What's playing when

Thursday, Jan. 27

• "The Longest Way" Best Short Mountain Film (Germany, 2009 ) - classification, general, no advisory; focus: human adventure/humor. Film features a highly entertaining time-lapse of a one-year-walk from Beijing to Urumqi. Time and distance traveled are charmingly demonstrated by the growth of a beard.

• "Life Cycles" (USA, 2010) - classification, general, no advisory; focus, mountain biking. Filmed in ultra high definition, "Life Cycles" provides some of the most visually stunning images the mountain sports world has ever seen. It's a beautiful celebration of the bicycle, and is sure to amaze anyone who has ever ridden one.

• "Crossing the Ditch" - Best Film on Exploration and Adventure (Australia, 2009) - classification, general, mild language; focus: sea-kayaking, human adventure. Spanning 2200 kilometers between Australia and New Zealand, the Tasman Sea is one of the world's deadliest and most treacherous oceans. No one had ever successfully navigated the Tasman by kayak, although many had tried. Crossing the Ditch tells the story of two young Australians, James Castrission and Justin Jones, who battle 10-meter towering waves, massive storms, shark-filled seas, and strong currents to conquer the Tasman Sea.

• "Feel the Hill" (Canada, 2009) - classification, general, no advisory; focus: long boarding (skateboarding). The sport of long boarding attracts all kinds of people. Feel the Hill demonstrates some of the multiple disciplines of long boarding and the sense of freedom that comes with the sport.

• "AZADI: Freedom" (Canada, 2010) - classification is general, no advisory; focus on skiing, mountain culture. "AZADI: Freedom" takes a look at Kashmir in the wake of the violent militant insurgence of the 90s through the lens of skiing. The unique role that skiing is playing in rebuilding tourism in Kashmir is explored using cinematography, animation and story of local characters. The film crew explores the future presented to young Kashmiri as they venture into the mountains - on backcountry skis. The world's highest skiable gondola sits amid the most militarized region in the world, yet the freedom of adventure is drawing foreigners back to this former Shangri-La.

• Rush Hour Dream Germany, 2009 - classification is general, no advisory focus is paragliding, environment. An office worker in Dsseldorf, Germany, has a Rush Hour Dream in the tramway on his way to work and wakes up on a beautiful mountainside to discover that he is carrying a paraglider in his laptop.

• "Fly or Die" - Special Jury Mention (USA, 2009) - classification is general, coarse language; focus is rock climbing, BASE jumping, free BASE. A bold new climbing innovation - free BASE - is the creation of cutting-edge climber Dean Potter. In "Fly or Die Potter" combines free solo climbing and BASE jumping, on a quest to master disciplines that will lead to a daring evolution of the sport.

Friday, Jan. 28

• "Dream Result"- winner of People's Choice Award, Radical Reels Night (USA, 2009) - classification is general, coarse language; focus is white-water kayaking. A group of top athletes and friends are driven by passion to explore the limits of possibility. Expeditions to Norway and a quest for waterfalls throughout Argentina and the US are all part of the program in Dream Result - so hang on for the ride!

• "Chimaera" (Canada, 2010) 7 minutes - classification is general, no advisory; focus skiing. Chimaera refers to a mythological fusion of forms or a foolish fantasy. Shot with a unique camera system capable of shooting more than 1000 frames per second, Chimaera slows our perception of reality and offers an unprecedented look at a skier's life. It is an experience that blurs the borders between real and imaginary.

• "Tibet: Murder in the Snow" (Australia, 2008) - Classification is coarse language; focus is on the human story. In an incident that shocked the world, a teenage Tibetan nun, Kelsang Namtso, was killed when Chinese border police opened fire on a group of pilgrims as they fled Tibet over the infamous Nangpa Pass. The shooting was witnessed by many international mountain climbers, some of whom videotaped or photographed the events and also helped rescue survivors. "Tibet: Murder in the Snow" is the story from their perspective.

