It's one thing to take a walk in the woods.
It's quite another to sit back and watch experienced thrill seekers jump off cliffs, canoe Canada's roughest waters and hike around Everest following a massive earthquake.
This weekend, some of the best documentaries about outdoor travel will be screened in Port Moody as part of the 20th annual Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival (VIMFF), which is returning to the Inlet Theatre for the second year in a row.
Programmer Tom Wright, who helped to jury the 98 flicks that will also be presented in Vancouver and North Vancouver, said organizers wanted to bring the fest back to Port Moody because last year's shows "went really well. Port Moody is right on the doorsteps to the mountains and it's a vibrant community that's full of outdoor enthusiasts."
"It also saves them a drive to Vancouver," Wright said.
Wright said VIMFF is on par with the Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival, a nine-day annual event in the fall that attracts seafarers, trekkers and mountain sport lovers from around the world.
He said the quality of the niche films — especially the cinematography in remote locations — gets better each year as more adrenaline junkies turn to outdoor activities and fun; as a result, choosing what will be part of the line-up becomes more difficult.
Port Moody's program this year includes five North American premieres:
• The Last Cavemen: a story, directed by Jean-Michel Corillion, about the Taw't Bato tribe of Palawan Island in the Philippines;
• Run Forever, a narrative about one of England's best trail runners who is also a beef farmer;
• Flow, a German movie about Harald Philipp on his bike on the via ferrata in the Dolomites;
• Samuel in the Clouds, a Belgian film about the melting glaciers in Bolivia;
• and Moving Mountains, a first-hand account from Canadian Heather Geluk, who was in Nepal when a powerful earthquake struck the country.
Geluk will be in Port Moody on Saturday night (as part of the Mountain Mixer 1 series) to talk about her experience and filming the documentary while, on Sunday night, Seattle director Erik Koto will speak about his flick The Song Collector (for The High Life series), a movie about a 1960s folk singer who started a social movement to preserve his Buddhist culture.
Wright said the aim of the festival is "to get people outside and have some adventures themselves. We want people to get fired up about the outdoors and chase their dreams. There is so much to see and do out there."
• Discounted tickets for the films are available online at vimff.org. The Inlet Theatre is located at 100 Newport Dr., inside Port Moody city hall.
jcleugh@tricitynews.com
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THE PORT MOODY LINEUP
Saturday, 2 p.m.: The Last Cavemen
Saturday, 7:30 p.m.: Mountain Mixer 1 (Claim Freedom, Vorticity, Face To Face, Moving Mountains, The Alchemists)
Sunday, 2 p.m.: Mountain Mixer 2: (Sea Gypsies, Run Forever, Flow, What If You Fly?)
Sunday, 7:30 p.m.: The High Life (Samuel In The Clouds, The Song Collector, Wolf Hunter)
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CONTEST
To win tickets to The High Life on Feb. 12 at 7:30 p.m., email jcleugh@tricitynews.com before Friday, Feb. 10.
