Kimberley-based filmmaker, photographer and writer Trixie Pacis will have two of her recent films premier at the Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival later this year.
Pacis told The Bulletin it is a "dream come true" to have her first two films premier at this prestigious festival.
"Both films were made entirely in the Canadian Rockies and the theatre that Wildflowers will be screened at is a stone's throw away from Mary Schäffer's [the subject of the documentary] historical home and final resting place," Pacis said. "Banff feels like the perfect fit for our premieres. On top of that, my transition to the world of outdoor documentary film-making began at the Banff Centre Adventure Filmmakers Workshop in 2020.
"I actually pitched the first version of Wildflowers during that workshop, so seeing it on the big screen at Banff will bring things full circle in a very special way.
Wild Aerial, a short-documentary following aerialist and climber Sasha Galitski's adventures through the Canadian Rockies, screens on October 27. The film was edited by another Kimberley local, Lukas Nemeth.
On her website — trixiepacis.com — Pacis says Galitzki "blends techniques from the disparate worlds of climbing and acrobatics to perform gravity-defying routines in subzero temperatures." Galitzki performs these acrobatic feats without being tied in, with Pacis comparing them to free-solo climbing.
"The film ultimately offers a glimpse into the unique mountain discipline and culture of Galitzki’s trailblazing acrobatics while addressing intersecting themes of ageism, belonging and self-expression."
In the documentary Wildflowers, mountain writer and Royal Canadian Geographical Society Fellow Meghan J. Ward compiles a team of female creatives in order to explore Mary Schäffer Warren's 1908 adventure to Maligne Lake in Jasper National Park.
Schäffer was a naturalist, writer and photographer originally from Pennsylvania, perhaps best known for being one of the first non-Indigenous people to explore Maligne Lake.
Ward came across Schäffer's story soon after moving from Ottawa to Banff, and was compelled as the things she had accomplished were rarely, if ever, done by women.
Wildflowers is a project several years in the making. In it, the creators venture into the backcountry on foot and in a canoe, to trace Schäffer's footprints, recreate some of her photographs, and wrestle with themes such as settler heritage and revisiting history as it was initially told.
"When you put multiple years of work into a single project, the greatest reward is knowing it will find its way to the right viewers," Pacis said. "I feel immense gratitude for the opportunity to share these stories with the large, mountain-loving audiences that festivals like Banff and Kendal are known to attract."
In addition to premiering at the Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival on November 2, Wildflowers will also play at the Kendal Mountain Festival in the U.K. and the Transylvania Mountain Festival.
Pacis told The Bulletin that both of these projects faced "major curveballs." In the final weeks of editing Wild Aerial, the Jasper wildfires broke out, and Sasha Galitzki lost her home and all her belongings, as did many other members of her community. The film has been dedicated to all those affected by the wildfire.
In the final week of editing Wildflowers, a friend of the creators, pilot Natalie Gillis, passed away after her twin-engine plane went down shortly after takeoff from the Albany, N.Y. airport.
"The film is dedicated in loving memory of Natalie," Pacis said. "She inspired me in so many ways and I hope the film is a worthy tribute to her and her wild spirit."
