Conrad Kain Film Night, March 27
The Conrad Kain Centennial Society (CKCS) is once again pleased to host the Conrad Kain Film Night at J.A. Laird Elementary School (13 St & 13 Ave) in Invermere. The evening is comprised of films from the best of the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival.
Doors open at 7 p.m., March 27. Films run from 7:30 til 10:30 p.m., including intermission. Tickets $15 at the door. Children grade 7 and under free of charge. Advance tix: J.A. Laird School, and Dave’s Book Bar.
As an offshoot of the evening’s program, a selection of films will be shown gratis to the students at J.A. Laird during regular school hours.
CKCS spokesman, filmmaker Pat Morrow is pleased with the film lineup this year. “My wife Baiba and I had the pleasure of sitting on the jury of the VIMFF again this year, and can say with confidence that these are top notch documentaries, with a little something to suit everyone’s taste.”
“We’ll show the core films first, most of which were winners at the VIMFF. As a bonus, at the end of the scheduled films, we’ll leave it to the diehard film buffs in the audience to chose one from three equally enticing films to round out their evening.”
Funds generated from the film night will go toward the maintenance of the climbing wall at J.A. Laird, as well as various projects planned this year by the CKCS. One of these will be to offer another guided outing to the pristine granite of Conrad Kain’s mountains.
Bugaboos Teens Last summer, the day after the Kain Centennial Celebration in Wilmer, local ACMG guides Tim McAllister and Kirk Mauthner led six local teenagers on a spectacular climbing tour of the Bugaboos. In 1916, Kain guided Albert and Bess MacCarthy, also of Wilmer, on the first ascent of Bugaboo Spire – at the time, it was the most difficult climb in all of North America. Morrow will announce details of how teens can apply for the program again this year, at the show.
Opportunity for Film Makers Morrow says the event is the perfect opportunity for budding filmmakers to stock up on inspiration for their own projects. “We’ll be sure to encourage members of the audience, particularly the youth, to begin planning their own ‘mountain-themed’ films for next year’s event since none were submitted this year.”
Door Prizes A representative of the Rocky Mountain Section of the Alpine Club of Canada will present door prizes ranging from ACC mountain hut overnight passes, a backpack, avalanche probe and shovel from Ortovox Canada, an adult pass and instruction/gear loan on the Conrad Kain Climbing Wall at J.A. Laird, and copies of the Centennial edition of Kain’s biography, Where the Clouds Can Go.
Dave’s Book Bar will offer a special discount of 25% on Where the Clouds Can Go at the show, and to anyone who wants to pick up a copy at their store leading up to the show.
THE FILMS
Best Film on Mountaineering (The Alpine Club of Canada Award)
SAMSARA
(USA, 2009, directed by Renan Ozturk) Jury statement: This film about the attempt of a first ascent of a granite route in India pushes the boundaries of conventional filmmaking technologies by combining graphic art with the mountaineering experience of Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin and Renan Ozturk. They kept on filming while trapped in a porter ledge for more than 10 days in a snow storm and under extreme conditions on the rock face.
Jury's Award (Festival Award)
RUSH HOUR DREAM
(Germany, 2009, directed by Karim Jaspersen) Jury statement: This short film caught the jury’s attention on multiple levels. It manages to tell a complete story in only 5 min, is well shot, well acted, makes you laugh, surprises you and brings up the desire to try out paragliding.
Best Film on Rock Climbing (Katherine Rae Award)
WELSH CONNECTIONS - PEMBROKE
(UK, 2009, directed by Dave Brown) Jury statement: The viewer is drawn right into the gripping climbing experience of UK climber Timmy Emmett who is climbing two lines on smooth looking slate on a cliff in Wales. The film is very well shot, especially the audio composition is beautifully done. While the waves are breaking below and the soundtrack carries the moment one can still hear Timmy breath and puff.
Best Film on Mountain Biking (Festival Award)
FREEDOM RIDERS
(USA, 2009, directed by Sam Pope & Chris Kitchen) Jury statement: The jury had no difficulty with choosing this film. It is a rare biking film with a message about responsible trail building. The story is comparable to the ventures of the North Shore community. The film starts with trail building shots in the dark – all very subversive. A group of riders build some illegal trails in a US provincial park until they were discovered. The parks administration agreed to join forces to re-build and maintain several trails, but also to prohibit further damage to the park. Revolution turns to Evolution.
Best Water Film (Festival Award)
ROWING THE ATLANTIC
(USA, 2009, directed by JB Benna) Jury statement: Roz Savage sets out to row across the Atlantic all by herself with not much rowing, filmmaking or ocean experience. A very inspiring adventure. All the camera work is obviously done by herself. Imagine a rowboat with a very small sleeping compartment – a very confined space, however she was able to do a lot with very little. Despite all the hardships of all four oars breaking and having to cut the anchor she made it from the UK to Monaco.
Best Environmental Film (Festival Award)
WHAT WOULD DARWIN THINK? – MAN VS NATURE
(USA, 2009, directed by Jon Bowermaster) Jury statement: The message is clear in this film brimming with beautiful shots of famous Galapagos species such as giant turtles, iguanas and marine life. Simply too many people are pressuring the 3% of the island that is accessible for the public. It’s about tourists and the people depending on tourism “visiting” nature to death.
Mountain Culture
INCANtations
(USA, 2009, directed by Alison Teal Blehert-Koehn) A young film maker travels to the Andes with her photographer parents to meet with the Shamanic tribes that they spent time with when she was a young girl.
