Monday, February 4, 2008 Seacoastonline.com
by Dan Lorenz
dlorenz@seacoastonline.com
After a long day of extreme snowboarding, a grueling mountain trek, or a rugged climb up a frozen waterfall, what do you do to relax?
With an evening of adrenaline-packed, heart-pounding films, of course.
The 12th annual Banff Mountain Film Festival hosted by Avis Goodwin Community Health Center and held at The Music Hall promises a wild, action-filled, and thought-provoking, series of films featuring extreme mountain sports, breathtaking landscapes and remote locations.
KC Christensen-Lang, director of Development and Community Relations at Avis Goodwin Community Health Center, is enthusiastic about the upcoming event.
&ldquot;These are really the best mountain films in the world,&rdquot; Christensen-Lang said. &ldquot;Every year we've hosted it, people in the audience are literally gasping.&rdquot;
All proceeds from the event, which has sold out every year, will go toward funding the nonprofit Avis Goodwin Community Health Center, which has offices in Rochester and Dover.
The festival is also sponsored locally by the Kittery Trading Post in Kittery, Maine.
&ldquot;Kittery Trading Post has really stepped up to the plate and been super generous,&rdquot; Christensen-Lang said. &ldquot;A fund-raiser like this is really a win-win situation for all the folks in the seacoast. When you go out and have a great time and are also supporting a good cause, it's really a great thing.
The films are selected from the Banff Mountain Film Festival, an annual event at the Banff Centre in Alberta, Canada, that celebrates filmmakers and adventurers who share a love of mountaineering, nature and outdoor adventure.
Films at the Banff festival are created by amateurs and professionals alike, and represent submissions from 35 countries. The best submissions are given awards in categories such as mountain sports, climbing and mountain culture.
Film selections for the Portsmouth event include award winners and audience favorites culled from the more than 300 entries submitted to the festival every year. This year's award-winning films include titles such as &ldquot;Death On Nanga Parbat,&rdquot; &ldquot;20 Seconds Of Joy,&rdquot; and &ldquot;Into The Wild.&rdquot;
&ldquot;We have films about mountain biking, ice climbing, even a new event called 'snow kiting,'&rdquot; Christensen-Lang said. &ldquot;It's really breathtaking photography. Hang on to your hats.&rdquot;
Those in attendance will have the chance to win prizes, including three days of skiing on any of Colorado's 25 ski mountains, provided by Colorado Ski Country USA.
Patagonia, New Balance, National Geographic, and several other corporate sponsors have also donated prizes to be won at the event.
Portsmouth is just one stop for the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour, which takes its films and showcases them worldwide. The tour stops in more than 275 locations in 30 countries, with a total audience of more than 195,000 people.
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