Banff Film Festival set to show in Spokane next month
Dec. 27—A popular adventure film festival is coming back to Spokane next month.
The annual Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival will come to the Fox Theater in downtown Spokane on Jan. 12 and 13.
The Banff festival has been taking place since 1976, and for years, a world tour has brought the outdoors-focused movies to a long list of cities.
Paul Fish, the former owner of Mountain Gear, has organized the Spokane showings of the festival for a couple of decades. In that time, a lot has changed, and especially the quality and diversity of the films entered in the festival.
"This year's films I think are some of the best ever," Fish said.
The festival selects dozens of films to be shown on the annual world tour. Each year, Fish chooses from a few groupings of them to show.
His selections this year include 16 films about skiing, climbing, fishing and more.
There is a notable omission, however. A film entitled "Range Rider," featuring Daniel Curry, a northeast Washington man who works to help ranchers and wolves coexist, was selected as part of the festival but isn't on either slate of films that will be shown in Spokane.
Fish said that has nothing to do with the film itself. He saw it and liked it, and thinks it should show on its own sometime in Spokane, but Fish preferred two slates of films provided by Banff that didn't include it.
"I feel I've done my job if there's a film that you love, a film that makes you laugh, a film that makes you think," he said.
He said he feels the 16 movies that will show in Spokane can accomplish that. Among his favorites this year is one called "To Be Frank," which centers on aging surfers in California.
There is also a film about the ongoing fight over mining in Bristol Bay, where fishing groups and Indigenous people argue a proposed mine could threaten the world's most robust salmon run.
Others feature mountain bikers, rock and ice climbers and even a pair of tandem cross-country skiers — two people, one set of skis.
The programs for each night are different, so attendees should consult the listings before purchasing tickets. Listings and tickets are available at live-to-play.com and in person at the Fox Theater, Rambleraven Gear Trader, REI and Rocket Market.
Those attending the Jan. 13 showing can buy VIP tickets to get access to a special event that raises money for area nonprofits. The VIP tickets also offer buyers a chance to choose their seats in the theater, a drink and an entry in a special prize drawing.
