Ron Enns
Special to The Chief
Following the success of a recent evening of films of the natural world, Brackendale Documentary Film Festivals will present the second installment of its 2006 documentary film series in early June.
Brackendale Art Gallery curator Thor Froslev started the Brackendale Documentary Film Festivals in 2005, and has expanded the Films of Natural World Series for 2006. This past March, an evening of adventure sports films were screened by a full house at the gallery. Next up are documentaries of travels from throughout the world, which will be shown in early June.
Brackendale Documentary Film Festivals is currently making the call for entries for documentary travel films. Shorter, rather than feature-length films, are being sought. The adventure sports films ranged from about five to 25 minutes in length. The deadline for entries is May 23.
Froslev said he was particularly pleased with the mix of films at the adventure sports evening. "We saw some great action sports films from the worlds of snowboarding, mountain biking, kayaking, windsurfing, and trials motorcycling, we had some political messages thrown in, and we saw the serenity of activities like ocean kayaking," he said.
In the adventure sports category, the evening's awards, as selected by a panel of judges, were mountain biking film The Collective, produced by Jamie Houssain, and the Ashlu Kayak Festival film by Paul Nilsen of Brackendale, with an honourable mention going to Derelictica, a snowboarding film made by Sean Johnson of BrackendaleFollowing the June travel films screening, two further evenings of documentary films will be shown this year as part of the films of the natural world series. In August, documentary biographies will be the subject, and in November there will be an evening of films of art of the natural world.
As in the adventure sports category, films in each of the categories will be judged. The top films from each category will then be shown at Brackendale's own "Oscars" night in January 2007, during the Brackendale Winter Eagles Festival, to vie for the Eagle Awards for documentary films.
"We would like to continue this for years," said Froslev. "There is opportunity for growth here. This is not just a one-time thing, but a highlight to build on year after year."
To submit a film for the category of travels from throughout the world, contact Thor Froslev at 604-898-3333.
