Every great Alberta story seems to start small. This one starts in a basement in Banff, with a handful of climbers and a big idea: let’s make North America’s first mountain film festival.
That gathering happened in 1975. A year later, on October 31, 1976, the first Banff Festival of Mountain Films opened its doors. The room held 250. Around 450 people showed up. So they moved the whole show to the Eric Harvie Theatre. If you’re going to outgrow your venue on opening night, that’s a lovely problem to have.
The growth kept coming. In 1977 the festival had 19 film entries. By 1978 it had stretched to two days, held on the first weekend of November. Then in 1981 came a clever move: the Best of the Festival film tour, which carried a selection of top films across Canada. Think about that for a second. A mountain film screens in Banff, then hops on a tour so people in other cities can enjoy it too.
By the 1990s the tour had grown from three cities to 38 screenings in 27 cities. In 1994 the festival added a Book Festival, so the printed side of mountain life got its own spotlight beside the films. And the tour kept travelling. Australia joined in 2006, when Jemima Robinson began hosting screenings there, and that grew into more than 50 venues down under.
The festival marked its 50th anniversary in 2025 and drew more than 21,000 attendees. The Banff Centre now calls the 2026 edition the 51st Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival, running October 31 to November 8, 2026. It covers films about climbing, skiing, kayaking, biking, adventure, culture and environment, and the Banff Centre’s own pages mention awards, workshops and online film rentals too.
What makes it special for us is that it’s rooted right here. Our mountains, our climbers, our little town in Alberta, and a film festival that now reaches audiences far past the Rockies. Banff has long been a movie location, as you can see in our piece on when Hollywood packed up for Banff and Jasper in 1953. This festival flips the script. Instead of the cameras coming to the mountains, the best mountain films come to Banff.
And you don’t need to be a climber. You only need a taste for big peaks, big stories and a seat in the dark. The festival is a good excuse to see some of the best of them on a proper screen.
Mark your calendar for the end of October. Check the Banff Centre festival page for dates and tickets, then see how many mountain stories you can fit into one weekend. Bring a friend and a warm jacket.
The first Banff Festival of Mountain Films opened on October 31, 1976, after a gathering of climbers in Banff in 1975. The room held 250 and around 450 people showed up, so the show moved to the Eric Harvie Theatre. The Banff Centre calls the 2026 edition the 51st Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival, running October 31 to November 8, 2026 in Banff, Alberta. It covers films about climbing, skiing, kayaking, biking, adventure, culture and environment. Check the Banff Centre festival page for tickets. The Best of the Festival film tour started in 1981 and carried a selection of top films across Canada. By the 1990s it had grown from three cities to 38 screenings in 27 cities. Australia joined in 2006, and that grew into more than 50 venues. The festival marked its 50th anniversary in 2025 and drew more than 21,000 attendees. It began in Banff, Alberta with a handful of climbers and a big idea to make North America’s first mountain film festival. You don’t need to be a climber to enjoy it.Quick answers
For a different angle, read The Calgary Film Centre Began as a City-Owned Studio, and That Is Wild. Fortress Mountain Keeps Turning Up in Big Movies is good too.
If this one hooked you, we think The Edmonton Folk Music Festival Began as an Alberta Birthday Present and Calgary Underground Film Festival and CIFF and What Each One Is Known For are a good next read.
