Come see the Mountain Roots Film Festival

By David F. Rooney

It’s a film buff’s dream — 19 short films over two days. And it’s especially delirious if you’re a local film buff because a substantial number of the films on offer at the first Mountain Roots Film Fest are truly local.

With films by local residents like Rob Buchanan, Frank Desrosiers, Simon Hunt and Jannica Hoskins and local teens like Florina Beglinger, Cam Kaegi and Kaleb Weston the title of this film festival organized by the Friends of Mount Revelstoke & Glacier really does ring true.

If you missed the 12:30 and 3:30 showings on Saturday you can still catch the 7:30 Saturday showing and definitely don’t miss the Sunday shows, also at 12:30, 3:30 and 7:30. The 7:30 show on Sunday will be a gala awards event at the last show of the weekend, followed by a Film Festival Wrap Up Party at Mackenzie’s Restaurant in Powder Springs at 8:30 with music by Ash Grunwald.

Click here for additional information about the festival and what what’s being shown when.

In the meanwhile, you can browse the list below for brief descriptions of the films on offer:

1. 2 Frogs in the West – 97 minutes

Location: Whistler, BC

Director: Dany Papineau

2 Frogs in the West tells the simple yet universal story of finding oneself through the experience of travelling. This cross‐country, coming‐of‐age, Y Generation film follows Marie Deschamps a 20 year‐old college girl from Quebec who travels to the West Coast to learn English and explore life. Landing in Whistler, she meets a fellow Quebecer, Jean‐Francois Laforest, who will introduce her to a group of gay friendly friends living life fast and easy in North America’s premier ski and snowboard resort. Pushing the boundaries on modern sexuality and on the slopes, they will soon find out if they have what it takes to survive life in the mountains.

Category: Novice, Feature‐length Mountain Film Festival

2. Squatter Man – 8 minutes

Location: Tofino, BC

Director: Glen Kaleka

A parody on a popular TV show, Squatterman takes us with him while he squats his way through the town of Tofino with no food, money or shelter.

Category: Novice, Best Novice Film

3. Gregg Hill & His 2 Million Vertical Feet – 10 minutes

Location: Various

Director: Gregg Hill and Francois Desrosiers

Category: Professional, Best Professional Film, Best Short Mountain Film

4. Box Mountain Bowyer – 6:30 minutes

Location: Nakusp, BC

Director: Rory Case

A short documentrary on the craftsmanship and art of bow making through the eyes of one bowyer Clark Dennill. Set in the Rural area of Nakusp, BC Clark peacefully works away in his shop a top boxy mountain. A master bowmaker for over 20 years, Clark shoots and works on his bows every day and believes “it’s a tradition that should be held onto.”

Category: Novice, Best Short Mountain Film and Best Novice Film

5. NADARE – 38:18 minutes

Location: Vancouver and Revelstoke, BC

Director: Cliff Caprani

NADARE tells the story of thirty two Japanese migrants works. They lost their live in an avalanche in Rogers Pass in 1910. The film voers a commemorative event in Vancouver, as well as two events in Revelstoke “NADARE” is Japanese for Avalanche.

Category: Novice, Best Feature‐length Mountain Film

6. Extreme Tobogganing – 4:40 mintues

Location: Revelstoke and The Durrand Glacier Chalet

Director: Florina Beglinger

Extreme Tobogganing is an spoof on fast‐pasted ski movies and their subjects. Although it is fiction, it is displayed as a documentary about the historic and current times of tobogganing. This short film is portrayed in a high comic way and is sure to bring a smile to anyone’s face.

Category: Youth, Novice, Best Youth Film, Best Short Mountain Film, Best Novice Film, Best Short Film

7. The Burning Question – 32 minutes

Location: Glacier National Park

Director: Simon Hunt

The film features footage from the Grizzly Ridge Fire in Glacier National Park and highlights how Parks Canada managed the fire by creating a controlled burn. It also emphasizes the role of Parks Canada in ensuring ecological integrity, public safety and communication through effective fire management. In the film, the fire crew demonstrate fire behaviour in the mountains and explains how fire is an important natural process that keeps forest healthy. More than 1,000 volunteer hours were donation by Parks Staff, the film producer, family and friends in order to tell this story.

Category: Professional, Best Professional, Feature‐length Mountain film

8. Many Voices – 5 minutes

Location: Mount Revelstoke and Glacier national parks

Director: Alex Burr, Parks Canada

This film explores the passion of the people who have chosen to follow a career with the National Parks. The film exposes the deep connection that many Parks Canada staff feels for Canada’s wilderness and the commitment beyond “the job” that keeps them working in Glacier and Mount Revelstoke national parks. Pelve into the hearts and minds of Mount Revelstoke and Glacier national parks staff in this heartfelt 5 minute documentary and open yourself to the contagious commitment to Canada’s wild places they share.

