The Banff Mountain Film Festival in Japan 2019 is currently rotating across Japan. In one of the films shown during the Tokyo round of the festival, a 19-year-old rock climber, Margo Hayes from Boulder, Colo., shows her skills and mental toughness by climbing up the most iconic cliffs in Europe. The 26-minute documentary film titled "Reel Rock 12: Break On Through" vividly illustrates her challenging spirit to the limit of her body and mind.
Another film titled "This Mountain Life: Coast Range Traverse Segment" describes Martina Halik, photographer and adventurist, and her 60-year-old mother setting out on a six-month ski traverse in the Coast Mountains of the Canadian province of British Columbia, a range that stretches 2,300 kilometers. They faced numerous obstacles including a lack of food and a snow storm. During the adventure, they reflect on their lives and relationships.
The Tokyo round of the festival will be held from Oct. 11 through Oct. 14 at the Gate City Osaki in Shinagawa Ward.
The Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival held annually in November is one of the world's most prestigious occasions to show movies and publications featuring mountains and other outdoor activities as well as environmental issues. It started in 1976 in Banff, Canada, which is a small town located in the Canadian Rockies. Around 350 films are nominated for the festival, of which a score of best films are selected to go on a world tour in order to showcase the essence of the original Banff festival across the globe. The Japan edition is part of the Banff festival's annual tour, which attracts more than 550,000 attendees in more than 45 countries.
Shigeru Nakagawara, chief of the festival's organizing committee in Japan, said: "If you are exposed to this nature, your true self will appear. The films ask audiences to think about their way of life, their limits and how to face nature."
The festival will be moving from Tokyo to the Shiretoko round in Hokkaido from Oct. 19 to Oct. 20, the Sapporo round on Oct. 27, the Higashikawa round in Hokkaido on Nov. 10, and finally the Asahi round in Toyama Prefecture on Nov. 16. Programs and ticket prices differ depending on the round.
For more information, visit the festival website: www.banff.jp
For inquiries, email the organizing committee: bmff@wgpr.co.jp
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