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The doc K2 Mon Amour follows a couple\u2019s quest to paraglide off a mountain summit.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Sister festival of the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival, the event \u2014 which showcases some of the world\u2019s most exciting documentaries on climbing, skiing, mountaineering and the like \u2014 has its first edition this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always like to remind people that the Alpine Club of Canada started in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1906,\u201d Hughes says.<\/p>\n
At that time, Winnipeg was the \u201cChicago of the North,\u201d one of Canada\u2019s fastest-growing cities \u2014 and a gateway for eastern Canadians into western exploration and settlement. Completing the Canadian Pacific Railway and establishing the Banff National Park, both in 1885, helped turn the Rockies into a recreational landscape for groups like the Alpine Club of Canada.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n Girl Climber is a doc about Emily Harrington and her attempt to free-climb El Capitan in a day.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n With the Rockies a choice vacation spot today for so many Manitobans, many here have a special relationship to the mountains \u2014 Hughes among them.<\/p>\n The documentarian\u2019s impressive credits in the mountain genre include Flatlanders: The 1992 Mount Manitoba Expedition, about the Manitoba chapter of the ACC (which included two Winnipeg Free Press reporters) and their attempt to ascend Mount Manitoba in the Yukon in 1992. The short, an adventurous tale complete with hairy escapes and avalanches sweeping up climbers, is part of a docuseries exploring Manitobans\u2019 fascination with the mountains.<\/p>\n While Winnipeggers may have to wait for a future edition of the festival to see those films, Hughes has vetted eight international films this year to satisfy local flatlanders\u2019 orophilia.<\/p>\n \u201cI do the programming for the Vancouver Mountain Film Festival \u2026 so I get access to all the films that are on the circuit,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are really the best films that are out there that aren\u2019t usually on tour.\u201d<\/p>\n He highlights a couple of favourites from this year\u2019s program.<\/p>\n One is K2 Mon Amour, which documents husband and wife Liv Sansoz and Zeb Roche as they pursue what for mere mortals would be not one, but two, loopy schemes: summiting the world\u2019s second-tallest mountain without oxygen and hurling themselves off the summit, hand in hand, on a paraglider.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The things we do for love.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat makes it really incredible for me is the fact that is the fact that it\u2019s all, kind of, first-person day shot. It feels like you\u2019re on the adventure with them,\u201d says Hughes.<\/p>\n The trailer \u2014 with its avalanches, impossibly steep climbs and paraglider ridge-soaring along the Himalayans, all captured in panoramic detail that would be the envy of Red Bull TV \u2014 confirms this.<\/p>\n Another of Hughes\u2019 faves is Girl Climber, a doc about Emily Harrington and her attempt to free-climb El Capitan in California\u2019s Yosemite National Park in under 24 hours.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Ordinarily, even for elite climbers, this is a multi-day expedition with gear. Harrington chucked the ropes and harnesses and engaged in a hard, non-stop push, with zero margin for error.<\/p>\n \u201cThis film blows me away,\u201d says Hughes. \u201cIt\u2019s really a film about a female climber \u2026 trying to break into that (male-dominated) world. It\u2019s, like, a six-year odyssey that she\u2019s on.\u201d<\/p>\n Extreme sports aren\u2019t exactly known for attracting moderate personalities \u2014 they face not just extreme risk, injury, harsh conditions but often minimal financial support for their passion.<\/p>\n The soft-spoken Hughes may mostly work behind the lens, or in this case in the projection booth, though he understands and channels this passion.<\/p>\n \u201cI always wanted there to be an adventure film festival here, from the moment I moved here,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019ve got no funding. It\u2019s all coming out of my pocket.\u201d<\/p>\n There\u2019s already a lot on offer this year, and he hopes this festival will eventually rival some of Canada\u2019s most popular mountain film festivals.<\/p>\n \u201cI really want to make this a real festival where we bring in top-notch international athletes to present,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we can make this a successful event, it\u2019s just gonna get bigger in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n winnipegfreepress.com\/conradsweatman<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Conrad Sweatman Conrad Sweatman is an arts reporter and feature writer. Before joining the Free Press full-time in 2024, he worked in the U.K. and Canadian cultural sectors, freelanced for\u00a0outlets including The Walrus, VICE and Prairie Fire. Read more about Conrad.<\/a><\/p>\n
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