As a college student, wanderlust is a fire we all have burning within ourselves but with our budgets and limited time it makes traveling the world a bit impossible. The Banff Mountain Movie Festival can make all those traveling dreams come true in one weekend.
Located in Banff, Canada, this festival showcases the extremes our world has to offer from snowy peaks to the desert land of the Wild West. If you have the chance to travel to Canada to view this in person, you will have nine days full of beautiful weather, authors, photographers and films from every corner of the Earth.
The Banff Centre wanted people to see these works, hence how you can spend the weekend watching the nine days on a fast track; the festival tours worldwide in over 40 different countries. Here are some of the pieces that you may have missed out on to solidify the reasoning you should check out this killer event.
UnBranded
Photo courtesy of clevelandcinemas.com
UnBranded is a story of four guys just out of college who wanted to take a step back from the social norms of college graduates. Instead of heading straight into the workforce, they purchased wild mustangs, trained them and rode them from the border of Mexico all the way to Canada. The wild mustangs of the West are beautiful creatures who are being taken out of their natural habitat and put into pins to be adopted. The boys wanted to prove the worth of these wild animals and why they deserve to stay in the wild.
Chasing Niagara
Photo courtesy of banffcentere.ca
Chasing Niagara is a story of Rafa Ortiz’s journey down Niagara Falls in a kayak. Although the task is extremely illegal and if he follows through with it, he will end up in jail. This film takes you through the trails of preparing for the fall of Niagara, going all around the world to the highest waterfalls he can find. All the drama and successes will keep you on the edge of your seat, will he make it or not? This film was presented with the award Best Film in Mountain Sports and you should see why.
The Important Places
Photo courtesy of youtube.com
The Important Places is a tale of a son trying to understand how his father grew up to be the man that he is today. Through pictures and old home movies, he takes his back to the setting of all of them: The Colorado River. This sweet story of a bond between father and son will leave your heart feeling happy. You can check out the full film here and see how the Colorado River brought these two people closer together.
Nature Rx
Photo courtesy of nature-rx.org
Now to end on the lighter note, here is the medicine we all need in our lives: nature. Without a breath of fresh air every now and then we would be some pretty angry people. This commercial will leave you wanting to go jump off a deck naked. Wondering why? Take a look for yourself.
Okay, understand that these are just four of the brilliant films featured in this festival along with the countless other pieces of art. If you are feeling adventurous, then look up to see if this amazing festival is coming to a city near you. For $12 a night, this will change your life and open your eyes to the beauty our planet has to offer.