It takes a special kind of person to climb and ski two million vertical feet in 266 days. Revelstoke-based ski mountaineer Greg Hill drops by as a special guest presenter at the 6th annual North Valley Mountain Film Festival on Saturday, March 3 in New Denver.
One of the world’s most accomplished ski-touring endurance athletes, Hill shares his tale about this ultimate achievement in 2010. In addition, the Festival promises another amazing lineup of mostly local films and photography that will inspire and awe the audience.
The Festival audience will find local flavour in films such as Crossing Over: The Art of Jeremy Down. This beautiful film by Mike Bernard is a remarkable account of a local artist’s near drowning experience on Slocan Lake and how it changed his perspective on his art and life. Local youth and up-and-coming videographers Yoan Shandro-Gosselin (Young and at ‘Er’) and Quade Nicholson-Chodat (Snow Daze) will debut their ski films.
A couple of alumni presenters return this year, including kayaking film guru Carl Jacks with the world premier of Deep Runs the Canyon, the culmination of his efforts to document our local canyons to prevent them from becoming hydroelectric projects. Audience members can also look forward to two wildlife photography presentations: one by Festival favourite, Jim Lawrence returning with Kootenay Wild II, and a second by local presenter Jesse Schpakowski.
Mountain biking is well-represented in the lineup this year as New Denver resident Gary Parkstrom presents Songlines, a film that highlights the riding of local Councillor Nadine Raynolds through Idaho, Oregon and Washington. Jesse Schpakowski brings us a second slideshow featuring the talents of New Denver mountain bikers Atli and Rylan Bokstrom, Max Bonazo and another local Councillor, Dave Hodsall.
Three more diverse films include: Surge Freerun by Liam Barnes, a high-energy tour through Rossland featuring two parkour athletes; Mt Assiniboine a mountain heritage film by Juerg Martig; and Our Bus by Burton resident Jo Anne Alaric, a funny yet poignant look at living in a remote mountain community.
Contributed by Theresa Tremaine, NVMFF
