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