On March 29, the Georgia Appalachian Trail Club’s annual screening of the Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour came to Blairsville for the first time, showcasing a love of the outdoors through masterful visuals and evocative storytelling.
Along with GATC, 23 partners set up tables in the lobby of the Union County Schools Fine Arts Center that Saturday to showcase organizations and programs that benefit the natural spaces that surround the community and protect local trails and hiking opportunities.
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When the doors opened at 1 p.m., guests had an hour to check out what exhibitors had to offer. Using displays and giving out items like brochures and stickers, they painted a picture of what the Southern Appalachian Trail is like and how the communities dotted along its outskirts live.
The action started at 2 p.m. Film festivals typically play a series of short pictures rather than longer movies, and this year’s lineup included everything from five-minute shorts to a 44-minute documentary.
“Anytime – Switzerland” takes viewers on a breathtaking journey along the Lenzerheide Bike Park, where riders defy gravity in jaw-dropping stunts that carry them over ramp and hill without issue.
“Jamrock: The Birth of Jamaican Rock Climbing” follows the journey of 12-time national climbing champion Kai Lightner as he helps to establish rock climbing as a professional sport in the Caribbean island nation.
“Of a Lifetime” chronicles the De Le Rue family’s journey to Antarctica, where young Mila spends her 18th birthday following in the daring footsteps of her snowboarding father and uncle. While facing incredible fear, she learns just what it means to overcome challenge and how to make her own place in the world.
“The Smoke That Thunders,” at just five minutes long, was one of the shortest stories told at the festival, but it offered awe-inspiring shots of the underside of Victoria Falls as professional extreme whitewater kayaker Ben Marr braved the elements paddling upstream.
“The Last Observers” is a heartwarming, bittersweet peek into the lives of the last two manual weather recorders in Sweden: Lennart Karlsson and Karin Persson. The couple met through a shared passion for nature – particularly birds – and also managed the Falsterbo Bird Observatory.
“Reel Rock: Jirishanca” tells the story of how alpinists Josh Wharton and Vince Anderson scaled a 19,993-foot Andean mountain in the heart of Peru. Both men have a history pursuing extreme sports, but now, with families to live for, they must temper the risk of their adventure with the deep love for the lives they have built.
“Sliding,” the shortest film of the collection with a four-minute runtime, follows one woman’s fun snow day out as she slips through the Swiss Alps headfirst on a sled through sunny, ice-packed tunnels a world away from the bustle of the surrounding town.
Each film was well-received, with applause – and some cheering – following in the wake of every credit roll. About 350 people attended the festival, traveling from near and far to enjoy the experience. There are even plans for the festival to return next year, with the Fine Arts Center booked for March 28, 2026.
Craig Keyworth and Pat Decker are no strangers to film festivals, especially those by the Banff Centre – which they once attended in its namesake Canadian town – and they carry a passion for nature. Though they live in Atlanta, the couple owns a house in Blairsville, and they came up specifically to attend the film festival.
“I liked the films, but I also like that, ahead of time, you get to learn more about some of the things that are happening (locally),” said Decker, describing the exhibits as a chance to hear about “taking adventures here.” “There were some great different displays for areas around town that we knew a little bit about but not a lot about.”
Silu Tu felt a personal connection with the films presented at the festival that day. The one thing she hadn’t done in her career of adventuring to that point, however, was visit a film festival. Admittedly, Tu didn’t have high hopes going in because she thought the films would be low-budget indie productions, but she found her own view of the world strengthened.
As a rock climber that recently visited Jamaica and a volunteer at GATC, Tu was invested in the stories told and the organization that helped bring them to the public eye. She was inspired, in fact, to visit Peru thanks to “Reel Rock: Jirishanca.”
“I really liked (the festival). Really, it changed my idea. I remember the last time a movie spoke to my heart, it was 10 years ago,” Tu said, explaining that Karin Persson’s view of supporting all life on Earth in “The Last Observers” really resonated with her.
“A lot of people talk about, ‘Oh, you’re on your own, you have to be an individual, you are your own person,’” Tu said. “But we all know that’s not true. You have to rely on society or the community or your neighbors or whoever is around you.”
Ticket purchases to the festival benefited the Georgia Appalachian Trail Club with its efforts to promote appreciation, management, maintenance and protection of the Appalachian Trail and other natural outdoor places, according to GATC President Lynne Beeson said.
For more information on the GATC, visit https://georgia-atclub.org/. And for more info on the film festival and other programs, check out https://www.banffcentre.ca/.
