Back by popular demand, the Mountain Film Festival by the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity will return to the Union County Fine Arts Center on Saturday, March 28, as part of the 2025-2026 World Tour.
But before that, the final selections must be screened for community reception, as they were earlier this month at the Union County Public Library, with audience responses of the screened films going into the decision of which ones to show locally.
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“It seems this year that there are very good films across all (categories),” said Erik Love, Chair of the Banff Film Festival Committee for the Georgia Appalachian Trail Club. Love hosted the screening event and introduced each of the movies shown.
“We just wanted to get feedback from people, and you know, this is the first view that some members of the committee have had of these,” Love said. “It doesn’t have all the grandeur of the Fine Arts Center … but if it’s successful in a small environment and well received, then I’m confident that they’re really going to enjoy it when they get to see it (at the festival).”
Every film celebrates life outdoors, and many act as documentaries showcasing nature’s might or highlighting the tenacity of the human spirit when it comes to sports like skiing, rafting, trail running, biking and more.
For every Banff Film Festival, there’s a category, or “theme,” with its own selection of movies. Regardless of the overarching theme, there’s always a mix of short and long films, with some clocking in at two to five minutes and others spanning nearly an hour.
To respect the time of screening attendees and the library, Love decided to show a few of the shorter options, a couple of medium-length films between 12 and 22 minutes, and half of two of the longer choices.
The movies were pulled from different collections, and just because the public reacts well to one movie doesn’t mean that the choices can be “mixed and matched.”
Each “theme” must be chosen as a set, with the movies included serving as the final cut for whichever selection fits the bill for this area. What that seemed to look like here, judging by attendee feedback, was an interest in local growth and a focus on the Appalachian Trail.
Common to all the films shared that day were the profound messages of hope and inspiration for everything from opening one’s eyes to the challenges faced by those navigating the world in different ways to those championing the survival of the world’s smallest inhabitants.
2026 will be the second year that the Banff Film Festival has come to town, and it has enjoyed success thanks to the many local outdoor-oriented communities and organizations. A number of them will be making appearances at the Fine Arts Center in March, serving as vendors or handing out information during the intermission.
The movie screening’s attendees were there by invitation only, making for an audience primarily comprised of business and organization owners impacted by the Appalachian Trail. That said, anyone is welcome to attend the Banff Film Festival on March 28, with tickets costing $25 each.
