Gear up for film festival

THE South African leg of the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour 2014 will screen countrywide at Ster-Kinekor’s Gateway theatre on 30 and 31 October.

Hosted by Cape Union Mart for the ninth consecutive year, the festival brings the best of adventure and outdoor lifestyle documentaries to local shores. South Africa is one of 35 countries participating in the World Tour which features a collection of action, adventure and mountain films.

Travelling from remote landscapes and cultures, to up close and personal encounters with adrenaline-packed action sports, the 2014 World Tour is an exhilarating and provocative exploration of the outdoors as captured by some of the world’s finest outdoor filmmakers. More than 300 films enter the annual Banff Mountain Film Festival competition and award-winning films and audience favourites are among the films chosen to travel the globe.

Highlights include a selection of adventure interests, from mountain biking, rock climbing, trail running and bouldering to snow skiing, stand-up paddling and base jumping.

Movies to look out for include: North of the Sun, which follows two young Norwegian adventurers discovering their own private playground tucked between the icy Atlantic Ocean and the rocky slopes of a remote, arctic island.

Keeper of The Mountain is the story of Elizabeth Hawley, who bucked the conventions of her time by settling alone in Kathmandu in 1960 where she began chronicling Himalayan expeditions for The Himalayan Database. Even as she turns 90, she continues to update these records.

The Beauty of the Irrational is a great piece of cinematography by local filmmakers Dean Leslie and captures the epic journey of South African Ryan Sandes’ record-breaking run along the Fish River Canyon Trail in Namibia.

International short films include: Ghost Town, The Sensei, The Questions We Ask, Not Bad, 35 and Split of a Second.

Visit www.banff.co.za for more information or for a sneak peek of what to expect. Ticket prices are the same as a standard movie ticket and can be booked online at www.sterkinekor.com,