Over 800 Medicine Hat High School students will spend a day immersed in Canadian films on Thursday, April 5, 2012 as the travelling REEL CANADA film festival screens a variety of films and gives students a chance to meet either the filmmakers or the actors who brought the films to life.

The films, programmed by the students themselves, include How She Move, Wild Life, The Rocket, Fido, Passchendaele, and Inside Hana’s Suitcase. Wherever possible, actors or filmmakers will conduct Q+A sessions with students via Skype.

In addition, a special animation program will be conducted by Oscar-nominated Alberta filmmakers Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis, creators of Wild Life, nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film in 2012.

“We can’t wait to show these films to Medicine Hat students,” says REEL CANADA’s executive director Jack Blum. “The students chose some outstanding movies to watch, and we know they will be totally inspired by the quality of the filmmakers and the stories they are telling – right here in Canada.” Blum will also be in attendance in Medicine Hat.

REEL CANADA is a traveling film festival that has exposed over 100,000 high school students to the incredible achievements of Canadian filmmakers for the past seven years, enhancing their appreciation of our national culture. This year, the festival also includes a Welcome to Canada program, which brings the immersive, dynamic learning experience of REEL CANADA to new Canadians, introducing them to home-grown films and filmmakers.

In the 2012 spring season, the festival is touring the country with 20 events in eight provinces. Cities include Ottawa, ON, Montague, PEI, Montreal, QC, Medicine Hat, AB, Winnipeg MB, Calgary AB, Stonewall, MB, Brampton, ON, Toronto, ON, Fredericton, NB, Saskatoon, SK and Vancouver, BC.

Created by a committee of passionate filmmakers and dedicated educators in 2005, REEL CANADA is designed to foster greater awareness of, and pride in, Canadian films, by bringing the excitement of a film festival experience directly into high schools.

REEL CANADA is supported by an advisory committee of Canada’s most celebrated film professionals: Hussain Amarshi, Denys Arcand, Carl Bessai, Gary Burns, David Cronenberg, Colm Feore, Niv Fichman, Bryan Gliserman, Paul Gross, Norman Jewison, Robert Lantos, Bruce McDonald, Don McKellar, Deepa Mehta, Charlotte Mickie, Geoff Pevere, Marguerite Pigott, Gordon Pinsent, Sarah Polley, Peter Raymont, Patricia Rozema, Mina Shum, Tara Spencer-Nairn, and Jean Marc Vallée.

REEL CANADA is made possible by the generous support of our Founding Sponsor Telefilm Canada, and Premier Corporate Sponsor Cineplex Entertainment. National expansion is supported by a grant under the Youth Take Charge program of the Department of Canadian Heritage.

REEL CANADA’s Website

AT THE MONARCH THEATRE, MEDICINE HAT
January 16 and 17, 2012

Travel to exotic lands and remote cultures! Be up close and personal with adrenaline-packed action sports! The Best of the Banff Mountain Film Festival returns to Medicine Hat on Monday and Tuesday, January 16 and 17, 2012 at 7.00 pm sharp. Tickets are available at the Information Desk at Medicine Hat Public Library or through the students in the Ecotourism and Outdoor Leadership program at Medicine Hat College. Tickets are also available at Valhalla Pure Outfitters, at 1667 Dunmore Road SE. The evenings take place at the Monarch Theatre in downtown Medicine Hat.

Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for students and seniors. If not sold out, there will be a limited number at the door at $12 each evening.

Two evenings of films, with different line ups, will be shown. Spoil, filmed on the remote west coast of BC, chronicles the attempt to photograph the elusive and legendary spirit bear in an area threatened by a proposed pipeline, currently in the news. Cold captures the interwoven roles of pain, fear and doubt as two climbers experience winter and the dangers of avalanches on Gasherbrum 11 in the Karakorum range of the Himalayas. In On The Trail of Genghis Khan, Australian Tim Cope, his band of horses and his dog travel overland 10,000 km from Mongolia to Hungary, following in the footsteps of the legendary warrior and nomad Genghis Khan. In addition films on tightrope walking across incredible abysses, kayaking, climbing in the desert and glaciers, as well as a nine year girl wonder climber, skiing and paddling will be featured.

For the past 36 years on the first weekend in November, people have gathered in Banff to see films and videos which celebrate the best in mountain culture, extreme sports and the environment. Once the festival has concluded, a selection of these films goes on the road across Canada and the United States and around the world.

The students in the Ecotourism and Outdoor Leadership program at the College are an integral part of the evenings as they generously volunteer their time to help with the presentation of the Best of the Banff Mountain Film Festival in Medicine Hat.

Two local companies, Criterion Catalysts and Technologies and Cancarb have generously sponsored the Film Festival, thus allowing for the proceeds of ticket sales to go towards library projects.

For more information, please call Hilary Munro at 403-502-8533 or email hilmun@medicinehat.ca.

For background information and a short preview of the some of the films, go to http://www.banffcentre.ca/mountainfestival/