The renowned Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour is returning to Logan this year, hosted by the Outdoor Programs office at Utah State University. The film fest will play at the Ellen Eccles Theatre on Feb. 9 and 10.
LOGAN – In a treat especially designed for winter sports enthusiasts and adrenaline junkies, the Banff Centre Mountain Film & Book Festival is returning to Logan this winter.
That event is slated for Feb. 9 and 10 at the Ellen Eccles Theatre, hosted by the Outdoor Programs office at Utah State University.
The BANFF Centre Mountain Film & Book Festival is ranked among the largest and most prestigious outdoor festivals in the world, according to Dan Galliher, associate director of USU’s Outdoor Programs and Facilities.
Since 1976, the city of Banff in Alberta, Canada has hosted an international film competition each autumn that features screenings of more than 400 films and documentaries about mountain culture, sports, environment, adventure and exploration.
After the annual festival closes in Banff, its world tour hits the road with a selection of award-winning and audience favorite films intended to play in more than 600 communities in 40 countries with a total audience exceeding 550,000 worldwide.
In addition to an exhilarating and provocative exploration of the mountain world, the 2023/2024 Banff tour will introduce those audience members to remote vistas, explore topical environmental issues and provide an inside look into adrenaline-packed action sports.
Here in Logan, Galliher explains that the Banff world tour is a major fund-raising event for the university’s Lyon, Maas, Mueggler Outdoor Leadership Scholarship.
That scholarship honors the memory of Max Lyon, Keith Maas and Karl Mueggler, who died in an avalanche in the backcountry of the Bear River Range east of Logan in 1997.
The three young men were exceptional athletes, noted for their outdoor talents that included climbing, kayaking and backcountry skiing.
“They weren’t just adventurers,” Galliher observes. “They were educators, outdoor activists, voices for the community, committed professionals and all-around good people.”
The USU outdoor scholarship was set up as an attempt to continue their legacy, Galliher adds. The Lyon, Maas, Mueggler Outdoor leadership Scholarship pays 50 percent of the expenses for the Desert Mountain Medicine Wilderness First Responder (WFR) certification course.
The showtimes for the Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival world tour will be at 7 p.m. on Feb. 9 and 10 at the Ellen Eccles Theatre, with different films slated for each evening.
The tour’s organizers typically select 35 to 40 films that highlight multiple themes, including climbing, skiing, kayaking, biking, adventure, culture and the environment. Local hosts can choose films from that catalogue best suited to their audiences’ interests.
The films also feature a wide range of formats, including action-filled shorts; longer, more comprehensive films; amateur and professional productions; etc.
Tickets for the film festival can be purchased by going online to www.cachearts.org and using the Show & Tickets dropdown to select “Banff.”
For questions and additional information, please call 435-797-5525 or go online to [email protected]