Adrenaline-pumping films come to town

Whitewater kayaking, downhill biking and rock climbing might be considered too high-adrenaline for the average person.

But the Banff Mountain Film Festival’s Radical Reels Tour, arriving at the Varsity Theatre tonight, shows that while the sports might be extreme, the people who do them are not — they’re just passionate.

The tour, sponsored by National Geographic and produced by Canada’s Banff Centre, was founded in 2004 as an expansion of the festival’s Radical Reels night. Started as a way to share high-adrenaline adventure films, the Radical Reels Tour now visits stops in Canada, the United States, Australia, Germany and Mexico throughout the year.

“The specific films selected for this year’s Radical Reels Tour really start to get into the heart of the athletes and why they’re doing these sports,” said Radical Reels road warrior Charla Tomlinson, who travels with the tour to answer audience questions and ensure a quality production at each stop. She said out of 350 submissions from filmmakers each year, 10 to 11 are chosen based on the highest adrenaline rush and most captivating experiences.

The Chapel Hill-Carrboro community is familiar with this tour — the Varsity showing of Radical Reels will be hosted by Chapel Hill’s Great Outdoor Provision Company for the third year in a row, showcasing the enthusiasm for high-adrenaline sports in the Triangle.

“The last two years were both sellouts,” Varsity owner Paul Shareshian said. “I think it’s going to easily be a sellout again this time.”

The UNC Tramping Club attended the screening last year.

“It’s really fun to be able to experience it with people who share your interests,” senior and co-president Cheney Gardner said. “It’s a really cool community who comes out because it’s a relatively niche film tour, even though tons of people love it.”

Chad Pickens, manager of the Great Outdoor Provision Company, attributes the popularity of the showings to a passionate community of outdoor aficionados.

“When I leave this film, I always feel inspired — I always want to get outside and travel, and I hope that’s what our customers will feel as well after they see this film,” he said.

Tomlinson said audience inspiration is a key reaction after watching the films.

“We hear a lot of stories about people who have decided to leave the general pace to pursue the things that they love,” she said, “and that’s quite a common theme in our film festival as well. All of the people on the screen are doing what they love.”

But Gardner expressed a simpler hope for the film: helping connect those who might want to take the next step.

“People probably see these things on the screen and go, ‘That’s so cool, I would really like to go whitewater kayaking,’” she said. “There are a lot of people who love this and want other people to fall in love with it, too.”

arts@dailytarheel.com