The Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival (BCMFF) is heading back up the Sea to Sky highway.
Festival organizers launched an outreach program in 1986 to bring their event and its plethora of quality adventure sports filmmaking to other communities. The tour started with just three locations, but has become a globe-trotting affair that spans North America and beyond: Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Argentina, etc.
Naturally, Whistler and Squamish are in on the fun.
A pair of screenings will take place March 28 and 29 in the Maury Young Arts Centre, while Howe Sound Secondary School (HSSS) is to host another session come April 16. Each of these nights is presented by local sporting goods store Mt. Waddington Outdoors.
"The Banff Centre doesn't just let anybody host the event," said Oli Kennedy, Mt. Waddington's marketing manager. "It has to be someone they vet and someone they think works for the community. For us as a gear store, it's kind of the fun stuff. These are extracurricular events that we really like to host. It gets people seeing and doing the sports we love.
"Our team works in the shop because they are just super passionate about the sports they do, whether they're a backcountry skier, a kayaker or paraglider. Whatever it is, they love talking about it and helping people get their gear. To be part of a company that organizes the event and can put this [film festival] on really means a lot."
Mt. Waddington was founded by Sam Waddington in 2012 as a business based in Chilliwack. Its Whistler location opened this past Christmas, and despite the whirlwind of holiday activity, Kennedy says "the feedback from everyone has been incredible."
Moving for the mountains
Kennedy and his colleagues are giving back to their community by providing all kinds of recreational equipment. They've also leveraged the BCMFF as a fundraising vehicle.
Ticket sales in Whistler will go towards the Spearhead Huts Society, which has been busy upgrading the Kees and Claire Memorial Hut (K+C) and looking to build a new hut on Mount Macbeth. Whistler Secondary School (WSS) representatives, meanwhile, are going to organize a raffle draw to raise money for its outdoor leadership program.
Squamish's event is primed to support outdoor recreation initiatives at HSSS by way of proceeds and a raffle as well.
"Passing on our love for these sports is really important. Someone like me didn't grow up in the mountains—I'm from the U.K., a small town called Burnley. You would probably only know it if you're a football fan," Kennedy revealed. "I've moved here specifically for [recreation] and I think there's a lot of people who are in that position where they move for the mountains. Passing on that excitement and love for it is really important."
According to Kennedy, at least one local filmmaker will showcase his content at the Maury Young. Seth Gillis recently finished Welcome to the Pit, a ski movie based in Yellowknife. He plans to be on hand to introduce his flick and address the crowd.
Escape Route, Kennedy's old place of employment, had partnered with the BCMFF until filing for bankruptcy last summer. He is grateful it didn't take long for the festival to discover a new home in Whistler.
"Personally, I love movies and I always feel very inspired by watching people do really incredible things," said Kennedy, who is an avid backcountry skier and trail runner. "To be able to have [the BCMFF] here is exciting, and to be a part of that means a lot to me."
Visit mtwaddingtons.com/collections/banff-film-festival for tickets and more details about the upcoming BCMFF events in the Sea to Sky.
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