Outdoor Leadership Center to host viewing of international film festival
Each year, the Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival brings together filmmakers and audiences throughout the world to celebrate the great outdoors. The OLC will host a showcase of the selected 10 films on Dec. 9. Door prizes include a three-day trip to Banff in Alberta, Canada.
Adventure awaits CSB+SJU as community members will have the opportunity to watch international films from the outdoor adventure industry.
The Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival will take the big screen in Pellegrene Auditorium on Saturday, Dec. 9, at 7 p.m.
Hosted by the Outdoor Leadership Center (OLC), the festival will showcase around 10 films representing different sports, cultures, people and places. These outdoorsy films are collected from a plethora of filmmakers across the world. After collecting and showcasing the films, the festival’s board then selects the best films and creates a compilation which is then dispersed to viewers through the tour.
“For someone who loves the outdoors, it’s really interesting to see such a wide range of things that we don’t necessarily get exposed to in Minnesota,” CSB senior and OLC co-manager Gen Woods said.
The tour debuts in Banff, Canada, where participants convene for a nine-day experience. The festival took place from Oct. 28-Nov. 5 this year. The nine days include not only film showcases but also happy hours, community climbs, conversations with outdoors enthusiasts, mountain art exhibitions, snow shows and more. Launching in 1976, the tour has made an appearance at CSB+SJU since 2010, according to the OLC’s records.
According to the festival’s website, the tour reaches more than 45 countries on every continent annually. This year, the showcase received 37 films from countries such as Canada, the United States, Switzerland, France and Sweden.
“It’s tough for us right now to host events to get students involved with the outdoors because it’s cold…This is one way that we can still connect to nature and see all of the different things that are going on around us when it’s kind of crummy outside,” Woods said.
The viewing is anticipated to last until 10 p.m. with an intermission. During intermission, the OLC – through the aid of community partners – will be drawing for five giveaway prizes. The current prizes include a portal first aid kit, a personal size backpacking French press, a voucher for an on-demand screening of a Banff Mountain film collection, a voucher for a three-day ski pass at Lake Louise Ski Resort in Alberta, Canada, and a soft-side personal cooler from Mountainsmith.
Attendees will receive two raffle tickets after the doors open at 6:30 p.m. to enter the prize drawings.
“It really makes me want to get outdoors and inspires you to go try something new that you’ve never tried before,” CSB senior and OLC co-manager Ella Madson said.
For students, faculty and staff, tickets have been fully funded by the CSB and SJU Senates. Outdoor U members will be charged $10, and nonmembers will be charged $15. All proceeds from the ticket sales will support Collegebound, the outdoor pre-orientation program.
To Woods – someone who has attended the viewing in the past – the value of the outdoors experience was brought indoors through these films.
“It will blow your socks off. I’ve been happily, pleasantly surprised every year that I’ve gone,” Woods said.
