is an unfiltered perspective into a powerful Himalayan climbing experience. The team spends 20 days of life on the cliff face with ten days of food through major storm cycles on a hanging platform smaller than the size of a single bed. They push to the very edge of what they thought possible and rediscover why they are drawn to suffer in such sacred and beautiful places.
Here's the thing: The sacred peak, Meru, is said in mythology to be the center of the universe, but can you climb to the center of the universe?
Tera Antarctica – Rediscovering the Seventh Continent - Jon Bowermaster (49 min)
For six weeks adventurer Jon Bowermaster and his team explor the Antarctic Peninsula by sea kayak, sailboat, foot and small plane, observing the fast changing evolution of this most remote place. Impacted by climate change / temperatures have warmed along the Peninsula faster than anywhere on the planet during the past 50 years – this part of Antarctica is also experiencing a boom in tourism and nations fighting over who owns what as its ice slowly disappears. This National Geographic sponsored exploration is one-of-a-kind look at Antarctica from a unique perspective – sea level.
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