Banff Mountain Film Festival Holds World Tour

The Redlands Fox Event Theater was lively on Saturday, March 1st for the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour sponsored by San Gorgonio Wilderness Association (SGWA), a non-profit group that has been dedicated to maintaining trails, protecting the San Bernardino National Forest (including the San Gorgonio Wilderness) and serving the public visiting the forest. The Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour, a nationwide outdoor traveling festival, was put together to highlight the selected mountain and adventure stories from over three hundred film submissions received by the Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival. The nine short films shown included extreme outdoor activities in an artistic and serene approach. The films: The Burn, I Am Red, Split Of A Second, North of the Sun, Not Bad, Spice Girl (Reel Rock 8), Sensory Overload, Sea Of Rock and Vahalla, encompassed the adventure of climbing, mountain expeditions, remote cultures, and the world’s last great wild places. Many of the vendors and attendees at the event have an interest or have participated in some outdoor activity ranging from rock climbing to kayaking to snowboarding, and more. The community members that hike and take advantage of the San Gorgonio Wilderness and surrounding areas were happy to take part in the film festival. “I enjoy volunteering for SGWA because it’s my way of giving back to the community and doing something for the public and environment,” says Diana Gossard, five-year volunteer for SGWA. Some of the local students from Cal State San Bernardino took part in the event because of its correlation to outdoor physicality. “The Leadership Challenge Courses allow them to take a step outside of their comfort zone and have an intense and positive learning experience," says Loreen Mendez, second year CSUSB student. The Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival had a sizable turnout full of outdoorsy community members and local artists with an enthusiasm for nature and diverse cultures. The relationship between the community and wilderness is what influenced many of the locals to get involved in volunteering for SGWA initially. When asked how she became Executive Director of SGWA, Val Silva explained, “It all started 30 years ago with my children, I needed to do something to keep them busy. So I began volunteering to maintain the wilderness with a dozen others. We now have 200 volunteers.”