Film Awards 2022

Buried

VIMFF 2022 GRAND PRIZE

95 mins |

United States |

2021

DIRECTORS:

Jared Drake, Steven Siig

This film was screened in February / March 2022, as part of the VIMFF 2022 and is no longer available. Please checkout our World Tour to see if this film is coming to a location near you!

Buried is a miracle survival story about a deadly avalanche in the 1980's on a ski patrols' watch.

From the minute you press play on this year’s Grand Prize winner “Buried”, directors Jared Drake and Steven Siig make it so you do not want to press pause (or even breath until the third act!). This retrospective documenting the 1982 Alpine Meadows avalanche is brimming with human spirit in a way that most retrospectives never come close to. With a plot twist that actually makes you gasp — the combination of masterful storytelling, heartfelt characters, and a narrative that is so unbelievable it bridges on fiction, made Buried a unanimous jury choice to win the 2022 VIMFF grand prize.

— Darcy Hennessey Turenne

Breaking Trail

VIMFF 2022 BEST MOUNTAIN CULTURE FILM

30 mins |

United States |

2021

DIRECTOR:

Jesse Roesler

This film was screened in February / March 2022, as part of the VIMFF 2022 and is no longer available. Please checkout our World Tour to see if this film is coming to a location near you!

Emily Ford sets out to become the first woman and person of color to thru-hike the 1,200 mile Ice Age Trail during winter.

As the first woman and person of colour to thru-hike Wisconsin’s 1200 mile Ice Age Trail in winter – and a particularly brutal winter at that – Emily Ford broke through social and historical barriers. She challenged deep-rooted racial inequities, and helped redefine what is and should be possible for everyone in the outdoors. She also showed the power of vulnerability and of discarding stereotypes, refusing to be fearful and keeping her heart open to everyone she met along the way. In a world beset by division and strife, this is an inspiring and hopeful film. The award for the Best Mountain Culture Film goes to Breaking Trail, directed by Jesse Roesler.

— Maria Coffey

Torn

VIMFF 2022 BEST CLIMBING FILM

92 mins |

United States |

2021

DIRECTOR:

Max Lowe

This film was screened in November 2021, as part of the VIMFF Fall Series and is no longer available. Please checkout our World Tour to see if this film is coming to a location near you!

This story gives a profoundly intimate look at the Lowe-Anker family.

This year’s winner for the category of Best Climbing film is an intimate portrayal of a legendary character from the climbing world. It’s a story told powerfully but sensitively from the inside and through delicate pacing it allows much needed ‘room to breathe’ not only for the protagonists and the filmmaker but also for the audience. The inclusion of the filmmaking process with its pre-roll moments lends a ‘very real’ feel to a film that is ultimately moving and deeply affecting. It is a brave and compelling film. The winner of Best Climbing Film goes to Torn, Directed by Max Lowe.

— Keith Partridge

Sonder

VIMFF 2022 BEST CANADIAN FILM

35 mins |

Canada |

2021

DIRECTOR:

Jay Macmillan

This film was screened in February / March 2022, as part of the VIMFF 2022 and is no longer available. Please checkout our World Tour to see if this film is coming to a location near you!

Jay Macmillan travels to Langtang to reconcile his trauma, by retracing his parents' footsteps and exploring the land where they passed.

The best Canadian film this year is one that was unanimously acclaimed by the judges across all of its categories. Director Jay Macmillan leads the viewers so eloquently into his personal journey that his experience transcends the screen and becomes the viewers’ own. The editing is nothing short of brilliant, mixing deeply personal archival footage and soundscapes in a way that is so deeply moving that it will stay with you forever. Stunning cinematography, patient storytelling, and an unbelievable story make Sonder one of the most compelling films of this year’s festival.

— Darcy Hennessey Turenne

Farewell to Adventure

VIMFF 2022 BEST ADVENTURE FILM

28 mins |

United Kingdom |

2021

DIRECTOR:

Chris Prescott

This film was screened in February / March 2022, as part of the VIMFF 2022 and is no longer available. Please checkout our World Tour to see if this film is coming to a location near you!

Bob Shepton repays the presence that his wife, who has Alzheimer’s, gave the family during his 50 years of sailing trips.

