Mountains on Stage is coming back in April in the UK. With nine cities in total, starting with Edinburgh on April 16, the festival will screen five films that are inspired by climbers and mountaineers. The films are all inspired by experienced in the mountains and range from 26 to 35 minutes in length. Tickets can be purchased at www.mountainsonstage.com
Dates and venues:
- Monday 16th April, EDINBURGH - Vue Cinemas Omni Centre (61/11 Leith Street - Edinburgh EH1 3AU). From 7pm to 10:30 pm (doors open 6:30pm) £16.00
- Tuesday 17th April, GLASGOW - Vue Cinemas Fort (Glasgow Fort Shopping Park - Junction 10 M8 - Glasgow G34 9DL). From 7pm to 10:30 pm (doors open 6:30pm) £15.00
- Wednesday 18th April, LEEDS - Vue Cinemas The Light (22 The Headrow, Leeds LS1 8TL). From 7pm to 10:30 pm (doors open 6:30pm). NEW CITY £15.00
- Thursday 19th April, MANCHESTER - Vue Cinemas Printworks (The Printworks - 27 Withy Grove - Manchester M4 2BS). From 7pm to 10:30 pm (doors open 6:30pm) £15.00
- Friday 20th April, LIVERPOOL - The Capstone Theatre (Liverpool Hope University Creative Campus 17 Shaw Street, Liverpool L6 1HP). From 7pm to 10:30 pm (doors open 6:30pm). NEW CITY £15.00
- Monday 23rd April, BIRMINGHAM - Vue Cinemas (Star City - Unit 29 - Watson Road - Birmingham B7 5SA). From 7pm to 10:30 pm (doors open 6:30pm) £15.00
- Tuesday 24th April, LONDON – Vue Cinemas Islington (Angel Central, 36 Parkfield St, London N1 0PS). From 7pm to 10:30pm (doors open 6:30pm) £16.00
- Wednesday 25th April, SOUTHAMPTON - Vue Cinemas Eastleigh (The Swan Centre, Wells Pl, Vue, Eastleigh SO50 5SF). From 7pm to 10:30pm (doors open 6:30pm). NEW CITY £16.00
- Thursday 26th April, BRISTOL - Showcase Cinema Avonmeads (Avon Meads - St. Phillips Causeway - BS2 0SP Bristol). From 7pm to 10:30 pm (doors open 6:30pm) £16.00
Dates and tickets: http://www.mountainsonstage.com/book-your-tickets
The films include:
Lunag Ri: This gripping film documents the second attempt of two mountaineers, David Lama and Conrad Anker, to climb Lunag Ri, a virgin summit (6907m) located on the border between Tibet and Nepal. This new documentary, which will have its premiere at Mountains on Stage, is packed with stunning alpine climbing, but it also shows how even the best mountaineers can be fragile in the mountains... Length: 35 minutes
Notes from the wall: The Belgians are back to Mountains On Stage ! In this documentary, the mythical team composed of Sean Villanueva O'Driscoll, Nicolas Favresse and Siebe Vanhee are involved in a new adventure in Chilean Patagonia (Torres del Paine), the land of "big walls". A mix of hard climbing, spectacular exploration, music and humor! Length: 35 minutes
Break on through: Girl power! The level of difficulty in modern climbing is steadily increasing to reach 9c today, but the gap between men and women is getting ever smaller. Margo Hayes proved it by achieving an historical performance: to become the first woman to climb a 9a+. Her projects are two legendary routes, "La Rambla" (Spain) and "Biographie" (France) which will require an absolute commitment. A must-see film about an exceptional woman! Length: 26 minutes
Surf the line: In 2015, Anicet Léone and Tancrède Melet had a bright idea: surf in the air. After the death of Tancrède, the continuation of this project became very important for the Flying Frenchies. If adrenaline is guaranteed, the beauty of the film comes mainly from the sincere confessions of the protagonists regarding the absence of their friend, and their approach to risk-taking moving forward. A film that is both intimate and full of life! Length: 35 minutes
The Mountain Of The Crystal Diggers: The new gold diggers: it's the story of a passion shared by four friends who gather each year in the mountains to look for crystals. Global warming and retreating glaciers make the modern era a golden age for this practice. In 2015, the discovery of an exceptional "oven" changed their lives. This documentary takes another look at the mountains, far from performance, it becomes a place for sharing and exploration. Length: 26 minutes
Full programme: http://www.mountainsonstage.com/programme
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/mountainsonstage/
Comments
I went to the Bristol showing last night & found it ..... mixed (and VERY long - well over 3 hours). The first two films (Conrad Anker/David Lama in Nepal, & Margo Hayes doing 9a+ twice), were great, but then it seemed to descend into a series of over-long footage of basically, men getting as high as kites / off their nads on their own hyper-adrenaline & ego (and always then SHOUTING ABOUT IT whilst holding the iPhone in "selfie" mode) - and we're supposed to admire & respect this self-serving behaviour ? Don't get me wrong, the footage of the Torre del Paine at the end was cutting edge trad & extreme Alpine - would have been better without the shoutiness though (.... but they did do brilliantly).
This is what one of my female friends who also went wrote: "Last year, of the 5 films,there was one rather ridiculous film with a woman in it. She seconded several pitches of a mud tower in some jungle. Following a bloke. This time, the presenter of the films mentioned, in a bizarrely positive way, that they had only one film about a woman but that 50% of the audience were women. How is this a good thing for the women who have coughed up the money, only to sit through some utterly random tosh about men surfing on a high wire, men shitting in the wind on a big wall and men digging bits of quartz out of a hole in a mountain in Cham. You would think, in this year of change for women, this so-called film festival could have come up with a bit more balance."
What do others who saw it think? I *did* win a rucksack, so not all bad :-)
I though it was great. As a climber, I was obviously more interested in the climbing films, but the two french films (the crystal hunters and the flying frenchies) were entertaining enough ... just exceedingly french ... which I think some times comes across as arrogance ... but maybe was just pure ego/arrogance.
I'm really surprised your friend thought the Patagonian big walling film was an "ego driven" film about men pooping in bags. I thought it was the best film, regardless of gender I think any climber would be inspired by what they did. It was cutting edge free climbing on a big wall in gnarly conditions...to me that's really interesting and inspirational.
I guess I wouldn't blame the organisation for the gender split in films but the film makers (or lack thereof) as a curator they can only pick from what's available
Cheers .Yes I enjoyed it too, overall - and the big wall stuff was awesome, really impressive. I was most interested & inspired by it (proper 'ard trad crack climbing in wildly exposed place). It was just the shouty stuff the whole time with that film, that at least one of my companions objected to.
Margo Hayes is just .... incredible. I found the crystal stuff interesting in a more laid-back manner; nice to see another side of the Alps that i wasn't aware of.
I went to Banff festival last year & thought that was on balance better. the flying Frenchies would have been fine had it been about half as long. IMO ;-)