Banff Mt. Film Fest sets local stop

(Courtesy Damien Deschamps) “Metronomic”

(Courtesy SEA GYPSIES) “Sea Gypsies”

(Courtesy SHOT IN THE DARK) “SHIFT”

(Courtesy ELLI THOR MAGNUSSON) “The Accord”

| January 13, 2017 12:00 AM

(Courtesy SEA GYPSIES) Sea Gypsies

(Courtesy SHOT IN THE DARK) SHIFT

(Courtesy ELLI THOR MAGNUSSON) The Accord

Strap on your helmet, check your ropes and grab your carabiner, the Banff Mountain Film Festival’s World Tour is coming to town.

The film tour will be showing at Sandpoint’s Panida Theater for three separate nights starting Thursday, Jan. 19 , Friday, Jan. 20, and Saturday, Jan. 21. Doors open at 6 p.m. with films beginning at 7 pm. Tickets are available in Sandpoint at Eichardt’s, The Alpine Shop, Burger Express and The Outdoor Experience. Tickets are also available in Bonners Ferry at the Burger Express. Online tickets can be purchased on the Panida Theater website at panida.org/event/banff-mountain-film-festival-2016 . If any tickets are left they will be sold at the door.

Tickets are $16 in advance and $19 at the door.

Proceeds from the event will go to support the Satipo Kids Project, located in Satipo, Peru, which supports students to attend college. Four of the students have been in the Satipo Kids Program for the past 12 years. In addition funds also help support the North Idaho Mountain Sports Education Fund, which is giving the ability for 72 local kids to ski at Schweitzer Mountain with lessons, ski gear and lift tickets. Jeff Rouleau and his crew from the North Idaho Mountain Sports Education Fund will also be on hand with their incredible raffle of prizes at the Panida Theater the night of the shows.

This year, 25 films over three nights will provide a full lineup of diverse mountain culture, travel and human interest. Crazy adventures such as the film “Sea Gypsies: The Far Side of the World”, where a community of vagabonds and wanderers sail a 120-foot hand built ketch from New Zealand to Patagonia with a side trip to Antarctica. Or “Mira”, the film of a young Nepalese woman whose love of running powers her forward in life to become successful in sport on the world stage. From the adventure of a 1,200-kilometer ski journey through Russia in the film “The Great Siberian Traverse” to “Dog Power”, one of three films this year that highlight the passion humans and animals have for working and playing together this year’s Banff Mountain Film Festival encompasses a wide array of mountain life, sport and culture.

The Banff Mountain Film Festival is an inspiring international film competition featuring the world’s best footage on mountain subjects. The original festival which began in 1976 is held annually on the first weekend in November in Banff, Alberta. In 1986, The Banff Mountain Film Festival began an outreach program to bring the festival to other communities, touring to a total of three cities across Canada. As previous attendees know, the World Tour provides a first class film experience, in a local venue for those who cannot make the annual trek to the Canadian Rockies that now tours to hundreds of cities worldwide. 2017 marks the 21st year that the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour has come to the Sandpoint area.

For more information on the Banff Mountain Film Festival or the Satipo Kids Project contact Michael Boge at mountainfever1@frontier.com or online at mountainfever.us. For more information on NIMSEF contact Jeff Rouleau by email at nimsef@gmail.com or online at nimsef.com.