The world tour of the Banff Mountain Film Festival will touch down in Gibsons on Jan. 31, attracting spectators to Elphinstone Secondary School’s gymnasium for what has been called the best-attended annual cultural event on the Sunshine Coast.
And for the first time, organizers from the Tetrahedron Outdoor Club have custom-selected nine unique selections from the festival’s full touring menu of three dozen films.
In former years, the group was required to choose a predefined bundle of outdoor-themed films, which can range from three minutes to an hour in duration. For the 2025 event, Tetrahedron volunteers headed by festival coordinators Ellen Marcotte and Leah Thomas gathered in advance to screen the full lineup.
“It was a long evening,” said Thomas, “but there were lots of good things to choose from.”
The unfettered freedom to select individual movies was a boon of inviting an official representative of the Banff Mountain Film Festival to officiate on Jan. 31. Kristi Beetch is one of the organization’s “road warriors” who will host the local festival, providing behind-the-scenes insights about the selected productions.
“We’ve got a really good lineup that our local area will enjoy,” added Thomas. The Tetrahedron committee does not reveal its individual titles before the local screening but disclosed that their subjects encompass snow sports, female biking, the environment, culture, alpine rescue, the ski community, BASE jumping and adaptive sports.
The touring festival’s roster brings together international filmmakers and adventurers in wide-ranging documentary-style shorts. In the three-minute Wolf of Wingsuit, a Filipino-Australian documentary filmmaker captures an American wingsuit pilot’s quest to leap from a Swiss mountainside as many times as humanly possible. A Canadian production directed by Seth Gillis depicts a quest by a Yellowknife resident to built the city’s first and only rope tow.
Another Canadian selection, The Smoke That Thunders, won the award for creative excellence in its portrayal of a paddler’s attempt to transit the Minus rapids at the base of Victoria Falls on the Zambezi river. The Canadian premiere of 2 Legs is 2 Easy tells the story of outdoor athlete Steve Karczewski who was born with bone cancer and has never known what it is like to have two legs.
The touring film festival plays in communities across Canada, the U.S., and 40 other countries.
For the Tetrahedron Outdoor Club, the local screening also serves as a high-profile fundraiser. The group completed several major projects in Tetrahedron Provincial Park last year, and in 2025 plans a program of trail marking, brush clearing, roadwork and plowing. “Maintenance is our priority at the moment,” said Thomas, noting that a helicopter drop of firewood for distant cabins has already taken place. “That being said, we’re always thinking about new things to do and new ways to improve the park for our local population.”
Some funds raised will be earmarked for the Dakota Ridge Nordics program, which offers cross-country ski lessons for children.
The festival evening at Elphinstone will feature representatives from local companies and organizations, including search and rescue volunteers. The school’s student leadership group is preparing a concession of baked goods; door prizes, raffles, and a 50-50 draw are also mainstays.
“It’s a fun evening for the community,” added Thomas, “and it’s almost always a sellout.” Tickets ($25) are available at Beyond Consignment, Tapworks Brewing, Alpha Adventures, Trail Bay Source for Sports and Elphi Cycles. Doors open at 5:45 p.m.; films start at 7 p.m. after which there is no entry.
