How The Power of Story Inspired the Creation of the VIMFF
What do Peter Croft, Betacam, and Communist Czechoslovakia have in common? They all played a part in the creation of Vancouver’s first mountain film festival.
Originally founded in 1998, the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival’s roots extend well beyond the city limits, to a time and place that most of its current audience can’t truly imagine.
The year was 1980 in a country that no longer exists. Czechoslovakia was under a Communist regime, implemented by coup in 1948. While economic and social restrictions forced adaptation in the everyday lives of its people, a passion for community, outdoors, and storytelling was growing stronger. The Communist government restricted international travel for many of its citizens, causing both a scarcity and a resulting appetite for tales of foreign adventures. The community would gather at each opportunity to hear stories and glimpse a few slides from the occasionally permitted travels of the well-connected few.
One such legendary Czech climber had been allowed to undertake expeditions to various climbing areas and mountains in the Western world. Following his climbing trips, Miroslav Šmíd traveled to the UK where he was able to attend the Kendall Film Festival in October 1979. Deeply inspired by this event, he returned home with films, in multiple large rolls, and founded what would be the very first Czech mountain film festival – The International Mountaineering Film Festival in Teplice nad Metují, in the heart of the Czech sandstone climbing areas. It was here in early September of 1980 that VIMFF founder Alan Formanek first witnessed the power of adventure filmmaking and a passion for storytelling through film was ignited.
After the fall of the Eastern Bloc, Alan packed six 32kg duffle bags and immigrated, toddler in tow, to Vancouver. While pursuing a master’s degree at UBC and working as a floor staff at Mountain Equipment Co-operative, he worked as an interpreter for the Artfilm festival in Slovakia where he learned how these events work from the inside. Attending local film events and connecting with festivals, the dream of the VIMFF began to take shape. Alan’s climbing partners and colleagues from the former MEC, particularly Anders Ourom and John Irvine gave encouragement and help in the very beginning. The Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival in particular offered strong support which helped get the inaugural festival off the ground. While attending Banff in 1997, Alan shared his intention to create the VIMFF and was immediately supported by the Banff team, especially by their Director Bernadette Mc Donald with free screenings of all the films in the festival. It was here that he created contacts with filmmakers whose work would contribute to the very first VIMFF.
It didn’t start out easy. Betacam and VHS tapes were mailed to Alan who personally watched every film submission to create the festival program. A tall stack of projectors for all variety of film formats was rented. Theatre screens flickered with less-than-perfect image quality enlarged by weak projector bulbs while Alan ran the equipment, stage managed and emceed each show. He had programming, design and business support from his ex-wife Anina and original VIMFF partner Beatrice Winsborrow in establishing the festival, but the character and content, the logistics and operations fell mostly to him alone. He created an event that still stands up today, curating powerful stories of human perseverance, and hosting world-class speakers like Peter Croft.
While the community came out strong to support this new event, the first festival was in the red to the tune of $6,000 – a devastating sum for master’s student supporting a family in 1998. But Alan never lost faith. At no point did he consider shuttering the VIMFF or giving up on the dream. He was driven by his passion for adventure in nature, combined with his love for the arts. He believed in the power of storytelling to inspire and connect the mountain community through shared experience and love of a place.
To this day, he keeps a list of standout films, still rewatching some, not on his old VHS player but online. While the technology of filmmaking has dramatically changed, our need for shared stories and their profound impact on our community remains the same. Now, 28 years after the first show was mounted, the guiding purpose behind the VIMFF mirrors the ineffable feeling so many of us take away from its events. To use Alan’s words, we celebrate “the power of a story to change your life or affect you deeply.”
