For just $5, the Backcountry Film Festival on Feb. 27 features a fantastic lineup of the latest backcountry ski films and a lot of local footage, all in tribute to human-powered outdoor reverie.
The night begins on the bottom of the world with Australis, by Granite Films, as Chris Davenport and others venture to the mountainous shores of Antarctica in search of dreamy and daring first descents.
The night ends with Ptarmigan Films’ award winning A Life Ascending, in which Stephen Grynberg chronicles the life of acclaimed ski mountaineer and mountain guide Ruedi Beglinger, who lives with his wife and two young daughters on a remote glacier in the Selkirk Mountains.
The film documents the beauty, risk, power, and lessons in nature. It has really cleaned up the awards, from Best Mountain Culture Film and People’s Choice awards at the Banff Mountain Film Festival, to Best Documentary and Audience Choice at Docuwest, the Silver Sierra Award at the Yosemite Film Festival, and more.
Called a “cinematic spectacle” by Elliot Kotek and “poetic and poignant” by Stephen Machi, writer David Weissman said it’s “so beautiful, and emotional, about family and purpose.”
Between Australis and A Life Ascending, audiences will be treated to seven short films, four of them by Rosslanders.
Stew Spooner, Michele Desjardins, Jim Firstbrook, and Dave Heath have all included works in this year’s festival that pay tribute to the local backcountry, secret lines, and the history of skiing in our area.
The other three films cover the gamut from Extreme Tobagganing — a spoofy mockumentary featuring a cast of enthusiastic teenage girls — to Alaskan ski adventures shot by Sweetgrass Productions, and Cross Country Snowboarding, which follows two Canadians as they bring their sport to the world.
Thanks to a whole host of sponsors — Columbia Basin Trust, Teck, Nelson District Credit Union, Kootenay Nordic Sports, Mountain Life, Gerrick Sports, Big Red Cats, Whistle Tours, Powderhound, Butch Boutry Ski Shop, Rossland Rotary/Interact, Kootenay Association for Science and Technology, Rossland Council for the Arts and Culture, Rossland Mountain Film Festival, Ptarmigan Films, Winter Wildlands Alliance, Red Mountain Resort, Black Jack Ski Club, and the Kootenay Mountaineering Club — the festival is brought to us for a mere $5 (free for children under the age of 12), with all proceeds going to Friends of the Rossland Range.
Visit www.rosslandrange.org for more details, contacts, or FORR memberships and programs.
The films begin at 7 p.m. at the Miners’ Hall.
