Come celebrate the outdoors at this year’s Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour, which will be making a stop at the Panida Theater this weekend. 

The annual tour, again presented by Mountain Fever Productions, will be shown for three nights at Sandpoint’s Panida Theater beginning Friday, Jan. 17, Saturday, Jan. 18, and Sunday, Jan. 19. Shows on Friday and Saturday will begin at 7 p.m., and at 6 p.m. Sunday. 

All tickets are sold through the Panida website at panida.org/events. New for the first time, a three-day festival pass will be offered, allowing both easier purchasing and a chance to save. 

In total, 21 films are featured as part of the 2025 tour and will be shown to Sandpoint audiences. 2025 also marks the 30th year the Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival has visited the Panida Theater. 

As with each year, a wide variety of films encompassing mountain sport, humor, and culture will take over the Panida screen. This year, the 2024 Best Film on Snow Sports, “Wild Days,” is part of Saturday night’s program. “Wild Days” involves four friends from the Savoie region of France who come up with the crazy idea of 50 days of self-sufficiency in Alaska’s Denali Massif. The journey is grueling, involving skiing, climbing, and the use of kayaks.  

Banff programs always go after the bit of bizarre in the winter environment, and the film “Sliding” tags this, forgoing the ski hills for a faster experience sledding headfirst down the course. 

Culture is always part of the Banff film experience; this year is no different. The Best Short Film in 2024, “The Bird in My Backyard,” will be screened involving Eric Pittman, a window salesman who has turned hummingbird expert, as well as the multi-generational family whose passion fires them to go to the Karakoram Mountain Range in Asia and tackle Nameless Tower. 

Since 1995, the Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival has been about community; this year is no different. Friday night, Jeff and Doti Rouleau will be on hand with great raffle items to support their North Idaho Mountain Sports Education Foundation NIMSEF, which helps underserved youth in the community with the opportunity to ski. Saturday night, Karen Brenner will be heading up the Independence Ski Team's “Taste of Sandpoint,” raffling off a substantial prize of dining experiences at Sandpoint area restaurants, and on Sunday, Jeff Thompson will be heading for the first-year Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Centers raffle to support their efforts on avalanche safety in the Panhandle of Idaho. 

The Banff World Tour immediately follows the Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival in November, where a selection of the top films submitted to the festival go on a worldwide tour. The tour reaches over 550,000 audience members through more than 1,100 screenings in 500 locations in 40 countries. Some years it is even shown in Antarctica. From its humble beginnings in Banff, Alberta, where a couple of filmmakers got together, it truly spans the globe.

Information: mountainfever.us

Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival schedule: 

“SANDSTONE,” FRIDAY, Jan. 17 

“The Streif” (2024, Austria, mountain biking) — Get ready for an intense opener!  Fabio Wibmer is back on snow! This time “crashing” the preparations for the most legendary ski race in the world: the Streif. 

“River Momma” (2023, USA, rafting; advisory for coarse language) — River Mamma follows Elisha McArthur, a lifelong raft guide and single mom with her relationship with her teenage goth daughter, Charlotte, who has zero interest in rivers or the river culture of which she grew up in. 

“109 Below” — Film tells a tale of resilience and grit when elite rescue volunteers go out of their way to save the lives of strangers. The film won 2024 Best Film - Mountain Sports honors. 

“Keep it Burning” (2024, Spain, culture, climbing) — The Karakoram is the wildest mountain range in the world and Nameless Tower beckons to climbers who approach. Edu Marin, his brother Alex and father Novato attempt the second free ascent of Eternal Flame 33 years after the first ascent by Wolfgang Gullich and Kurt Albert, and 13 years after Alex and Thomas Huber’s first free ascent. 

“Welcome to the Pit” (2024, Canada, skiing, snowboarding) — In 2011, Steve Matthews had a bright idea. With his kids completely hooked on snowboarding, he rallied a few friends and set out to build Yellowknife’s first and only rope tow. 

“Dolomites”(2024, France, mountain biking; advisory for coarse language) — In this tour edit of the film, mountain biking free solo and more … Kilian Bron and his team take you on a thrilling and history-rich adventure, riding the steepest trails of the Dolomites. 

“Undammed” (2024, USA, environment) — After witnessing a massive fish kill on her ancestral home waters, Yurok tribal attorney Amy Bowers Cordalis dedicated her life to reversing the generations-long destruction wrought by the Klamath River dams. Undammed follows her journey to free the Klamath, from testifying before Congress to passing down fishing traditions within her young family. 

