A scene from Martina and Tania Halik’s Epic Coast Mountain Adventure.
With 40 shows in eight venues, this year’s Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival is the biggest yet. The annual event will screen 83 films, and host 44 speakers. These range from an Iranian woman who has become a symbol of moutain-climbing freedom, the first man to paddle-board across an ocean, and a mother-daughter team who spent five months traversing the Coast Mountains.
See below for more info on some of the guests coming to this year’s VIMFF.
Chris Bertish. He is the Stand Up Paddle Boarding world record holder and a Big Wave Surfing Mavericks champion. He recently became the first person ever to Stand Up Paddle across any ocean. He paddled 7500km—solo, unsupported and unassisted—for 93 days, across the Atlantic Ocean.
Mike Libecki. The National Geographic Explorer has completed more than 75 expeditions, from Afghanistan to Antarctica, from Greenland to Siberia, to Yemen and everywhere in between.
Mike Libecki, a National Geographic Adventurer of the Year, is a guest at this year’s Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival.
Martina and Tania Halik. The mother-daughter team presents a live premiere multi-media presentation of their Coast Mountain Epic. The Epic is a five-and-a-half-month-long ski traverse of the Coast Mountains of BC and Alaska undertaken by the Haliks last year.
Cory Richards. The National Geographic photojournalist (and Adventurer of the Year) has traveled to wild and remote corners of the world. From the unclimbed peaks of Antarctica to the Himalayas of Nepal and Pakistan, Richard attempts “to capture not only the soul of adventure and exploration, but also the beauty inherent in our modern society.”
Parvaneh Kazemi. Kazemi bucked the traditional, religious society of her native Iran to succeed like gangbusters in the world of mountain climbing. She became the first woman to reach the summit of Everest and Lhotse in a single week (and at the age of 42, to boot).
Parvaneh Kazemi, the first woman to reach the summit of Everest and Lhotse in a single week.
These are just some of the speakers coming to the festival. In addition to the guest speaker line-up, there are plenty of films (of course) as well as two workshops: Adventure Filmmaking and Expedition Planning.
All told, the festival includes 40 shows in eight venues, including three new hosts: the Kay Meek Theatre (1700 Mathers Ave., West Vancouver), Hollyburn Lodge on Cypress Mountain, and the ROX Theatre at the Richmond Oval. These are in addition to returning venues the Centennial Theatre (2300 Lonsdale Ave, North Vancouver), Cinematheque and Rio theatres (1131 Howe St. and 1660 E. Broadway), the Fredric Wood Theatre (UBC), and Inlet Theatre (Port Moody).
Among the guests are National Geographic Explorers of the Year and many others. There’ll be thrilling mountain films and hair-raising stories from local and international guests.
For a complete schedule and ticket info, visit vimff.org.
