Something rather wonderful happens every time the Banff Mountain Film Festival Tour lands in town. The Festival Theatre cafe and bars, normally abuzz with the suited and booted patrons of the performing arts ring to a different music. For, if the stairways of the theatre present little challenge, and I’ve to see anyone attempt to free climb them, it doesn’t prevent many Banff cinephiles from coming ready to assault Mont Blanc.
The many enthusiastic chats one overhears pertain to the virtues of cutting-edge footwear, rather than a favourite dancer. From the cacophony of enthusiastic greetings erupting all around, one rather suspects some patrons last saw each other at the summit of some snowy peak, or the pit of some oubliette-like cave. Stands for outdoor gear, Banff itself, and its many sponsors abound, prize draws are held, and a very good time had by all.
Subterranean
All of this, and we haven’t even discussed a single film yet. The Blue Programme opens with Subterranean, winner of the Best Film: Adventure category at the 2023 Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival. Over 40 minutes, Francois-Xavier De Ruydts interweaves the adventures of two pioneering teams of cavers hunting for the world’s longest, and deepest caves in the wilds of Canada.
It’s a celebratory affair, De Ruydts capturing the enthusiasm and subversive (literally) humour of the chosen speleologists and manages not to dwell on the claustrophobic potential of the subject matter. Wiggling through tiny gaps shoulders first is taken as a piece of muddy fun, rather than a constricted nightmare.
Canadian Katie Graham emerges as the film’s totem, one of life’s arch-enthusiasts defying broken ankles, and subterranean lakes to plant her metaphorical flag in the bedrock. Far from Katie’s delving grounds beneath the remote Mount Bisaro plateau, we meet Franck Tuot on Vancouver Island. His obsession with caving is placing his marriage on red alert and he must find the world’s longest cave system in the few months left to him before his family emigrates.
“De Ruydts camerawork is remarkable, and one can only imagine the sheer, grinding labour of shifting his gear through spaces ill-designed for humans”
De Ruydts’ camerawork is remarkable, and one can only imagine the sheer, grinding labour of shifting his gear through spaces ill-designed for humans, never mind electronics. His willingness to LICK his lenses clean for want of a clean rag in the sullying depths is a testament to his dedication (and insanity.) Fortunately, the footage is worth his travails, from plunging underground waterfall to squelching tunnel of muddy hell, gorgeous geology to lonely cathedral filled by ranks of stalagmites and stalactites.
At least equivalent focus on the people journeying into the earth prevents the film from becoming a slide show of fascinating places, however. These are people spending days underground, whilst the audience rides shotgun. The daily practicalities, from how to toilet, to the perpetual risk of hypothermia aren’t disguised.
Commentary from best-selling adventurer/writer Bruce Kirkby layers in a more philosophical aspect to Subterranean. It is, he observes, much easier to be rescued from a remote summit than a cave a few kilometres underground. However, Subterranean rings to the laughter of human beings traversing uncharted spaces inimical to human life.
Eternal Flemme
Next up in Blue, Eternal Flemme, following natural comedy double act, and high alpine BASE jumpers Éric Jamet and Antoine Pecher. Their quest? To follow in the footsteps of Australian pioneers Glenn Singleman and Nic Feteris to the height of the Trango Towers in Pakistan. Where the Ozzies made history in 1992 by jumping from Trango alone, Éric and Antoine are determined to jump from both Trango and its fellow, Nameless Tower.
“…it’s the chemistry between the jumping pair that elevates Eternal Flemme above the adventure film pack.”
Intersected commentary from Singleman continually ties the two expeditions together, marking the sport’s progress, and binding inspiration with the inspired. Director Nicolas Bossard’s camera delights in the soaring splendour of the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Northern Pakistan. The footage from fixed, and helmet-cams of Éric and Antoine’s jumps is simply sensational.
