KSBI members Carlo Alcos & Trixie Pacis recently returned from Banff Mountain Film Festival after screening “Ahon”, a documentary featuring Filipino Mountaineering Club based out of Alberta. Pacis directed the film, and Alcos worked on sound and camera.
They each shared some reflections from the festival with Kootenay Film:
“Deep down, Ahon is a film about Filipino representation, inclusion, and sharing our culture with the broader mountain community. For that reason, screening the film at the Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival this year was a huge milestone for the K8 Mountaineering Club of Alberta. It meant a lot to us to be a part of the Bow Valley Showcase, which was a very intimate screening that allowed us to connect directly with the audience we most desired to reach. It was a day of cultural sharing and celebration that we won’t forget!
As a graduate of the Banff Centre’s Adventure Filmmaking Workshop, having a film at the festival is also extra special.
This year, I was actually fortunate to have two films. Like Wild Aerial one year ago, the sequel Embers also had its world premiere at Banff. This screening was extra special as the film was followed by a surprise live aerial performance by Sasha Galitzki. Being amongst the audience as they reacted to our film and the performance was pure magic.” – Trixie Pacis
“Given the opportunity to attend the 50th Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival I couldn’t say no. A short doc I worked on, “Ahon”, had made it in so I met up with my director, Trixie Pacis, in Banff this past November.
It’s a great festival because everyone stays on campus so there are tons of opportunities to meet and spend time with other filmmakers. Besides watching films, there were some filmmaker workshops, panel discussions, social events, and the pitch competition. This was really interesting to take in…5 filmmakers were selected to present their pitches to a jury while the public watched on. The winner got $25K for their production. I made some new friends and great connections. I hope to be back there again some time, maybe with my own film next time!” – Carlo Alcos
It’s exciting to celebrate the successes of our members working in the Kootenay Screen Based Industry. We are thrilled the hard work and talent in our region is being recognized.
