Banff Film Festival 2024
Banff Film Festival 2024
Celebrate Mountain Culture: Local Businesses Show Support for Banff World Tour
Photos / Banff Mountain Film Festival
If you know mountains, then you know Banff! Located in the province of Alberta, Canada, Banff is home to Canada’s first national park, established in 1885 as Rocky Mountains Park. For over 100 years, people have traveled to enjoy Banff’s beautiful mountains and surrounding lakes, but in recent years, Banff has become known for its annual Mountain Film Festival! Each year, the world’s best filmmakers come together in Banff to share mountain and adventure films. The film festival culminates in an annual World Tour, a curated lineup of the festival’s most impressive films that travels to over 45 countries on all seven continents.
Yes, it’s the largest adventure film festival in the world, and it’s coming to Jamestown on Friday, April 19th and Saturday, April 20th. Jamestown’s Roger Tory Peterson Institute (RTPI) is proud to host this exciting weekend at the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts at 116 E. Third St. in Jamestown. RTPI Advancement Director David Niles invites everyone to the Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival and World Tour to enjoy two different programs: Fireweed on Friday and Paintbrush on Saturday.
Both evenings begin at 7:00pm, with doors opening at 6:00pm. The Fireweed program features eight short films, and the Saturday program features nine short films. Niles explained, “This year, Banff had four curated programs to choose from, so we chose the two programs that we feel fit into western New York and Chautauqua County.” For example, the Fireweed program features paragliding, skiing, fishing, rock climbing, mountain biking and more. “We try to use Banff as a love letter to our area and all the awesome outdoor activities that you can do here,” Niles said. “We have four seasons, and we can do so many different things - whether that’s skiing at Holiday Valley, or fat tire biking at Loud Performance, or kayaking with Evergreen Outfitters - we have all of that available here!”
So how exactly does RTPI fit into the Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival? “We are the nexus of art and nature,” Niles explained. “We’re a nature art museum… We hope that the exhibitions that we show here inspire people to go out into the world and just get lost in nature, or they can get lost in nature and come into RTPI and take a look at what we have going on and maybe appreciate what’s out there in a different way or see it in a different light. Art is like a gateway to appreciate what’s around.”
Every ticket to the film festival also includes admission to RTPI, which will be open all weekend (Friday through Sunday) and is just a 10-minute drive from downtown Jamestown at 311 Curtis St. Ext. Visitors are invited to hike RTPI’s nature trails through the Peterson Preserve and come inside the Lodge to get a first look at RTPI’s upcoming exhibit: Five Minutes in Nature, featuring the artwork of Kevin Ebi. Niles said Ebi is a photographer who is known for his impressive large-scale photos. “The whole downstairs of the Roger Tory Peterson Institute will be filled with his amazing artwork,” he said. “I can’t wait for people to see them… He wants to transport the viewer to a single moment and place; hopefully, people can find power, beauty and serenity not just in the great, amazing waterfalls, but also in the smaller things, too.”
The Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival weekend is the “trifecta,” in Niles’ words. The Banff ticket allows one to view incredible world-class films that can inspire local experiences in nature and enjoy RTPI by viewing stunning artwork that is inspired by the natural world. The weekend is also a fitting prelude to Earth Day on Monday, April 22nd. “We just want people to put down their phones, get off the computer, turn off the TV, and just get out there and see the canvas that’s all around us every day,” said Niles.
Film festival tickets are available online at https://rtpi.org/events/banff/ through the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts. Single tickets are available for Friday and Saturday, but for the best experience, Niles encourages visitors to get a two-day ticket, which includes a small discount. VIP one-day and two-day tickets include special reserved seating in the best seats in the house, and Friday’s VIP ticket includes a special opening night reception. Discounted tickets are available for children, seniors, students and active military members. For more information, contact Niles at dniles@rtpi.org or 716-665-2473 ext. 233. In addition to RTPI and Reg Lenna, the film festival is supported by local sponsors Holiday Valley, Loud Performance, ERA Team VP Real Estate, Summit Wealth Management, Cummins, and Media One Radio Group.