Faster, sharper, steeper, higher, deeper – Radical Reels is back

They are short, sharp and bound to shock.

Radical Reels are snapshots of 11 of the most high-risk, super-charged films from the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour.

Back by popular demand, the short feature films return to the Arden Theatre on Oct. 2 promising an adrenalin-spiked night.

The full-throttle film footage focuses attention on some of the world’s most accomplished climbers, paddlers, BASE jumpers, skiers, snowboarders and mountain-bikers today.

We’re not talking Marmot Basin type athletes. These film stars tackle dizzying mountain climbs, teeth-clenching bike jumps, goose-bumpy kayak drops and mind-blowing powder skiing.

The super-charged athletes test man against the phenomenal power of nature defying gravity and the natural law of physics.

On the other side of the camera, filmmakers capture stunts with remarkable precision while revealing a natural world rarely touched by humans.

Each action-packed short was selected from about 365 worldwide submissions, and this year’s Radical Reels showcases about two and one-half hours of heart-stopping action.

Heather Hendrie, a Banff Centre on-site co-ordinator, says the feel and look of Radical Reels has changed dramatically over the past decade. In part, more women have joined the ranks both in front and behind the cameras.

“And the equipment, the cameras are better today and allow athletes to push their limits. What is Radical Reels today would not have been imagined 10 years ago,” says Hendrie.

Directors are always searching for new angles to capture the action. By introducing drones, little helicopters with attached cameras to capture the action, they have been able to push the boundaries of visual perspective.

The other famous piece of machinery that has revolutionized filmmaking is the RED EPIC, a phenomenal lens in terms of image colour and level of detail.

“It can pick up a water droplet forming and falling. It’s able to capture something small in a precise way while in motion.”

Filip Christensen and Evan Sigstad directed Supervention, a 16-minute Norwegian downhill ski film that uses the RED EPIC.

“It’s all image quality captured in intricate detail. They zoom in and out easily. You can see details on boots as they zoom in and when they zoom out it shows Alpine fjords.”

One short Hendrie is particularly partial to is the four-minute Nine Queens – Shades of Winter directed by Sandra Lahnsteiner and The Distillery. Filmed in Europe, the all-female freestyle skiers float down a 24-metre ramp shaped as a castle.

“It’s very creative. The terrain park was shaped like a castle and built for the film. It has a feeling of whimsy.”

Instead The Sensei, a 26-minute film that won Peoples Choice, has a structured buddy plot when twenty-something boulderer Daniel Woods meets 43-year-old climbing veteran Yugi Hirayam. Together they team up for a gritty Borneo adventure clipping bolts and climbing 90-degree rock faces.

“They climb unbelievable overhanging spires and incredible peaks of overhanging rocks where people are almost upside down.”

The six-minute Dream Lines IV looks at some of the world’s top wingsuit flyers on wild new lines in France and Switzerland. And, farther south in Mexico, six professional kayakers connect in a rainforest to explore the blue waters of Agua Azul and run drop-dead waterfalls.

Radical Reels is more than a bunch of adventurers stunting with bigger and brasher tricks. It’s a film that celebrates camaraderie and courage with an unconventional touch of craziness. Plus it’s a lot of fun to watch the unpredictable.