“BASALT,” FRIDAY, Jan. 18 

“Home From Home” (2024, USA, skiing) — Take a glimpse into the lives and hearts of some of the best Japanese freeride skiers in the world. Home from Home explores the intersection between Japanese athletes and the natural world. 

“Wolf of Wingsuit” (2024, Australia, wingsuit flying) — The beautiful and towering mountains of Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland, are a paradise for BASE jumpers and wingsuit professionals seeking thrills during the off-season. Avalon, an American wingsuit pilot, and a Filipino-Australian documentary filmmaker unit to capture Avalon’s audacious quest to leap from the mountainside as many times as humanly possible. 

“Canyon Chorus” (2024, USA, rafting; advisory for coarse language) — Set against the backdrop of Desolation Canyon, Utah, Mikah Meyer, a world-record traveler and his friends reflect on their stories and the power of mentorship. 

“Dropping Molly” (2024, USA, climbing; advisories for coarse language, mature content) — Follow Molly Mitchell’s roller-coaster journey to climb Crank It, one of Colorado’s most dangerous routes.  After breaking her back on the climb, Molly must face her rocky mental health and embark on a journey of therapy, self-discovery and growth. 

“Eliot Jackson – Drop the Mic” (2024, Canada, mountain bike) — Eliot Jackson has sneaky superpowers. He is one of the best riders to ever scrub-whip a mountain bike. 

“The Bird in My Backyard" (2024, Canada, culture) — Follow Eric Pittman, a window salesman turned hummingbird expert, as he documents the secret lives of the hummingbirds that nest in his urban backyard. Film was selected 2024 Best Short Film. 

“Wild Days” (2024, France, adventure; advisory for coarse language)  — Four friends from Savoie have a crazy idea: 50 days of self-sufficiency in Alaska’s Denali massif. Wild Days takes us overland on a grueling journey to a place where time drifts, spirits wander off, and where friendships are created, and then tested by, commitment. Tour edit of film; “Wild Days” was selected 2024 Best Film - Snow Sports. 

“QUARTZITE,” SUNDAY, Jan. 19

“Anytime - Switzerland” (2024, Canada, mountain biking) — Set in the Lenzerheide Bike Park, tour edit of film will highlight the fact that good times are at the core of it all. Leave your preconceptions behind and join the revolutions as these women prove they’re not just riding — they’re reigning. 

“Jamrock: The Birth of Jamaican Rock Climbing” (2024, USA, rock climbing) — Kai Lightner, a 12-time national US climbing champion embarks on a transformative mission into the heart of Jamaica’s emerging climbing community, where passion and determination thrive despite limited resources and recognition. 

“Of a Lifetime” (2024, Switzerland, adventure snowboarding; advisory for coarse language) — Film chronicles the renowned De Le Rue family’s journey as Xavier, Victor and 18-year-old Mila sail across the Drake Passage to ride the unimaginably steep icy line of the white continent. 

“The Smoke That Thunders” (2024, Canada, kayak) — Aiming to paddle the fabled Minus Rapids at the base of Victoria Falls on the Zambezi River, Ben Marr’s biggest challenge is to access them by trekking upstream. A total assault on the senses awaits as the force of the river speaks for itself. Film received 2024 Creative Excellence Award. 

“The Last Observers” (Culture) — For decades, every third hour around the clock, every day of the year, Karin Persson and Lennart Karlsson have gone outside to observe and record the weather. At one of the last manual weather stations on the planet, there are no days off. Film received 2024 Special Jury Mention. 

“Reel Rock Jirishanca” (2024, USA, climbing, alpine adventure; advisory for coarse language) — Renowned alpinists Josh Wharton and Vince Anderson attempt a free ascent of the Jirishanca, an epic 6000-metre peak in the Peruvian Andes. The duo will have to tackle 5.13 face climbing, horizontal ice roofs, technical mixed terrain, and treacherous snow mushrooms as they reconcile the inherent risk of climbing with their love of alpine adventure. 

“Sliding” (2024, U.S. Virgin Islands, sledding) — A female athlete skips the crowded ski slopes to traverse the Swiss Alps on her sled … Idaho style, headfirst.

    A still from the movie, "The Bird in My Backyard," one of the films being shown as part of this weekend's Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour.
  

    A still from "The Smoke That Thunders, one of the films being shown at this weekend's Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour as it stops at the Panida for three days of films.