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Outside magazine, October 2000
DISPATCHES 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Page: 1

Like the Sundance-Toronto-Berlin indie film circuit, mountain films have their own annual loop, with major festivals in Telluride; Trento, Italy; and Kendal, England. But one gathering is emerging as the Cannes of the genre: the Banff Mountain Film Festival, held in the Canadian Rockies this year from November 3 to 5. That said, if you go, don't expect to see Sir Edmund Hillary sporting a thong in the spa at Banff Springs (it's not that much like Cannes). No, the hard currency here is mountain adventure—sometimes with storylines as thin as weak Gatorade and production quality just a cut above America's Funniest Home Videos, so be warned. If you can't make the trek, the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour kicks off immediately after the fest, rolling a condensed roster of fine, if somewhat uneven, films into an art house near you. Here are four Banff-bound films to keep an eye out for. –Steven Threndyle

THE PITCH

WATCH WITH...

BODY COUNT

Film: Wheel Women
Filmmakers: Anne Walton, Selena Lawrie, and Laurie Long

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Sort of an "Oprah's Bike Club," where pro downhill racer Walton takes some home video of fresh-faced lasses who go mountain biking and then yak about it. Sample dialogue: "The more ya do it, the better ya get at it." Lots of woodsy North Shore riding.

Double Starbucks skim-milk latte (no foam)

Some mild biffing and endos, but generally the Wheel Women show common sense by dressing—like Tera Meade, at left—in heavy armor.

Film: Pain and Suffering on the Southern Traverse
Filmmaker: James Heyward

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Arrogant Aussie doctor Andrew Peacock, at left, teams up with French and British adventure racers, who ditch him (for the first time) on Day Two. Confirms your worst fears about the perils of choosing your race partners via e-mail.

GU. Choke back a packet every time Peacock throws a hissy fit at team members.

With New Zealand's Southern Traverse race barely underway, the utterly unprepared Malaysian team is expelled as its strongest member succumbs to hypothermia and extreme cramping while support-vehicle driver crashes the truck. American racer Deb Brown pushes on to the finish line despite being seriously ill.

Film: Kranked III: Ride Against the Machine
Filmmakers: Christian Begin and Bjorn Enga

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Crazy-bastard mountain bikers ride on location in Peru, southern Turkey, and Vancouver. Outrageous stunts (that's Eric Paulson catching big air at left) are matched by furious sound track (e.g. Arthur Funkarelli), insane camera angles, and Quake-quality digital animation.

Half-sack of Red Bull and a 30cc injection of testosterone

Segment on gap-jumping between Vancouver apartment-building rooftops could only be filmed in a country with nationalized health care.

Film: Wild Climbs, Czech Republic
Filmmaker: Richard Else

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British film crew tails rock-jock pretty-boy Leo Houlding and traditional climber Andy Cave as they redpoint sandstone towers in the northern Czech Republic, near the town of Ostrov-Tisa, as part of a climbing exchange between British and Czech climbing clubs.

Liter-size stein of Pilsner Urquell

Houlding takes a couple of rippers, but the most painful sequence is watching our hero (seen here) puking from a moving car after a night of Prague pub-hopping.