Experience the sports-action of Radical Reels

PREVIEW Radical Reels Thursday, Sept. 28 at 7:30 p.m. Arden Theatre 5 St. Anne Street Tickets: $20 adults, $15 students Call 780-459-1542 or at  http://www.ticketmaster.ca

Once again, the extremely popular Radical Reels Tour returns to the Arden Theatre with some of the best high-adrenaline sports films in the world. The 2017 edition, a  two-hour program made up of short, action packed paragliding, free-falling, climbing, kayaking, skiing and cycling will be screened Thursday, Sept. 28. Presented by the Banff Mountain Film Festival, Radical Reels features people pushing the boundaries of athletic ability, independent spirit and human endurance as they match wits with Mother Nature in some of the world's harshest climates. And it's captured in detailed high-resolution by the world's most talented adventure-sport filmmakers. Essentially, Radical Reels is an opportunity for armchair athletes to experience wild action sports as seen through the eyes of some of today’s death-defying athletes. "You are able to see people push boundaries of the sports and you go to different locales. And if you see the films, year after year, you have a chance to see how athletes progress and improve," said Megan Smith, program coordinator for Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour. From nearly 300 entries, the Banff Film Festival condensed eight films of superb achievement into the 2017 Radical Reels Tour. In The Fledglings, Matt Segal and Cedar Wright, two professional climbers and beginner paragliders head down to Mexico with a goal of flying off Pico de Orizaba, a volcano that stretches 18,400 feet. El Pico is the highest in Mexico and the third highest in North America. The duo were in Mexico for a month waiting for the right conditions after a "100-year" storm was buffeting the volcano with 80 mph winds. "They're slightly crazy characters but they're fun to watch as they throw themselves into this event," added Smith. Give Me Five instead takes viewers to the Chamonix Valley where a group of undaunted French free-fall flyers and BASE jumpers perform a series of once-in-a-lifetime acrobatic aerial stunts. Instead, Swiss ski phenomenon Jeremie Heitz goes on a quest to become a better freerider in the 12-minute La Liste. "He lists off the big peaks he wants to ski and then goes back to the legends of the sport. He interviews them in the best way to explore new places." The 24-minute Locked In takes viewers to Papua New Guinea's virgin rainforest where a team of intrepid kayakers attempt the first descent of the 40-kilometre Beriman River. Sheer limestone canyon walls rise 1,500 metres from the river level. Rising water levels, breakneck water speeds, boulders jutting from the water and crashing waterfalls push the team to the edge as they attempt to reach the Solomon Sea in one piece. "The kayakers attempt to go down the river and they have to follow it. When they go in, there is only one way out. They can't portage and they face some serious Class 5 waterfalls." Jumping to Spain in Not2Bad, a group of Crazy Canucks from Anthill Films don't just go cycling. They perform fast paced, high-flying stunts in both rural and urban areas. "It's less of story and more watching a group go through a range of locales." One of the world's most accomplished rock climbers,  Canmore's Sonnie Trotter and  his buddy Will Stanhope head down under to climb Tasmania's famous Totem Pole. The eight-minute Sonnie Trotter vs. The Totem Pole films the men as they take a stab at scaling the free ascent of the Totem Pole's Ewbank Route. "The Totem Pole is quite blank. There are not a lot of options where you can attach something. If he were to fall he'd fall a long way." In Tight Loose – The Tordrillos Foot-Powdered Mission, Dane Tudor and Griffen Post fly to Alaska's Tordrillo Mountains. The goal of their month-long winter camping adventure is to ski the massive spines including one with a near 90-degree vertical drop. "It's an epic ski film." Lastly, the 16-minute Trail To Kaszbegi features four like-minded cyclists exploring some of world's least inhabited mountain ranges with nothing but their mountain bikes. With enough food for only 10 days and their wits, the foursome encounter terrifying lightning storms, raging river crossings, glacial transverses, mind-melding descents and vicious dogs. For more information visit https://www.banffcentre.ca/node/8505