Winter surfing, Antarctica climb on film fest’s Medicine Hat lineup

By Chris Brown on January 9, 2020.

cbrown@medicinehatnews.com@MHNBrown

With temperatures forecast next week to get as low as -30 C, the best way to get your outdoor fix might be inside.

The Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour returns to Medicine Hat for two nights of adventure at the Esplanade beginning at 7 p.m. on Jan. 13 and 14.

The films are selected from the dozens that are shown at the Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival in the fall. Local organizers choose from the best of the best at that festival to create each tour stop’s lineup.

There will be 12 films shown the first night and 10 the second.

“The one I would highlight on the first night is a short film called ‘Surfer Dan,'” said organizer Keith McLean. “It’s about a guy who surfs Lake Superior during the winter. He has to navigate around icebergs and apparently there’s some pretty gnarly waves that come through that area.”

McLean thinks the highlight of the second night will be “Spectre Expedition – Mission Antarctica.”

“It’s three friends who have gone to that continent and their goal is to reach and climb the highest mountain there – the Spectre mountain. It’s the most remote mountain in the world.”

The festival offers a wide variety of movies, both in terms of content and running time. For instance, “Surfer Dan” runs just eight minutes, while “Spectre Expedition – Mission Antarctica” runs 36 minutes.

McLean said there’s “everything from your superstylized skiing, snowboarding action sport video that people might be familiar with from Red Bull. And then there’s more artistic works like the longer adventure films are something that might be produced by National Geographic and highlight quite an expedition.”

The festival is once again a sellout, pointing to the extreme interest in the festival.

“We’ve outgrown two venues now. We started (at the library) and then we went to the Monarch Theatre and we’ve outgrown the Monarch and now we’re here (at the Esplanade),” said McLean.

The Medicine Hat Public Library, where McLean works, is the driving force behind bringing the festival to Medicine Hat each year. Along with the library, Cancarb and the Esplanade are integral parts of the festival’s success in Medicine Hat, McLean said.

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