Banff returns to ASU March 27-28

The Banff Mountain Film Festival will return to Boone on Friday, March 27, and Saturday, March 28.

For 33 years, the ‘Best of the Festival’ has been inspiring audiences by showcasing the world’s best films highlighting mountain adventure, culture and the environment.

The Last Nomads. Photo by A. Gregg, courtesy of The Banff Centre

The Unbearable Lightness of Skiing Photo by Greg Hill, courtesy of The Banff Centre

A popular and critically acclaimed international film event, the Banff Mountain Film Festival – hosted by ASU Outdoor Programs – will be held at Farthing Auditorium. This is the 13th anniversary of Banff Film Festival screenings in Boone, which has become one of the largest screenings in North America.

The 2008-09 World Tour will travel to more than 275 communities in over 30 countries on all continents, including Antarctica. The Boone screenings have a history of selling out quickly, so event organizers suggest people plan ahead to get tickets, which are currently on sale at Farthing Auditorium on the Appalachian campus, online at www.op.appstate.edu, and Footsloggers in downtown Boone.

Local tour hosts like Appalachian State University’s Outdoor Programs choose the program from the best of more than 300 films submitted to the Banff Film Festival in November. Two completely different screenings will be shown on March 27 and 28.

“We will highlight award winning mountain films each night that combine elements of mountain adventure, culture and the environment,” said Appalachian State University Outdoor Programs associate director Rich Campbell. “We try to keep each night well balanced but entirely different and unique so audiences are exposed to as many different films as possible during the festival.

“We had another very successful event last year, underscoring how strongly this festival is received in our mountain community. This year, there is a strong resurgence of mountain culture films that captures the spirit of the unique relationship between people and their remote, mountain environments. Some of the films this year highlight extraordinary and rare aspects of mountain culture from Borneo, Papua New Guinea, Peru and Alaska.

“The films selected at the Banff Film Festival to go on tour this year are very well balanced with regard to mountain culture, cutting edge mountain adventure and mountain environments. I think our audience will be very pleased with the quality, diversity, creativity and passion the films highlight this year. The comments from the Banff Centre of Mountain Culture – the organization who produces the Banff Film Festival – indicate that this is one of the strongest selection of films in years. We can’t wait to present the films this year, in part as a way to contribute to our own mountain community, which is so strong.”

The Banff Mountain Film Festival is an annual international competition celebrating its 33rd year featuring the world’s best films on mountain themes. In November 2008, the festival screened more than 50 finalist films, chosen from more than 300 entries from 37 different countries. The film festival is organized by The Banff Centre for Mountain Culture in Banff, Canada. For information, visit www.banffmountainfestivals.com

For more information about the Banff Mountain Film Festival at Appalachian State University, visit www.op.appstate.edu or contact Rich Campbell at campbllrh@appstate.edu. Outdoor Programs and Footsloggers Outdoor and Travel Outfitters are the presenters of this event.

Advance tickets are now available for purchase from the Farthing Auditorium Box Office at

1-800-841-2787 or (828) 262-4046, online at www.op.appstate.edu or from Footsloggers Outdoor Travel and Outfitters in downtown Boone at (828) 262-5111.