National Geographic and the North Face present the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour!

Join UCSC Recreation and get set to explore the edge of believable with some of the best films from the Banff Mountain Film Festival as it brings amazing stories to the big screen to the Rio Theatre, on February 19 - 21, at 7 pm. Explore exotic locations, stand on the highest peaks and be part of the gripping tales that make this year’s Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour. 
 
The 2015/2016 World Tour brings films from the 40th annual Banff Mountain Film Festival to more than 40 countries around the world. From an exploration of remote landscapes and mountain cultures to adrenaline-fueled action sports, films in this year’s world tour are sure to bring out the explorer in you.

DAY 1: FRI, FEB 19 / 7 PM / Rio THEATRE (approx. 133 min.)

Pretty Faces (special edit)
USA, 2014, (11 min) Filmmaker: Lynsey Dyer
Classification: General; no advisory
Celebrate women who thrive in the snow! Follow her as she chases snow, from the time she needs to be lifted onto the chairlift to her first Alaskan dream line and beyond.

The Last Dragons
USA, 2014, (10 min) Filmmakers: Jeremy Monroe, David Herasimtschuk
Classification: General; no advisory
An intimate glimpse at North America's Eastern Hellbender, an ancient salamander as mythical as it is real. And in many waters, myths are all that remain of these sentinel stream-dwellers.

Operation Moffat
Special Jury Mention
UK, 2015, (20 min) Filmmakers: Jen Randall, Claire Carter, Alex Messenger
Classification: General; no advisory
Operation Moffat takes inspiration and wit from the colorful climbing life of Britain’s first female mountain guide Gwen Moffat. Writer Claire Carter and filmmaker Jen Randall scramble, swim and barefoot climb through Gwen’s landscapes, grappling with her preference for mountains over people, adventure over security and wilderness over tick lists.

Chasing Niagara (special edit)
Best Film – Mountain Sports – sponsored by Sea & Summit
USA, 2015, (31 min) Filmmakers: Red Bull Media House GmbH, Rush Sturges
Classification: Parental Guidance; sports accident, coarse language
When pro kayaker Rafa Ortiz decides to paddle over Niagara Falls, he sets in motion a series of events leading his team on a remarkable two-year journey from Mexican rainforest rivers to the waterfalls of the U.S. Northwest before coming to a heart-stopping climax at the iconic falls.

- intermission -

Nature Rx
USA, 2015, (1 min) Filmmaker: Justin Bogardus
Classification: General; no Advisory
Is life a little too mundane or overwhelming? Feeling tired, irritable or stressed out? Maybe Nature Rx is just the ticket.

Kroger’s Canteen
(2015, South Africa, 8 min) Filmmakers: Greg Fell, Dean Leslie
Classification: General; coarse language
In 2014, Kilian Jornet won the Hardrock 100 mile race through the San Juan’s of Colorado. Along the way he stopped at Kroger’s Canteen – an aid station perched on a tiny ledge, 13,100ft above sea level. This is a story about that aid station, about the people who make it happen, and about the spirit one can only find at the Hardrock 100

Paddle for the North (special edit)
(2015, New Zealand, 27 min) Filmmaker: Alexander Behse, Simon Lucas
Classification: Parental Guidance; coarse language
On an adventure of a lifetime, six young guys paddle to some of the most remote rivers in North America. It's a 1,500 km, 63- day mission to truly discover the secrets of the north and to show the world why some places are worth preserving before they are changed forever.

unReal (special edit)
(2015, USA, 12min) Filmmaker: Teton Gravity Research
Classification: General; no advisory
Imagine a world where you ride the perfect trail perfectly, and sometime snow isn’t the only stuff that falls from the sky. When you spend all of your time at work dreaming about mountain biking, which life is real?

Women’s Speed Ascent
(2015, USA, 4 min) Filmmakers: Keith Ladzinski, Chris Alstrin
Classification: Parental Guidance; Coarse language
Mayan Smith-Gobat and Libby Sauter knew that the women's speed record for the ascent of The Nose on El Cap was theirs for the taking. Crushing the old record after just a few days of attempts, Mayan and Libby put their names in the record book of the infamous route in the Yosemite National Park.

Denali
(2015, USA, 8 min) Filmmakers: Ben Moon, Ben Knight
Classification: General, no advisory
There's no easy way to say goodbye to a friend, especially when they've supported you through your darkest times. A collaboration between Ben Knight, Skip Armstrong and Ben Moon.

DAY 2: SAT, FEB 20 / 7 PM / Rio THEATRE (approx. 129 min.)

Sounds of Paragliding
(2014, France, 4min) Filmmaker: Shams
Classification: General; no advisory
Listen to nature’s harmony while aerobatic paragliding pilot The?o de Blic dances to the sounds of the sky.

Climbing Ice: The Iceland Trifecta
(2015, USA, 17 min) Filmmakers: Chris MacAskill, Anton Lorimer
Classification: Parental Guidance; coarse language
Join award-winning photographer Tim Kemple and ice climbers Klemen Premrl and Rahel Schelb for an expedition to Iceland’s Vatnajo?kull Glacier to discover new ways to push the boundaries of climbing ice.

