A person on a bicycle is suspended in air at dusk against rolling dunes as roughly half a dozen air balloons float in the background
Follow the Light (2021) is one of the films featured in this year's Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour, coming to the Boulder Theater Feb 28–March 2. Credit: Dir. Pierre Henni

When the lights go down at the Boulder Theater during the Banff Centre Mountain Moving-picture show Festival, viewers can expect an outdoors-themed visual experience equally grand as the Rockies.

The short films featured on the Colorado stop of the world tour from the Banff Centre for Arts and Inventiveness will take audiences on a scenic and cogitating exploration of remote landscapes, mountain cultures and high-octane run a risk sports. The three-day event feels tailor made for a place like Boulder, where the outdoors are an integral office of  life for many.

That's why the Access Fund began partnering with the tour in 2012 to bring this mountain-scaled cinematic experience to their own lawn. In addition to providing the community an issue aligned with its interests and values, the Bedrock-based nonprofit recoups nearly 100% of ticket sales to assist farther its mission to go on open up and protect climbing environments throughout the The states.

"The goal here is twofold: number one, of course, is to fundraise for our mission. Simply in addition to that, it's most bringing the climbing, conservation, adventure and outdoor communities all together," said Heather Distad, director of philanthropy at the Access Fund.

Facilitating this coming together of dissimilar allied groups is a core part of the Access Fund'south mission. "Our projects bring in all the different players within a particular landscape: Native tribes, Indigenous people, ranchers, private landowners and other recreational groups," Distad said. "We all work together to ensure these places are protected, and to educate the public on what information technology means to accept intendance of those places."

Stewardship and Cinema

In improver to mobilizing support around local environmental issues, the Access Fund executes its mission through policy and advocacy, education, land acquisition and protection, stewardship and conservation, risk management and landowner back up. Recent projects include the buy of a new bouldering surface area in the Shawnee National Forest of southern Illinois, and the awarding of a $15,000 grant to fix aging climbing bolts across the state through its Anchor Replacement Fund.

The nonprofit's work makes it a natural partner for the Banff World Tour, which is one of the oldest mount film festivals in the world, with the largest global reach. The 2021/2022 festival will travel to 550 communities beyond more than than 40 countries. That's a huge bound from its origins as a three-city Canadian bout in 1976.

While the scale of the festival has changed, its mission remains simple.

"The Banff Globe Tour celebrates astonishing achievements in outdoor storytelling and filmmaking worldwide," coordinator Seana Strain wrote in an e-mail to the Boulder Reporting Lab. "Traveling to remote vistas, analyzing topical environmental issues and bringing audiences up-close and personal with adrenaline-packed action sports, [it] is an exhilarating and provocative exploration of the mountain earth."

For Distad and the Access Fund, that sense of exhilaration is a crucial first pace to helping people class meaningful and lasting connections with the environment. "Audiences walk away so stoked to get outside and live life — to become out from behind the desk and go adventure, and to also take care of these places," she said. "We actually want to tie in that message: Adventure is absurd. Hazard is even libation when yous have care of the places you explore."

Tickets to the 2022 Banff Centre Mount Film Festival World Bout, coming to Boulder February. 28–March 2, are on sale now. Proof of vaccination is required for entry.

I'grand the managing editor of the Bedrock Reporting Lab. In addition to years of writing on the culture, politics and history of my dwelling house state of Oklahoma, I was the last editor-in-chief of the Tulsa Voice, a local bi-weekly newspaper where I led a small just mighty squad of journalists to regional and national honors in feature writing, diversity reporting, LGBTQ+ coverage and more than. I expect forrard to listening to and learning from the Boulder customs as we work together on telling the stories that matter here. More by Jezy J. Gray