Anchorage Daily News

Against a dazzling blue sky, a skier flies off a snow-covered ledge and sinks into a swirl of deep powder 30 feet below. Somehow, he emerges and begins cutting graceful turns down a 45-degree slope.

Some viewers gasp.

So it goes at any one of the adrenaline-fueled adventure film festivals that tour the U.S. each year, wowing young crazies and old wannabees with risk-filled eye candy.

Whether it's snowboarders descending insane steeps, climbers pioneering spectacular lines or kayakers paddling out of monster holes -- if you seek jaw-dropping athletic feats in celebration of life on the edge, you're usually satisfied.

Anchorage typically sees up to a half-dozen such film festivals a year, some as short as a single evening. But increasingly sprinkled among the adrenaline fare are -- dare we say -- some slower, more thoughtful films. They provide such festivals as the Telluride Mountainfilm Tour, which will screen 18 films over three days at the Bear Tooth Theatrepub beginning Friday, a new hook for viewers.

This year, Telluride will detail the simple life at a Drexel, N.C., barbershop, look at snow cones made of Peruvian glacier ice and explore how Alaskans in Bristol Bay near the site of the proposed Pebble mine feel about development.

So where's the adrenaline?

"Ten or more years ago we decided to diversify the content and really look at issues, with the idea that film could trigger conversation that leads to change," said Justin Clifton, director of the Telluride Mountainfilm Tour. "We call it the domino effect of Mountainfilm, inspiring the audience to action.

"Today, adrenaline and adventure films are in the minority."

MORE DIVERSITY?

Others agree.

"The difference between Banff and others is the cultural aspects," said Mike McCormick, assistant director of student activities at UAA, which will screen the Banff Film Festival March 20-21 at Wendy Williamson Auditorium. "We try to have a balance. We try to have some cultural thought-provoking ones, too."

But Rand Thornsley, director of film programming at the Bear Tooth, said that festivals courting Alaska viewers need to pump up the adrenaline.

"I think they need to get back to the more extreme sports kind of thing. That's what people want to see," he said. "Alaska is a huge market for outdoor activity. There's just too much environmental stuff, and you can see that any time on PBS.

"Extreme sports embraces the big screen," he said, pointing to the Bear Tooth's 20-foot-wide screen. "If you're watching that at home, it doesn't have nearly the impact -- even on a 42-inch screen."

Thornsley is concerned that last year, for the first time in his memory, Telluride did not sell out at the Bear Tooth. That same weekend, the Alaska Native Heritage Center screened the World Indigenous Film Festival, and Telluride ticket sales were down by about 500, Thornsley said.

Those two festivals are on different weekends this year, but Telluride is going up against the 14th Great Alaska Beer & Barley Wine Festival instead.

"Last year was probably the least attended of the last four years," Thornsley said. "In January, when we do the festival, there are lots of things for people to do."

One adventure film package that continues to lean almost exclusively on the feats of extreme skiers and boarders is the long-standing Warren Miller film series. Its latest offering, "Children of Winter," played at the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts in late October, drawing more than 2,000 to two shows.

"They've been very consistent over years," said Richard Tillman, the center's box office manager. "They usually fill up pretty good."

VAUGHN CONNECTION

In 1994, "Height of Courage", a film about Col. Norman Vaughan's ascent of Mount Vaughan in Antarctica at age 89 was named best adventure film at Telluride. Vaughan and Carolyn Mugge-Vaughan, his wife, traveled to the festival that year and returned year after year, even when the adventurer had to carry oxygen with him.

"After a few years after going to Telluride, we thought, 'This has gotta be in Anchorage.' This is all what we're about."

It has been at the Bear Tooth since the theater opened in 2001, earning about $4,000 a year for the Alaska Film Group, said Mugge-Vaughan, the group's past president.

And occasionally, films about Alaska turn up on the program -- such as this year's winner of the Audience Award and Festival Director Award, "Red Gold."

In the 54-minute movie, filmmakers Ben Knight and Travis Rummel try to document the tension between some Bristol Bay area residents and officials with the Pebble copper and gold mine, who insist the development won't harm the area's bountiful salmon runs.

Pebble, 15 miles from Nondalton, faces opposition from many fishing groups, environmentalists, sport lodge owners as well as some Native organizations and villages in Southwest Alaska who are worried that Pebble will harm the region's world-class salmon and trout fisheries.

"I know the film has had a lot of play in Alaska, especially before August's ballot issue. (Ballot Measure 4 to restrict Pebble failed with more than 57 percent of voters opposed.) "Alaskans seem to get bombarded by political ad campaigns regarding Pebble Mine, so I think it's nice to have the issue presented in a different way.

"I suppose it lacks the climbing/ski porn angle that some people tend to expect from the tour. But (Telluride's) line-up seems heavier with environmental and cultural films every year."

Thornsley of the Bear Tooth isn't so sure "Red Gold" will draw.

"My personal take on 'Red Gold,' is that it can only have so much saturation in Anchorage -- and it's already had a television showing.

"Telluride was going to consider replacing it, but they really didn't have anything with as much strength. On the plus side, it's probably the nicest theatrical venue for it in Anchorage."

In the end, Alaska audiences will deliver their verdict.

Issue films like "Red Gold"?

Whimsical fare like "Spiders on Drugs"?

Feats of strength like "Presence: 40 Days in Greenland"?

Or pure adrenaline movies like "Play Gravity"?

Or, conceivably, a little of each.

Reporter Mike Campbell can be reached at mcampbell@adn.com or 257-4329.

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