BANFF – After running with a virtual festival in 2020, then a hybrid festival in 2021, the Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival is ready to return to a more traditional style this year.
The festival runs from Oct. 29 to Nov. 6 and will include several free events including the festival marketplace, exhibitions, and campfire conversations.
“We are excited to be hosting a robust live event this year,” said festival director Joanna Croston. “We are back with a full live program with 60 events here in Banff. A lot of those are at the Banff Centre, artsPlace in Canmore and at the Lux Cinema in Banff.
“We are excited for the return of our marketplace, that is always a free event over the course of our final weekend, which is Nov. 4 to 6. That is a trade show where we have outdoor gear representatives, and outdoor craftspeople. It is a fun thing to do between films.”
The various free events are perfect for anyone who wants to take in the festival but may be limited for time.
“There is something for everyone, and tons of free events that you can check out for those who want to drop by on their break from work,” Croston said. “Come up and check out those.”
The festival features 84 films, with more than 40 live events and 25 online programs.
“We are thrilled to be offering online passes as well for those folks who can’t make it the full nine days in Banff,” Croston said. “Audiences in Calgary and Edmonton, they will come to one or two live events, and now they can watch through the week to get the full festival experience.”
In the last fully live festival in 2019, more than 20,000 people came for the nine-day program. While that number is not likely to be reached this time, organizers feel they will get quite close to that mark.
The online and hybrid years were still successful, but it came with challenges.
“It is hard to replicate community and seeing films with your friends with live theatre, with amazing sound systems, and so on,” Croston said. “That is the real part of the festival we are looking forward to, getting everyone together again.”
Even with more live events, the online portion will still be robust for those who want to view from home.
“We did really well with our online program,” Croston said. “It is hard to replicate community through online programs and speakers on Zoom. That is not our goal going forward obviously.”
While films form a major part of the festival, books have their place as well. The literary aspect has been an integral part of the festival for a long time.
“Our focus is on storytelling and there are many ways to do that,” Croston said. “The book programs are really some of the secret gems of the festival. We have very intimate settings with our authors and people can get up close and experience their mentors in the writing world.”
Throughout the entire festival, the goal is to celebrate community and mountains by inviting international filmmakers and VIPs from around the world to take part.
“We have a nice focus on authors and filmmakers and inviting the world to the festival is a key goal.”
Anyone interested in checking out the festival can see the schedule at www.banffcentre.ca/banffmountainfestival and then buy tickets through the venue hosting the event.
