Organizers were unsure whether the Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival would proceed as planned with frequently changing COVID-19 protocol, however as of Wednesday, it is expected to go ahead.--NEWS PHOTO KENDALL KING
kking@medicinehatnews.com
Medicine Hat Public Library and the Esplanade are coming together to present the Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival from Jan. 9-12.
“It’s been 22 years that we’ve been bringing the show to Medicine Hat,” Gillian Reimer, head of marketing services at the Medicine Hat Public Library, told the News.
The festival will feature two screenings, which each including several short films focusing on mountain culture, adventure and current issues.
‘Screening A’ will be shown on Sunday and Tuesday and includes the films “A Dog’s Tail”, “Can’t Beat This Place for Fun”, “Precious Leader Woman”, “Jump to Zero, Inside: A Hole New Ski Experience”, “Reel Rock and Breaking Trail”. ‘Screening B’ is running on Monday and Wednesday and will feature the films “Follow the Light”, “Finally”, “Bear-Like”, “If You Give a Beach a Bottle”, “Dream Mountain” and “My Midsummer”.
“The last few years before COVID, the show would sell out immediately … so this year we thought we would have two sets of shows,” said Reimer.
More than 400 films are entered into the annual festival, with the most well-received chosen to tour cities across the globe. MHPL staff then curate the screenings based on what they believe Hatters would be most interested to watch.
“We can kind of feel isolated in Medicine Hat sometimes, so we’re trying to bring different cultures and experiences here for people to enjoy,” said Reimer.
All screenings will be held at the Esplanade and will begin at 7 p.m. Restrictions Exemption Program will be in place and masks are mandatory. Due to COVID-19 restrictions only a limited number of seats are available. Tickets are $20 each and can be purchased on Tixx.ca.