• "Last Paradise" (New Zealand, 2010) - Classification is general, no advisory; focus is human adventure/extreme sports, surfing, skiing and others. In the remote wilderness of New Zealand, when necessity was the mother of invention, a maverick bunch of kids concocted a dream that they would one day share with the world. In Last Paradise, through 45 years of stunning original footage we relive the journey of legendary extreme sports pioneers on the roads less traveled.

• "As it Happens" (USA, 2010) - Classification is general, coarse language; focus is mountaineering. Renan Ozturk and Corey Richards "go rogue" and file video dispatches from their attempt at the first ascent of Nepal's 6,000 meter Tawoche Himal. The film takes these individual pieces and ties them together in one well-made story that lets a challenging trip unfold as it happens.

• "Still Motion" (Canada, 2008) - Classification is general, no advisory; focus is environment/wildlife. Compiled from the highlights of a whole year of wildlife research, still images from motion-triggered wildlife cameras create an intricately sequenced movie-like production of Alberta's amazing wildlife. Playful fawns, stalking cougars, and curious elk take centre stage. The film asks an important question: Just who is looking at whom?

• "WildWater" (USA, 2010) - Classification is general, no advisory; focus is white-water paddling. When ordinary people share a singular passion, the extraordinary emerges. WildWater is a journey into the mind and soul of white-water and an exploration of places only river-runners can go - places of discovery, solitude, and risk. It's a visually stunning feast for the senses, and an expedition into new ideas.

Saturday, Jan. 29

• "A Life Ascending" - Best Film on Mountain Culture (USA, 2010) - Classification is general; no advisory; focus is ski mountaineering, culture, human story. Living with his wife and two young daughters on a remote glacier in the Selkirk Mountains of British Columbia, Ruedi Beglinger has built a reputation as one of the top ski mountaineering guides in the world. A Life Ascending follows his family's unique life in the mountains and their journey in the years following a massive avalanche that killed seven people. The film ultimately explores the power of nature as both an unforgiving host and profound teacher.

• "Into Darkness" (USA, 2010) - Classification is general, no advisory; focus is caving, environment. "Into Darkness" is a short adventure essay about the experience of exploring the secret underworld of caves. Journey along with a group of cavers who push through impossibly small passages to access some of the final frontiers on earth. The images and sounds of spectacular and remote wilderness caves will reveal a fantastic world unlike anything we experience on the surface.

• "Kranked Kids - Just down the Road" (Canada, 2010) - Classification is general, no advisory; focus is mountain biking, humor. "Kranked Kids - Just down the Road" is a delightful four-minute coming-of-age mountain bike parody.

• "Parking Garage: Beyond the Limit" (USA, 2008) - Classification is general, no advisory; focus is humor. "Parking Garage: Beyond the Limit" is a spoof of the Discovery Channel Show, Everest: Beyond the Limit.

• "Eastern Rises" - Best Film on Mountain Sports (USA, 2010) - Classification is parental guidance, coarse language; focus is fly fishing, environment, culture. The Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East may as well be the end of the earth. Its enormously wild landscape is swarming with bugs and bears and threaded with rivers full of massive mouse-eating trout. In the stunning film Eastern Rises, fishing is poetry; Bigfoot lurks in the fog, and fishermen risk life and limb in decommissioned Cold War helicopters to explore rivers that have never been fished before.

• "The Swiss Machine" (USA, 2010) - Classification is general, mild language; focus is climbing, mountaineering. Ueli Steck may be the greatest speed alpinist the world has ever seen. In The Swiss Machine, Steck tells of his record-breaking ascents in the Alps, accompanied by stunning aerial footage that captures him racing up 2500-metre alpine faces. When he joins Alex Honnold in Yosemite, Steck sets his ultimate goal: to take his one-man alpine speed game to the largest, highest walls in the world.

• "Stones into Schools" (USA, 2010) - Classification is general, violence; focus is culture, NGO work in Pakistan/Afghanistan. A behind-the-scenes look at Greg Mortenson's inspiring work to build schools in war-torn Afghanistan, Stones into Schools depicts some of the history, challenges, and successes of this remarkable project. Mortenson's book by the same name has been a best seller, along with his first book, "Three Cups of Tea."