Category: Novice, Best Short Film, Best Novice Film, Best Short Mountain Film

9. Stopping to Smell the Glacier Lilies – 6:30 minutes

Location: Mount Revelstoke and Glacier national parks

Director: Alex Burr, Parks Canada

This documentary explores some of the small but important aspects of Glacier and Mount Revelstoke national parks with so many big stories in the parks (big mountains, trees and glaciers), big animals  (grizzlies, caribou, mountain goats) many of the smaller stories go relatively untold. Join filmmaker Alex Burr as he explores & exposes some of Mount Revelstoke and Glacier national parks smaller stories and inspires you to take a moment and smell the glacier lilies.

Category: Novice, Best youth Film, Best Short Mountain Film, Best Novice Film

10. Fold and Unfold – 14:26 Minutes

Location: Revelstoke, BC

Director: Rob Buchanan, Parks Canada & Francois Desrosier

Accordin to the Japanses tradition if you fold 1000 origami paper cranes, your wish will com true.  Follow the story as countless school children and people in communities across Canada and countries as far away as Japan and Australia folded cranes to commemorate the victims of the 1910 Avalanche Accident in Rogers Pass. Over 17,000 cranes were folded and within these cranes was the wish to never see such a tragedy again.

Category: Professional, Best Professional Film, Best Short Mountain Film

11. Flying Without Wings – 7 minutes

Location: Revelstoke, Mount Revelstoke National Park

Director: Rob Buchanan, Parks Canada

“What good is a town without a ski jump?” – Nels Nelsen

Born in Norway, world champion ski jumper Nels Nelsen sprang to fame on Suicide Hill on Mount Revelstoke National Park. He set world records here in 1920, 1921, 1923 and 1925. In fact, this jump is the only place in Canada where World Record’s were established in ski jumping. Explore the colourful history of Revelstoke’s ski flying past with this film. A collage of archival photage covering six decades.

Category: Professional, Best Short Mountain Film

12. The Fallen Feather – 93 minutes

Location: Revelstoke, Kamloops, Vancouver and Victoria , BC

Director: Randy Bezeau & Jannica Hoskins

Follow Jannica Hoskins through her jouney to find her last heritage and explore the root causes behind the creation of Indian Residential Schools in Canada. using historical source documents, survivors personal testimonies and detailed analyses from community leaders. The film explores in detail the federal government’s primary motivation of, and involvement in these schools. The Fallen Feather takes the viewer through Canadian history and reaches a conclusion that that is apposite to the current realities that face First Nations.

Category: Professional. Best Professional Film, Best Feature‐length Mountain Film

13. A Taste of Revelstoke – 1:50 minute

Location: Revelstoke, BC

Director: Kaleb Weston

This is a promotional edit made for Revelstoke Mountain Resort to show how amazing the snow is at this fantastic place. Huge thank you to: RS Photography, Fortitude Skis and Revelstoke Mountain Resort.

Category: Youth, Novice, Best Youth Film, Best Short Mountain Film, Best Novice Film, Best Short Film

14. La Vie de Guy Lacelle – 15 minutes

Location: North America and Europe

Director: Alex Lavigne

This film commemorates the life of Guy Lacelle, who was regarded as one of the world’s leading ice climbers. In 2009 at the age of 54 Lacelle was killed by an avalanche during a climbing competition on Bozemen, Montana

Category: Professional, Best Professional, Best Short Mountain Film,

15. All Things Go – 25 minutes

Location: Revelstoke, Silver Star, BC, Lake Louise and Norquay, Alberta

Director: Kaleb Weston & Cam Kaegi

A first‐hand look at Revelstoke’s home‐grown, teenage talent and exceptional terrain. Follow the Inflik crew as they tackle everything from cliff lines, park jumps and jib set‐ups. Get Ready to go!

Category: Youth, Novice, Best Youth Film, Best Novice Film

16. The Follies – 2:43 minutes

Location: Revelstoke, BC

Director: Kaleb Weston

This short edit was made for Revelstoke Secondary School Talent Show and was filmed completely in Revelstoke.

Category: Youth, Novice, Best Youth Film, Best Short Mountain Film, Best Novice Film and Best Short

Film

17. Get There First – 9:47 minutes

Location: Revelstoke, BC

Director: Julien Leblanc and Marianne Desrosiers

A usual evening in Revelstoke becomes suddenly a race against the clock where every trick is allowed to get there first.

Category: Novice, Best Short Mountain, Best Novice

18. Footloosin’ a Splitboard Snowsurfing Flick – 8:51 minutes

Location: Revelstoke, BC

Director: Green Seat Films

Self propelled backcountry snowsurfing via a splitboard and traction pad kit. Exploring the mountains without lifts or mechanized access. Earning those turns and riding white waves. Check out www.snowsurf.ca for more info.

Category: Novice, Best Short Mountain Film, Best Novice Film

19. Our Bus – 12:30 minutes

Location: Edgewood, Fauquier, Burton and Nakusp, BC

Director: JoAnne Alaric

Our bus is a documentary short, filmed in the Upper Arrow Lakes. The film is a unique observation of the children who ride a rural school bus on its daily three and a half hour commute.

Category: Novice, Youth, Best Youth, Best Short Mountain Film, Best Novice Film