2017 BANFF Mountain Film Festival: Ain't no way like the crazy way, Reflection on Spatial and Emotional Connection

The 2017 BANFF film festival is a series films about adventure seekers (see full list here). These adventure seekers did crazy things. One free-solo climbed dangerous rock faces. Another embraced the northern way of life in the Canadian Arctic. One group of adventurers kayaked down waterfalls. Another carved their own canoe with the help of an indigenous family in South America and rivered through the Amazon with it. Yet another surfed slacklines across canyons. Other people were accomplishing amazing feats in artistic presentation of already amazing feats, whether it be in cinematography or digital effects.

Image from the film 2.5 Million

An especially memorable film for me was about a man who felt like he wasn’t going anywhere in life. One day, he realized that he just had to pick a direction. Any direction. He needed to see what he could do with his could do with his life and ends up deciding on beating a world record in back country skiing. He trained super hard for it, and when he finished, he felt like he could do anything he set his mind to now. And now, I realize, he probably only really set his mind to it, because it was such a crazy goal. Even though there was a lot at stake and the pressure was high, I bet the craziness of really excited him and kept him going. I think that’s how I want any goal in my life to be now. One that’s crazy and really excites me.

Image from the film My Irnik

Even more interesting is how exploration of the world in a such a grand way as how these people went about these films, made them appreciate more the connections they had with their families and friends. It makes me about the effect of geography as a way of thinking. Does knowledge of spatial connection make for better emotional connection? I like the father who embraced the northern way of life, not only for himself, but also for his family. I bet he’d answer yes, since he emphasized adventure as being number one in bringing people together.