However, it’s the chemistry between the jumping pair that elevates Eternal Flemme above the adventure film pack. They make each other, and the audience laugh without fail, whilst having a rather refreshing ‘safety first’ approach to their sport. Charming, self-effacing, and relentlessly enthusiastic, the pair are impossible not to like. Their climbs and flights are unquestionably amazing, but its Brossard’s skill in relaying Éric and Antoine’s charisma which makes Eternal Flemme take off.
Reel Rock: Cenote
Third in Blue, is Cenote from Reel Rock and director Zachary Barr. It’s a cute mini-biopic of youthful papaya farmer Adolfo ‘Fito’ Trujillo. An origin tale of sorts, the film follows Fito into the world of the Cenoties, those mysterious, beautiful sinkholes peppering the Yucatan Peninsula. What began as youthful frolics in the crystal clear waters, took a life-changing turn when Fito began to climb the walls.
An amiable subject and the highly photogenic natural formations make for an attractive film. Where climbing falls normally induces panicked intakes of breath in an audience, Fito’s plunges into idyllic waters are far more fun.
Going Greenland
Going Greenland brings something rather different to this year’s world tour. On one hand, it’s a fairly standard adventure log following two world-class freeskiers Rachael Burks and Jessica Baker on a thrill/beauty-seeking quest through Arctic Greenland. Navigating pristine fjords on Renaissance Man, Captain Ben’s yacht, the ingredients for a lovely time in the snowy wilds are present, and delivered.
However, Going Greenland is also concerned with the conflict and intersections between adventure sports and the ongoing Ecological Crisis. Accordingly, Captain Ben’s yacht has only a solar-powered engine, and must otherwise negotiate the seas by wind-power alone. In turn, Burks and Baker must adapt their plans to a more nature-dictated order, rather than human whim. The result is a mixture of revelation and frustration, and a continuing dialogue questioning how best to marry the human pursuit of their passions, with a sustainable future for the planet.
“…there’s still quite a gulf between ‘Going Green’ and ‘Going Greenland.'”
Editor Erich Roepke and Cinematographer Sophie Danison construct an entertaining, and pretty 23 minutes, but it’s hard to take the green credentials of a movie which required quite so much air travel to make, all that seriously. This is something Baker & Burks recognise, but there’s still quite a gulf between ‘Going Green’ and ‘Going Greenland.’
Mustafa Ceylan
Jules Guarneri & Benoît Goncerut’s Mustafa Ceylan, an episode of Blackcrow’s black doc web series, make for a cute biopic. The film’s subject, Mustafa Ceylan, a Swiss of Kurdish descent, and known as ‘Moustique’ might be the most amiable presence in the Blue programme.
It’s a fun trip from potential soccer star to ski bum, and it’s impossible not to smile at Mustafa’s boundless enthusiasm. It’s also a delight to see a positive story of immigrant success in a country not famous for its inclusiveness.
Expect plenty of gasps as Mustafa risks health and fertility in pursuit of the perfect ‘spot’, and plenty of smiles when he finally nails it.
No Way!
Closing out Blue is Jean-Baptiste Chandelier’s No Way! Made for Social Media, it’s a sharply cut, and escalatingly entertaining adrenaline ride. This low-flying paraglider par excellence knows how to entertain. One can only marvel at how many (or indeed how few) takes were needed to make these 4 minutes of non-stop action.
“…a sharply cut, and escalatingly entertaining adrenaline ride.”
A quasi-chase scene down a twisting scenic hillside road, No Way! tracks Jean-Baptiste on a thrilling adventure. Obstacles become a playground, be it a car, a train, a formation of cyclists, skateboarders, or even a tunnel. With excellent production values and seamless editing, No Way! is a fabulous advert for Jean-Baptiste’s continuing adventures in film.
Expect plenty of laughs and delighted gasps before Chandelier brings the Blue programme to a close.
theQR reviewed the Blue Programme of the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour at The Festival Theatre, Edinburgh on January 27th 2024.
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