Film festival

Michael Boge raises thousands of dollars for various nonprofit groups every year and entertains hundreds by bringing the best of the Banff Mountain Film Festival to Coeur d’Alene and Sandpoint.

In Coeur d’Alene, donations have gone to the Tubbs Hill Foundation and the North Idaho Centennial Trail Foundation, which receives approximately $1,500 each year. The foundation has raffled a mountain bike in previous years, netting around $800, and also sells sweatshirts and T-shirts.

In Sandpoint, donations have been made to the Schweitzer Ski Patrol to use for a mountain bike and kayak raffle. The patrol has raised about $4,500 each year selling raffle tickets; that money is donated to the Cancer Care Center at Sandpoint.

The Coeur d’Alene festival includes seven of the best films and will be shown at the North Idaho College’s Boswell Schuler Auditorium on Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. Doors will open at 6.

Coeur d’Alene film tickets are $10 per person and are available at all North Idaho Zip’s Drive-in locations, Vertical Earth, the Camera Corral, the Ski Shack and at the door.

The Coeur d’Alene showing includes “Asiemut” – voted People’s Choice in Banff. The film is Olivier Higgins’ and Melanie Carrier’s account of their first cycling expedition 3,500 miles across Asia. In six months they pedaled from Mongolia to Calcutta, India, discovering the world – and themselves – in the process.

Also showing is “Yes to the No,” a look into the sport of noboarding, which is snowboarding without the use of bindings; and the highly-acclaimed “Epicocity,” which features some of the world’s best kayakers running mind-bending waterfalls and rapids in South America and Africa, with a section that highlights native African paddlers.

The Sandpoint film festival offers 21 different films that will be shown at 7 p.m., Thursday, Friday and next Saturday at the Panida Theater. Tickets are $11 per person.

Highlights include “Mountains without Barriers,” a film about two blind men and a man with no legs who tackle a 1,000-foot rock tower in Italy.

The “Ride of the Mergansers,” a film about the hooded merganser, also promises to be of interest. Every spring, in the Great Lakes region, the wary hen lays and incubates her eggs in a nest high in the trees. Just 24 hours after hatching, the tiny ducklings must make the perilous leap to the water below in order to begin life in the wild.

Last year Boge and his wife, Anavel, started supporting 34 children in the jungle community of Satipo, Peru. The project is called “Satipo Kids,” and part of the film’s Sandpoint proceeds will be contributed to this cause.

“These children are being chosen from families that have no means to ever send their children to school,” Boge said. “These dollars will make a difference many years from now and in a small way foster better relationships on what others think of Americans.”

Their plan is to take care of the students’ education needs for the next 10 years, the amount of time it takes to graduate from the school system in Satipo. Satipo is Anavel’s hometown and is on the eastern side of the Andes within the Amazon Basin.

In addition to the film festival, last year’s winners in the Banff Mountain Photography Competition will be exhibited the night of the show.

The Banff Centre is an arts, cultural and educational institution in Alberta, Canada. For more than 70 years the Centre’s Mountain Culture programming has promoted understanding and appreciation of the world’s mountain places by creating opportunities for people to share and find inspiration in mountain experiences, ideas, and visions.

“Part of presenting the films for me has been to give back to the community groups,” Boge says. “I was drawn to the Centennial Trail Foundation when I first met Gene O’Meara a number of years ago. “Right from the start he showed me the passion folks had for the trail and the organization that supported it.”

For more information, contact Michael Boge at (208) 661-3857 or (208) 263-4282.

“Mission: Epicocity”

This film features some of the world’s best kayakers running mind-bending waterfalls and rapids in South America and Africa, with a section that highlights native African paddlers.

“The Best of Jo”

The Best of Jo is a stop-action Lego film about a coffee-addicted guy named Jo. He is eager to try all the mountain sports available to him, such as climbing, skiing, and fishing.

“First Ascent: Didier vs. The Cobra”

The elegant, granite Cobra crack in Squamish, B.C., is perhaps the hardest crack climb in the world and Swiss climber Didier Berthod is among the world’s best crack climbers.

“Yes to the No”

This is a look into the sport of noboarding, which is snowboarding without the use of bindings. Now that snowboarding has reached its peak, there is only one way to change the way snowboarding is done, and that is to take the bindings off the board and really surf the mountain.

“First Ascent: Thailand”

Thailand is a dream come true for David Lama, perhaps the best on-sight climber in the world, and purportedly the future of the sport. Amidst the exotic beauty of the Andaman Coast, Lama and friends take 60-footers into the drink, and bring deep-water soloing to a new level.

“Unchained: New World Disorder VI”

This short excerpt from “New World Disorder VI: Unchained” showcases a group of young, daring riders who push the limits of free-ride mountain biking beyond imagination.

“Mountains without Barriers”

Two blind men and a man with no legs tackle a 1000-foot rock tower in Italy. They are part of a festival called No Barriers, whose principal aim is to facilitate knowledge exchange among people with disabilities and those who create assistive technologies.

“Cayesh – The Calling”

A one-day ascent of a new route on the west face of Cayesh, in Peru.

“Anomaly”

Anomaly showcases the freakish and abnormal abilities of today’s top athletes as they push the boundary of what is humanly possible.

“Exploring the Mother of Waters”

The first-ever complete navigation of the Mekong River from its source in Tibet to the South China Sea was completed in 2004. The film explores and celebrates the diverse cultures and environments of the Mekong valley while exposing some of the most pressing human rights and resource rights issues facing the region’s subsistence cultures.

“Aweberg”

Will Gadd and Ben Firth are two top Canadian ice climbers. They thought climbing “awesome” bergs would be a lot of fun, so the Aweberg trip was born.

“Tyrol”

Images of the Tyrolean Alps by Georg Riha combined with piano music composed by Philip Glass (“Koyaanisqatsi”) form a symphony.

“Cobra Crack”

In 1981, Peter Croft and Tami Knight used aid to climb a wildly overhanging crack on the back side of the Squamish Chief, in B.C. This route sat for 25 years without a free ascent. On June 23, 2006, Sonnie Trotter free climbed the 40-metre Cobra Crack after three years’ work.

“The Thrill Seekers”

Two brothers try their hand at mountain biking, climbing and another extreme sport on a camping weekend with hilarious results.

“The Simplicity Factor”

The “Simplicity Factor” is a segment from “The Top 20 Classic Boulder Problems of North America.” Featuring an all-female cast of athletes, it looks at bouldering’s overall appeal while showcasing ascents of several famous boulder problems.

“Conversing with Aotearoa/New Zealand”

In an age of technological integration and urban life, people turn to the natural world for a wilderness experience. What draws us to the remote corners of land and sea when we realize something in our lives is missing? In this animated documentary, New Zealanders attempt to fathom their deep, personal connection with their land.

“Fatima’s Hand”

A 27-year-old woman from Norway plans to climb and BASE jump off an imposing mountain in one of the most remote and poorest area of Mali, West Africa. The project is a risky adventure and opens the eyes of the filmmakers and athletes to a different reality.