This verité film was quiet, understated, poignant and charming. As the story unfolds, we are left under no doubt that its inspiring main character’s love of adventure is deeply engrained and, through the beautifully paced scenes, we journey to a dawning realisation that the thing that ‘floats our boat’ cannot last forever. Those who have supported years of globe-trotting endeavours must now have their turn at coming first. The film’s universal truths of love, health and aging are beautifully observed and sensitively portrayed. This year’s winner of the Best Adventure Film award goes to Farewell to Adventure, Directed by Chris Prescott.

— Keith Partridge

House of the Gods

VIMFF 2022 BEST MOUNTAIN SPORTS FILM

43 mins |

United Kingdom |

2021

DIRECTOR:

Matt Pycroft

This film was screened in February / March 2022, as part of the VIMFF 2022 and is no longer available. Please checkout our World Tour to see if this film is coming to a location near you!

The Akawaio and Leo Houlding and team, support each other to try to summit Mount Roraima.

In this film the director captures the team’s arduous journey both to and up a remote and almost mythical objective. In difficult-to-film conditions we observe the characters at their physical and mental limits as they seek to break free from the squalor that surrounds them.

High on the cliff, lowering out over the abyss, we see those who helped to guide the adventurers through their lands now as fully-fledged members of the team. Through the Director’s lightness of touch, Edward and Troy add local knowledge, culture and strength to allow this epic adventure, described by as the ultimate in masochism by the first ascensionists, to succeed

With this film you feel the struggles. You live the adventure; not only through the pictures and words but also through its evocative sound track.

The award for Best Mountain Sports Film goes to House of The Gods, Directed by Matt Pycroft.

— Keith Partridge

Tigre Gente

VIMFF 2022 BEST ENVIRONMENTAL FILM

93 mins |

United States |

2021

DIRECTOR:

Elizabeth Unger

This film was screened in February / March 2022, as part of the VIMFF 2022 and is no longer available. Please checkout our World Tour to see if this film is coming to a location near you!

In Tigre Gente, a Bolivian park ranger and a young Hong Kongese journalist go undercover to investigate a jaguar trade.

The six year commitment from director Elizabeth Unger to make this year’s best environmental film “Tigre Gente” pays off in spades as she documents the commitment of her protagonists who put their lives at risk to protect the South American jaguar. But her commitment didn’t stop in the Bolivian rainforest — this film takes viewers to China and Hong Kong to explore the cultural divide that unexpectedly interconnects wildlife and the hidden risks that await them halfway across the world. Although focusing on the jaguar specifically, this film is an allegory for the interconnectedness of all living things. Tigre Gente’s gripping storytelling hooks the viewer into the dramatic stakes of what it means to care for and protect this important and endangered keystone species.

— Darcy Hennessey Turenne

The Fortress Ghosts

VIMFF 2022 BEST SHORT FILM

10 mins |

Canada |

2021

DIRECTORS:

Bryan Smith, Cameron Sylvester

This film was screened in November 2021, as part of the VIMFF Fall Series and is no longer available. Please checkout our World Tour to see if this film is coming to a location near you!

Exploring the stories and past of Fortress Mountain, an iconic Alberta ski destination.

This year’s winner of the award for best short film is an unexpectedly beautiful tale of the impending reincarnation of a once iconic Alberta ski hub. As we take in the scene of an abandoned clubhouse through the eyes of two adventurous skiers, the directors do exceptionally well to develop a hopeful and inspirational tone by weaving in the story of Fortress Mountain and cast of quirky characters who have dedicated themselves to returning the resort to its original state. Backed by impressive cinematography, sound design and pacing, the film keeps the audience engaged and guessing throughout as more and more of the spirit of Fortress Mountain is revealed.

The award for Best Short Film goes to The Fortress Ghosts, Directed by Bryan Smith and Cameron Sylvester.

— Ryan Wilkes

Not Alone

VIMFF 2022 BEST OF BC AWARD presented by the BCMC

43 mins |

Canada |

2021

DIRECTOR:

Heather Mosher

This film was screened in February / March 2022, as part of the VIMFF 2022 and is no longer available. Please checkout our World Tour to see if this film is coming to a location near you!

Sarah Hueniken is questioning her life in the mountains after an ice climbing avalanche takes her friend's life.

