Banff Fest Dhaka | 2012

Breathtaking Tales from Spectacular Worlds

What is it like on the underwater side of the North Pole? — is probably not one of the questions that pop into someone’s head very often. The extremities of North Pole itself are such that the thought of going deep sea diving there seems maddening. However, once the question emerges, one can’t help but keep wondering. “Deep Sea Under the Pole” — a documentary on the first ever attempt to go underwater in the Arctic — is one of the 19 films screened on adventure sports and exploration, at the BANFF Mountain Festival World Tour.

Hosted at the Goethe-Institut in Dhaka by Kewkradong Bangladesh, with support from Travelers of Bangladesh, the festival (from November 27 to 29) was the third Bangladeshi edition of the world’s most prestigious festival on adventure sports and exploration. Sarah J. Saltmarsh, an Australian citizen working in Dhaka for the UN, who was at the first screening on the opening day, termed the experience as “transfixing”, adding that this was a refreshing surprise to get to see such films here. Short films screened on the first day were: “Trail Collector”, “Concrete Dreams”, “Chasing Water” and “Reel Rock: Origins — Obe & Ashima”.

The second screening of day 1, “Deep Sea Under the Pole”, was a mesmerising viewing experience. Seven explorers, attempting to take the first look ever into a world that has remained unexplored in March-May 2010, and their Siberian husky — took the audience to a journey that was as unreal as it was vivid. The extreme temperatures ranging in the negative 30s in Centigrade, the frostbites and the heat gun, the frozen diving gears that made life difficult for the explorers, the air drift and worsening ice conditions slowing them down and getting them astray gave the thrills that could not have been done in a feature film. Further highlights included the big ice crystals forming under the surface, the absolutely still water making the diver look like she was floating in space, the brilliant image of an arctic shrimp being released from frozen ice as sunlight hit the surface, and the extremely rare arctic jellyfish that had previously been captured only by robotic cameras drifting by the diver. At the end of the screening, the whole auditorium had the same expression on their faces as the explorers who were returning after their long voyage on a DC-3.

Muntasir Mamun, the festival director and the individual representing BANFF in Bangladesh, said the scope for adventure sports and exploration in Bangladesh supersedes the exposure by a fair margin, and that he felt obliged to bring all the people interested at one place to enjoy what they appreciate most.
BANFF, the Canadian organisation with the motto “inspiring creativity”, brings all adventurer-filmmakers to submit their films, the best of which are chosen to be showcased on the tour that brings the festival to 350 cities in 32 countries around the world. The difference between BANFF and a lot of other film festivals is that all the films shown here are brought by providing royalties, Muntasir Mamun said, adding that this year’s audience response — without any mainstream publicity — was very encouraging, and support from sponsors in coming years could make it a bigger and more elaborate event. Whether one is an experienced mountaineer or an armchair adventurer, the BANFF Mountain Film Festival looks to celebrate, share and find inspiration in these experiences, ideas and visions, he added.

12:00 AM, December 05, 2012 / LAST MODIFIED: 12:00 AM, December 05, 2012
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