Two British films were honoured at the 2009 Banff Mountain Film Festival, which took place from the 31st October to the 8th November.
A five-member international jury, representing Canada, France, Germany, the UK and USA, awarded the prize for the Best Climbing Film to Committed 2: The Walk of Life.
This 2008 Hot Aches Productions film, directed by Dave Brown and produced by Paul Diffley, maintains hand-sweating suspense as James Pearson attempts and finally succeeds on the first ascent of his ultra bold slab climb on the North Devon Coast.
Brown, with his partner Lynwen Griffiths, has since formed his own company, Bamboo Chicken Productions and the pair had their new film, To the Rainbow, reach the finals in the Climbing category. This 2009 production documents a recent visit to North Wales by Paul Pritchard, who makes an inspirational ascent of an E2 on the Rainbow Slab (Llanberis Slate) with his old climbing partner Johnny Dawes.
Brown and Griffiths, who had elected to combine a honeymoon in Canada with presenting their films at the festival, were able to take the stage and accept the award from Angela Petzold, representing the Alpine Club of Canada.
The Jury also gave a Special Mention to Dominic Gill and Ed Stobart's Take a Seat, a tightly edited production that documents Gill's 32,000km journey on a tandem bike from the north coast of Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, picking up random passengers on route.
For the concept of sharing an adventure with others during a traverse through cultures, and the sheer unpretentiousness of its execution, the jury praised Take a Seat for its 'spirit of adventure'.
Arguably the World's most prestigious Mountain Film Festival, this years Banff event, now in its 34th year, featured 62 finalists, drawn from a total entry of 277 films by producers from 28 different countries.
Of the seven main Awards and three Special Jury Mentions announced to a packed audience in the Eric Harvie theatre of the Banff Centre, two that would particularly interest alpinists are Beyond the Summits, which gained the award for the Best Feature-Length Mountain Film, the jury feeling its breathtaking and evocative alpine climbing photography the best they had ever seen, and Mont Blanc Speed Flying, which won the Best Short Mountain Film.
Beyond the Summits by Remy Tezier follows Catherine Destivelle up three differing routes in the Mont Blanc Massif with different climbing partners: Mont Blanc Speed Flying is a beautifully choreographed flight by six speed riders from the summit of the Dome de Gouter to Les Boissons, Cineflex filmed in one continuous 10-minute shot.
The overall Grand Prize, which came from the Culture Category, was awarded to Finding Farley, filmed and directed by Leanne Allison - only her second film.
This beautifully made production follows Allison's family - herself, husband, two-year-old son, and dog - as they make a 5,000km journey across Canada, retracing the literary footsteps of the celebrated Canadian author Farley Mowat, finishing at his Nova Scotia summer home.
It turned out to be a popular decision, also winning the People's Choice Award, the first time a film has done the double at Banff since 1989.
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