Unbranded (special edit)
People’s Choice Award – sponsored by Osprey
(2015, USA, 46 min) Filmmakers: Dennis Aig, Phillip Baribeau
Classification: Parental Guidance; coarse language
Four men and 16 wild mustangs set off on a 5000 kilometre journey across the American West from Mexico to Canada. In the spirit of true adventure, whiskey is drunk, tempers fly, tragedy strikes, and the bonds of friendship hold fast. But can the journey help save the plight of the wild horses roaming on public lands? Only time will tell.
- intermission -
The Important Places
Best Short Mountain Film – Sponsored by the North Face
(2015, USA, 9 min) Filmmaker: Gnarly Bay, Forest Woodward
Classification: General; coarse language
Using a mix of old 16mm footage and new visuals, a son rediscovers the necessity of returning to and protecting “the important places” in our lives.

Darklight (special edit)
(2015, USA, 5 min) Filmmaker: Rachel Franks, Matt O’Connor, Zac Ramras, Mike Brown
Classification: General; no advisory
In 2014, the award winning film Afterglow followed skiers down impossibly lit, virgin powder slopes in the dead of night. Get ready for the sequel, this time on two wheels.

Project Mina (special edit)
(2014, UK, 17 min) Filmmaker: Jen Randall
Classification: General; no advisory
A rare, intimate, behind-the-scenes look at the life of pro climber Mina Leslie-Wujastyk during a season on the world cup bouldering circuit.

Eclipse
Best Film – Snow Sports – sponsored by Bergans of Norway
(2015, Canada, 31 min) Filmmaker: Anthony Bonello, Switchback Entertainment
Classification: Parental Guidance; coarse language
The odds are low, the risks are high – photographer Reuben Krabbe is determined to capture a photo of a skier in front of the 2015 solar eclipse in Svalbard. But the weather’s bad, the guide is sketchy, the pressure is massive and the skiers just want to ski.

DAY 3: SUN, FEB 21 / 7 PM / Rio THEATRE (approx. 131 min.)

55 Hours in Mexico
(2015, USA, 9 min) Filmmakers: Joey Schusler, Karl Thompson, Thomas Woodson
Classification: Parental Guidance; coarse language
Fly to Veracruz on a Friday, rent a car, climb the third-highest peak in North America, ski down and return to your desk Monday. How hard could it be?

The Warmth of Winter
(2015, USA, 6 min) Filmmakers: Ben Sturgulewski, Philip Drake, Erme Catino, Stephan Drake Classification: General; no advisory
Outside, the snow flies and the wind roars. But here, quiet and safe in the candlelight, the warmth and the wood wrap around you like a blanket, and the mind melts into reflections of days gone by. Take shelter from the storm. Sit down by the fire, have a drink, and take a load off. There is no warmth like a warmth found in winter.

Salween Spring
(2015, USA, 9 min) Filmmaker: Will Stauffer-Norris
Classification: General; no advisory
Travis Winn has been running rivers in China for 15 years. He’s explored first descents, but also watched rivers disappear behind dams. Now he’s founded a rafting company to bring Chinese to see their rivers before they’re gone. Salween Spring is Travis’s meditation on change, personal struggle, and kayaking along China’s frontier.

REEL ROCK 10: A Line Across the Sky
Best Film – Climbing – sponsored by Alpine Club of Canada
(2015, USA, 40 min) Filmmakers: Peter Mortimer, Josh Lowell
Classification: Parental Guidance; coarse language
Long considered impossible, coveted by many and attempted by a few, the Fitz Traverse has fueled the imaginations of climbers in Patagonia for decades. Tracing the iconic skyline of Cerro Fitz Roy and its six satellite peaks, it spans four miles and 13,000 feet across snow and ice-covered rock, with epic route finding and endless rapelling. Seizing their chance during a rare extended weather window, Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold went big. The pair completed the first ascent in a five-day push during February 2014.

- intermission -

Paradise Waits (special edit)
(2015, USA, 7 min) Filmmakers: Teton Gravity Research
Classification: General; no advisory
How do you celebrate winter when snow finally falls? Freeskier Tim Durtschi takes tram laps at Jackson Hole and big mountain skier Angel Collinson rips up some Alaskan lines.

Voyagers Without Trace (special edit)
(2015, USA, 46 min) Filmmaker: Ian McCluskey
Classification: General; coarse language
In 1938, three Parisians pushed off from a Wyoming riverbank to attempt the first kayak exploration of the notoriously wild Green and Colorado rivers—and they recorded their journey, creating the first colour adventure film. The reels went unseen for 75 years, until Ian McCluskey spotted the trio on a roadside marker, sending him on his own adventure to discover more.

Bluehue
(2015, UK, 5 min) Filmmaker: Natasha Brooks
Classification: Parental Guidance; nudity
Natasha Brooks swims naked year-round in the cold mountain lakes of Snowdonia, Wales. Through this she finds solitude, grounding and a deep connection to the natural environment. Winner of the British Mountaineering Council’s 2014 Women in Adventure Film Competition.

Builder (special edit)
(2015, Canada, 9 min) Filmmakers: Julian Coffey, Scott Secco
Classification: General; coarse language
Some people grow up and leave childish things behind. Others just take their childhood dreams and turn them up to 11 as they age. Building trails and tricks for your mountain bike never gets old, no matter your age.