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Films 2008

page updated 9 November 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.

 

Bezad's Last Journey. Ireland, 2004, 56 min

Produced and Directed by John Murray. Irish writer and mountaineer Dermot Somers travels with a group of nomads on a spectacular mountain journey across Iran. The Qashqua’i are native Iranian nomadic herders who spend their lives on a gruelling migration across the Zagros mountains. With unprecedented access to one of the world’s most insular and secretive countries, this film follows Bazad, a charismatic and highly articulate Qashqua’I shepherd on his spectacular 500 kilometre migration across the mountains of Iran.

Blindsight. UK/Tibet, 2006, 1hr 47 min)

Directed by Lucy Walker. Set against the breathtaking backdrop of the Himalayas, Blindsight follows the gripping adventure of six Tibetan teemagers who set out to climb the 23,000 foot Lhakpa Ri on the north side of Mount Everest. This seemingly impossible challenge is made all the more remarkable by the fact that the teenagers are blind. Shown at Dundee Contemporary Arts, Sunday 30 November 1800hrs.

 

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.

 

 

 

Death on Nanga Parbet (Tod am Nanga Parbet - Die Messner-Tragödie), Germany,2004, 44 min

Directed by Ludwig Ott. Showing at Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA) on Thursday 27th November at 1800hrs, together with the documentary "Messner". This film about the tragic death of Reinhold Messner's brother on Nanga Parbet features film material, photographs taken in extreme conditions of the ascent, and interviews with participants of previous expeditions who talk for the first time on camera about the tragic event.

 

Don't Die, UK, 2008, 20 min

Produced and Directed by Joe French and John Sutherland. A new home grown film on Dave MacLeod 's current work on the North Face of Ben Nevis, which proves equally challenging for both climber and cameraman!

 

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 and Irishman Gerry Galligan climb Bugaboo and Pigeon Spires in the footsteps of Austrian born guide Conrad Kain in Canada’s British Columbia. The guys were joined on Kain Route by Canadians Joe Taylor and Mike Schauch. Some helmet camera footage was shot on the crux of Kain Route by an Australian climber (Stuart Keynes). 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 restaurant 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 Days of Old, UK, 1958, 10 minutes

This is a black and white silent movie taken by Ben H Humble in 1958 and commemorated the 50th anniversary of The Ladies Scottish Climbing Club. It features members of the club climbing on The Campsies (Jenny's Lung) in 1908 Edwardian dress. After a simulated sleep the ladies awake to see the contrasting styles of 1958 ! The three ladies climbing are Betty Stark, Peggy Carlaw nŽe Rae, Elma Wrench, and the two ladies near the end of the film are Hazel Scott and Rona Dickson, later Mrs Tom Weir. Shown with permission of the Scottish Film Screen Archive.

 

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.

 

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.

 

 

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.

 

Messner. USA, 2003, 47 minutes.

Directed by Les Guthman. Showing at Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA) on Thursday 27th November at 1800hrs, together with Death on Nanga Parbet (Tod am Nanga Parbet - Die Messner-Tragödie), this is a fascinating documentary chronicling the fables and controversial mountaineering career of Reinhold Messner. The film includes footage of his 1978 climb of Everest, when he and Peter Habeler stunned the world ny being the first to summit Everest without using supplementary oxygen.

 

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. This film contains some suggestive language. A Banff World Tour Film.

 

Towers of Paine. UK, 1963/2007, 25 minutes

Filmed and Directed by Vic Bray. Production by Leo Dickinson. 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 Bonington and Don Whillans 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. Leo's films, including this on with hilarious extras, can be purchased from his website, Adventure Archive

Training Day. UK, 2008, 8 min

Produced and Directed by Claire MacLeod. Dave MacLeod is training for a new traditional route at his limit. The only way to test his confidence is on very hard moves with the protection removed. So he decides to solo a sport climb (graded 8c) in Spain that is very close to his physical limit of climbing.

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.