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Through highs and lows
PRINCE FREDERICK
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Some of the best entries to the Banff Mountain Film Festival were screened recently in the city
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BISCUIT IS an "intrepid mountaineer" who can do without carbines, harnesses, ascents and pulleys. Truth be told, this amazing climber is not even a human being. Biscuit is a tiny dog that is part of the cast of "Front Range Freaks," a film featuring climbers such as late soloist (or solo-climber) Derek Hersey, Paul Glover and Heidi Wirtz, who put themselves out on a limb by attempting to scale rough heights without the protection of mountaineering gear.
Biscuit came to Chennai recently when the Canadian High Commission, in association with the International Cine Appreciation Forum, screened footages from seven films that are among the entries for this year's Banff Mountain Film Festival, an annual event featuring the world's best films and videos on subjects related to mountains. These films celebrate adventure and illustrate the power of the human spirit.
The three-minute footage from " Front Range Freaks" shows the canine negotiate treacherous boulders, steep inclines and uncomfortable crevices as it inches towards its master. Often the cute-looking pet balances itself and jumps cleverly to safety whenever a fall seems inevitable. In "Part Animal, Part Machine," you see The Weeping Wall rearing up in Icefields Parkway at Alberta, Canada. Warren Macdonald is on a mission to reach the top of this snow-covered peak. Teaming up with two other mountaineers, Macdonald makes his attempt. As the camera zooms in on Macdonald's lower body, eyebrows go up. Where feet should have been, there are just a couple of odd-looking metal clasps. They are defined as `hanger prosthetics.' Descriptively speaking, they are iron spikes on footpads that have been socketed into the thighs. He pushes the spikes into the snow as he heaves up the sharp incline.
"Deep-seated Instability" focusses on the dangers that avalanches pose to human lives.
The film begins on a paradoxical note, with the line "In order to live, you must strike a balance with death" flashing on the screen. For the next four minutes or so, images of snow-clouds hurtling down the mountains alternate with newspaper clippings of Canadian avalanche tragedies.
"Unlimited Winter," featuring Olympic skiing medallist Beckie Scott, provides some breathtaking scenes of cross-country skiing. "Self-Titled" is a wacky presentation of mountain terrain biking, where, it seems, dare-devilry is the name of the game.
"The Other Final" revolves round the day when the German and the Brazil football teams battle it out for the World Cup in Japan. On the same day, the world's weakest football teams, Bhutan (202) and Montserrat (203) are playing a friendly match in Thimpu. The film traces the days that lead up to that humble match. While Bhutan wins the match, the Monserrat players win the hearts of the Bhutanese.
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
|
