Film festival brings outdoor recreation to USU
For the last 15 years, the Outdoor Recreation Program (ORP) has hosted the Banff Mountain Film Festival at Utah State, highlighting outdoor adventures, enriching passion for outdoor sports and funding a scholarship given to USU students.
“For two hours you just sit, and you’re amazed by what people can do,” said Paul Jones, a senior majoring in psychology and a student employee at the ORP. “You’re blown away by what people are doing to push the limits. That’s what keeps me coming back every year.”
The Banff Mountain Film Festival is a week-long festival in Alberta, Canada, that goes on tour to various cities and campuses in North America, including USU’s.
“This festival is the mountain culture equivalent of Sundance,” ORP coordinator Brian Shirley said.
Kevin Kobe, director of campus recreation, first brought the festival to campus in 1995.
“One of the main reasons I wanted to bring it here was to celebrate the mountain culture we have at Utah State and in Logan,” Kobe said. “Rarely do people who like back-country skiing and snowboarding and things like that get an opportunity to get together and celebrate these passions.”
Shirley said in Canada the festival includes art, photography and films like those being shown here on campus.
“For the tour they select the best films, everything from 30 second shorts to 60 minute features,” Shirley said. “They (the films) cover a range from human-interest documentary stories to advent, adrenaline type films to important issues.”
“Students should understand that this is a unique opportunity to see films that they’ll probably never see again,” Kobe said.
Hailey Summers is a junior majoring in mechanical engineering and employee of the ORP. She said the festival is exciting and new every year.
“Every year there are new films, new sports, new limits being pushed,” she said.
Summers said the event is meant for people from all different groups.
“It has everything from longboarding to base-jumping to kayaking, so it doesn’t really matter. It’s for all adventure-seekers and thrill-seekers,” she said.
Kobe said the first year, the ORP rented the TSC auditorium but numbers proved too great to continue at that location.
“We thought the student center auditorium would be a safe bet the first year because it was new,” Kobe said. “But what really happened was that it was packed to capacity the first night, and then all those people pulled their friends in for the second night.”
He said they ended up turning several hundred people away. Now, he said, there are usually between 500 and 1,000 people who attend the event each night.
Summers has attended the event for at least five years, and Jones has attended for three years. They agreed that the films are worth watching.
“Amazing things are happening,” Jones said. “The Banff films are like a newspaper for the outdoors.”
Summers also said the festival is good for spreading knowledge to people who want to learn about the outside world.
“It’s good exposure because a lot of people don’t know what’s out there,” Summers said. “The films also tells stories about different cultures and spread awareness of other places.”
Kobe said the event brings people together and forms a fabric of those who love the outdoors and sports.
Shirley said student fees fund the festival, and proceeds from viewership fees fund the Lyon, Maas and Muegler Scholarship.
“The scholarship is named after three victims of an avalanche a few years back,” Shirley said. “All three were committed outdoor educators whose lives were dedicated to it.”
Kobe said you can see where the students were killed from campus, and the scholarship is a way to remember and honor them.
“They were very passionate about outdoor pursuits,” Kobe said. “We keep their spirit alive by using the scholarship for people like them.”
Shirley said the money is used as a way to get students trained in outdoor leadership.
“The festival creates an opportunity for people to recognize how they connect with their environment,” Shirley said. “It helps students better connect with things they’re learning in their courses.”
Summers said the films submitted are high quality.
“As far as a film that goes on tour every year, like the film that gives away a free ski pass, Banff dominates that,” Summers said. “There’s nothing like it.”
She said she hasn’t ever submitted a film but respects those who do.
“Some of my friends will joke about making a Banff film about our adventures,” Summers said, “but the Banff films are like professional films. There are very few amateur level films. To enter, you have to know what you’re doing.”
Summers said there were 374 films initially entered in Canada. Eleven hours of footage are sent on tour, and people at the various tour sites have to select which films they feature.
“Paul and I are the ones who chose the films this year,” Summers said. “I had a hard time cutting out films, cutting it down to 5 hours because I wanted to see all of them.”
Shirley said that winners of the film festival receive cash awards, but many use it to fund future adventures.
“If you’re successful at Banff, companies look to you to submit future videos,” Shirley said. “They fund your stuff (production and adventures) as well as pay you.”
Shirley said the actual festival is sponsored by well-known companies, like North Face and National Geographic.
He said people enjoy being able to contribute that artwork to the “greater good.”
“The filmmakers have a passion for this place (the setting of various films) and let other people see it,” Shirley said. “By watching the films, others can better understand the value of these places and why it’s important that they remain.”
Jones said he loves to see the “latest and newest limits people are pushing” in the videos.
“It’s almost like you’re there with them celebrating what these people are doing by watching these crazy things,” Jones said. “It’s just a super fun time. I love it. I love going.”
Summers said different films are shown on each of the two nights at 7 p.m. <date?
Tickets for students are $10 per night for students and $12 for non-students.
m.noble@aggiemail.usu.edu