Banff Film & Book Festival Hosted by USU Outdoor Programs Returns

The Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour is returning to Logan this winter. Utah State University’s Outdoor Programs will host the festival at the Ellen Eccles Theatre at 7 p.m. on Feb. 9-10 each night. The festival is one of the largest and most prestigious mountain festivals in the world.

From over 400 entries submitted to the festival each year, award-winners and audience favorites are among the films that are carefully selected to play in theaters around the world. Traveling to remote vistas, analyzing topical environmental issues, and bringing audiences up close and personal with adrenaline-packed action sports, the 2023/2024 world tour is an exhilarating and provocative exploration of the mountain world.

“The Banff World Film Tour is our major fundraising event for the Outdoor Programs Lyon, Maas, Mueggler Outdoor Leadership Scholarship,” said Dan Galliher, associate director of Outdoor Programs and Facilities. “We have been screening this film for the last 25 years. This year we are excited to be back at the Ellen Eccles Theatre and to have a tour host from the Banff World Tour for the first time since 2019.”

All profits will go towards the Lyon, Maas, Mueggler Outdoor Leadership Scholarship, which pays 50% of the tuition for the Desert Mountain Medicine Wilderness First Responder certification course.

The scholarship is named for Max Lyon, Keith Maas and Karl Mueggler, who died in an avalanche in the Bear River Range East of Logan on Jan. 12, 1997. The three young men were exceptional athletes, noted for their climbing, kayaking and backcountry skiing abilities, among their many other outdoor talents. The true measure of their impact on the world, however, lay beyond their seemingly insatiable spirit of adventure.

While they were alive, Max, Keith and Karl took a leap beyond just adventure into that greater world of human richness, human imagination, human kindness, compassion and commitment. They were always driven to make a difference in whatever course their lives took at the moment. They weren’t just adventurers, they were educators, outdoor activists, voices for the community, committed professionals and all-around good people. This scholarship was set up as an attempt to continue that legacy.

Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour now reaches over 40 countries and brings mountain films to an audience of over 550,000 worldwide in 600+ locations.

Tickets can be purchased on cachearts.org. Use the Shows & Tickets dropdown and select Banff to purchase.