The Fourth Annual

Calgary International Mountain Film Festival

April 18 - 22 at the Plaza Theatre in Kensington

Hang on, let’s GO!

Get ready to be entertained, enthralled and inspired at the Fourth Annual Calgary International Mountain Film Festival, April 18 - 22. Whether you’re into hiking, trekking, climbing, cycling, water sports or adventure travel, the Calgary International Mountain Film Festival offers something for everyone, with a wide range of award-winning films, high profile speakers and experiential workshops to interest people of all ages.

Shot in some of the world’s wildest places, the films cover everything from climbing and skiing, to mountain biking, road biking, kayaking, canoeing and sailing.

The speaker line-up includes world-class climbers, adventurers, and watersport enthusiasts. They include:

Jon Turk: Ellesmere Circumnavigation
Friday, April 20^th

 Doors 6:30 p.m. Show 7 p.m.

What do you do when a polar bear charges you? “We found yelling colorful language was more effective than gentle talking," says 65-year-old writer and Arctic explorer Jon Turk, speaking about his 2,400-km circumnavigation by kayak, of Ellesmere Island.

Turk and professional kayaker Erik Boomer, 26, discovered this when a polar bear ripped open their tent—while five other bears watched.

Turk and Boomer were among National Geographic’s Top 10 Adventurers of 2011 for their journey around Ellesmere, the world's tenth largest island. It took them 104 days on skis, in kayaks and on foot, and was considered by experts to be the last great polar expedition, daunting due to its remoteness and dangerous ice conditions.

For Turk, who had previously pioneered big-wall climbs on Baffin Island and completed five Siberian expeditions to study shamanic culture, the Ellesmere circumnavigation was his ‘retirement party’ - his last expedition.

Dag Goering & Maria Coffey
Into the World of Elephants
Special Introduction By Brian Keating
Wednesday April 18th

Doors 6:30 p.m., Show 7 p.m.

Dag Goering and Maria Coffey's lifelong passion for exploration led them into publishing books and photographs, establishing an adventure travel company, and advocacy work for elephant conservation. Goering’sphotography has been featured in several solo exhibitions, including two at the Banff Mountain Festivals. His images have been published in books and prominent magazines and newspapers such as National Geographic Adventure, Elle and The New York Times.

Goering and Coffey co-authored Visions of the Wild, about their kayak circumnavigation of Vancouver Island, and worked together on the photographic books Sailing Back in Time and Jungle Islands. Coffey has written nine other internationally published books, including Where the Mountain Casts Its Shadow, which won the Banff Mountain Literature Prize; and the Oprah Winfrey-endorsed Explorers of the Infinite. Coffey and Goering are now co-writing a book about their experiences working with elephants.

Steph Davis

A Perfect Circle
Saturday, April 21st
Doors 6:30 p.m., show 7 p.m.
$13.95

A Perfect Circle is a story of free climbing and base jumping four classic desert towers in Moab, Utah: Ancient Art, Hindu Tower, Sister Superior and King of Pain – unique sandstone spires each offering a different adventure. Davis - one of the world’s top female climbers - teamed up with partner Mario Richard on three of the four towers, and with Jorge Visser and Keith Ladzinski to make the film. The last tower she climbed and jumped as a free solo.

Experiential Workshops

The Calgary International Mountain Film Festival will also include a series of interactive workshops, which will be presented at the Calgary Area Outdoor Council, located just a few blocks from the Plaza Theatre, as well as at the Calgary Climbing Centre Stronghold in northwest Calgary. Workshop themes will include everything from  how to take professional quality photos and adventure sport photography, to climbing and bouldering.

The Calgary International Mountain Film Festival brings people and the outdoors together. Come on out and be inspired.

The Calgary International Mountain Film Festival is presented by Spirit West, a Calgary-based outdoor apparel and accessory shop.