By examining the emotional fall-out for mountain guides when tragedy strikes on their watch, Not Alone brings the issue of risk and responsibility into sharp focus, and offers important lessons about recovering from loss and trauma. The film follows the intense personal journey of an elite guide whose world fell apart after a close friend perished in an avalanche. With raw honesty, it shows her struggles with grief, guilt and shame, the crucial help she received from mental health professionals and peers, and how she found a way to redefine her relationship with the mountains.

The Best of BC Award goes to Not Alone, directed by Heather Mosher.

— Maria Coffey

Coextinction

VIMFF 2022 JURY SPECIAL MENTION

93 mins |

Canada |

2021

DIRECTORS:

Gloria Pancrazi, Elena Jean

This film was screened in November 2021, as part of the VIMFF Fall Series and is no longer available. Please checkout our World Tour to see if this film is coming to a location near you!

The impending extinction of the Southern Resident killer whales sparks a stunning journey across the Pacific Northwest.

Coextinction is a heartbreaking story showing the correlation between the shrinking orca population, the wild salmon’s fate and heavy industry industry in the Pacific Northwest.

The young filmmakers Gloria Pancrazi and Elena Jean are also passionate and courageous conservationists. They meet with First Nations’ tribal leaders, activists and scientists in order to understand the interconnection between these topics and to find solutions to the threats.

Beautiful and serene underwater images of the orca and the fish contrast with the environmental disaster caused by the construction of pipelines. The film is a call to action in defense of the precious ecosystems that we are all part of.

— Kasia Biernacka

Sixty Seconds

VIMFF 2022 JURY SPECIAL MENTION

19 mins |

Canada |

2021

DIRECTOR:

Lara Shea

This film was screened in February / March 2022, as part of the VIMFF 2022 and is no longer available. Please checkout our World Tour to see if this film is coming to a location near you!

After surviving a skydiving accident, Tyler Turner's reality transitions to survival and a wholesale healing process.

Sixty Seconds tells us a real and painful story of recovering from a traumatic injury: in an accident during a skydive, Tyler Turner became a bilateral amputee.

The film shows failure and progress, darkness and light. It depicts Tyler’s new reality in a very honest way. It walks us through his physical and mental suffering, follows the struggle to accept his new identity, to regain personal independence and to find again passion and purpose in life.

The debutante director Lara Shea proved a big talent and great intuition on how to translate the compassion and understanding she had for Tyler into a subtle, moving, universal and visually compelling film.

— Kasia Biernacka

ASCEND: Reframing Disability in the Outdoors

VIMFF 2022 JURY SPECIAL MENTION

10 mins |

United States |

2021

DIRECTOR:

Faith E. Briggs

This film was screened in February / March 2022, as part of the VIMFF 2022 and is no longer available. Please checkout our World Tour to see if this film is coming to a location near you!

Through Vasu Sojitra's personal journey, we hear his truth as he seeks to inspire you to move mountains.

This important film about intersectionality, representation and finding belonging in the outdoors, challenges the preconceived notions that some have about adventuring with a disability. Through his infectious, never-quit attitude, Vasu highlights that his outdoor pursuits are not about overcoming disability, but rather it’s about bringing awareness to the barriers faced by members of various marginalized communities so that the outdoors can be made more accessible for all. Through following his attempt to ski “The Skillet” on Mt Moran, Vasu shows us that no matter where you come from and what barriers you may have faced in the past, there is a place for everyone to play in the outdoors.

The VIMFF Jury is proud to present “Ascend: Reframing disability in the outdoors”, directed by Faith E. Briggs, with a Special Jury Mention.

— Ryan Wilkes

The Magnitude of All Things

VIMFF 2022 JURY SPECIAL MENTION

86 mins |

Canada |

2020

DIRECTOR:

Jennifer Abbott

This film was screened in February / March 2022, as part of the VIMFF 2022 and is no longer available. Please checkout our World Tour to see if this film is coming to a location near you!

The Magnitude of All Things draws intimate parallels between the experiences of grief—both personal and planetary.

The Magnitude of All Things links a story of personal grief for a sister lost to cancer to globally felt grief for our beleaguered planet. With stunning cinematography and skilful editing, it gives voice not just to scientists and activists but also to people in communities around the world who are suffering the full force of the climate crisis. Poetic and nuanced, the film conveys the magnitude of nature, the magnitude of damage already done to it, and the need to channel ecological grief into change. A Special Jury Mention goes to The Magnitude of All Things, directed by Jennifer Abbott.

— Maria Coffey