Michael Sobkowiak sees at the upcoming Banff Mountain Film Festival as an easy way for the "community to come together and celebrate the outdoors."
Sobkowiak, communications director at the Western Pennsylvania Field Institute, says that's why the outdor advocacy group is trying to make the screenings as much a part of spring as rain-soaked baseball fields.
The festival offers seven features from the year's collection of 45 outdoors films put together at the Banff Centre in Alberta, Canda. They will be shown Wednesday at the Byham Theater, Downtown.
This is the second year the institute has brought in films from the Banff Centre festival. The Pittsburgh event is part of a tour that goes to 200 sites across North America and 20 other nations.
The films shown here will cover activities from mountain biking to mountaineering.
"We wanted to have variety because that's what Western Pennsylvania and the WPFI are all about," says Mike Schiller, executive director of the Field Institute.
He points out that one of the films, "Janica Kostelic," deals with a female Olympic skier.
"Last year, some people said it would have been nice to see a film about women," he says. "So we stayed aware of films like that. We are trying to encourage everybody -- all peoples, all genders-- to take advantage of the outdoors."
Debra Hornsby, director of communications at Banff, calls the touring aspect of the festival a "wonderful venue for independent filmmakers."
The touring festival is put together when a jury chooses the top 25 films of the November festival, she says. Those selected entries are offered to screening hosts, who are able to choose films that would best suit the interests of the audience in their towns.
The center has received film entries from 38 countries, Hornsby says, which points at the universality of the "spirit of adventure."
"The communication is always there," she says. "It doesn't matter what the language is."
Order of screening:
"Focused: Shane McConkey" (USA, 2002, 10 minutes) A snow lover takes his antics to a new level.
"Falling" (USA, 2003, 6 minutes) Waterfall kayakers find harmony in a special place.
"Eiger North Face -- In the Footsteps of Its First Climbers" (Switzerland, 2002, 52 minutes) Two contemporary climbers take on this Swiss mountain route with equipment like that used in the first ascent in 1938.
"ROCKSTARS! -- One Steep Planet, Custom World Tour Version" (Switzerland, 2003, 12 minutes) Mountain bikers take on the Swiss Alps.
"Cost of Freedom" (USA, 2002, 36 minutes) A wolf reintroduction effort in Idaho leads to intense and passionate debate on the issue.
"Janica Kostelic" (USA, 2003, 23 minutes) A penniless father in Yugoslavia coaches his two children to ski competition in Salt Lake City Olympic games.
"Front Range Freaks: Biscuit" (USA, 2003, 3 minutes) Biscuit, a small dog with a big appetite for climbing, heads up some rock faces. Additional Information:
Details
Banff Mountain Film FestivalWhen: 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Admission: $10 in advance only; no sales at the door.
Where: Byham Theater, Downtown.
Details: (412) 255-0564.
