Films from the extreme edge of outdoor experience

Featuring an evening of adventure films, the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour is coming to Reading.

This year’s UK and Ireland tour will include films such as Four Mums in a Boat, a story about four middle-aged British mums embarking on a rowing expedition across the Atlantic Ocean.

Another highlight of this year’s line up is Doing it Scared, which tells the tale of British climber Paul Pritchard, who was left partially paralysed in 1998 after an accident at Tasmania’s Totem Pole.

Paul returns to the site 18 years later to see if he can finish what he started and complete his climb.

The festival’s short films, starring the world’s top adventurers embarking on exciting journeys in mind-blowing destinations, are selected from hundreds of films entered into the prestigious Banff Mountain Film Festival held every year in the Canadian Rockies.

This year’s UK and Ireland tour includes 14 diverse films, featuring everything from tales of high-adrenaline action to poignant environmental documentaries.

The tour will see almost 100 screenings in more than 50 venues. There’s also a significant focus on women in adventure; and the collection stars a number of UK adventurers and athletes.

The UK and Ireland tour is part of the wider Banff World Tour which visits nearly 50 countries per year and reaches an audience of more than 400,000 people.

Tour director Nell Teasdale said: “It’s fantastic to be back with our biggest tour yet, a reflection of the enormous appetite for adventure that UK and Irish audiences have.

“The Banff Tour is more than a series of exhilarating film nights. “Each screening offers a real sense of community, bringing together people with a wide range of outdoor passions.

“We guarantee that viewers will leave with new enthusiasm and inspiration for their own adventures too.”

Films are split between two different programmes, each lasting about 2½ hours.

There will be free prize giveaways at each screening.

Visit www.banff-uk.com/films for more information on the festival and to see the full film programme.