2026 Banff Mountain Film Festival Winners

Grand Prize Winner

Listen, a short documentary directed by Taliesin Black-Brown, won the $5,000 CAD Grand Prize at the 51st Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival.

“When cinema is used as an elemental and catalytic antidote for isolation, dissociation, and pervasive material loss with such precise moral clarity, artistic mastery, and salient brevity; the result is a film that engages human caused environmental devastation, the existential dilemma of our time, at its nucleus with overwhelming love and hope.”

Record Submissions

The 2026 competition received a record 610 submissions from 59 countries, with 83 films from 16 countries selected as finalists.

Listen's Story

The film follows Alaskan author Hank Lentfer recording natural sounds while caring for his mother with dementia.

Additional Wins

Listen also won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2026 Tribeca Festival and was recently acquired by New York Times Op-Docs.

Best Film: Climbing

Zindabad, a 45-minute film by Tom Fish, won the Climbing category sponsored by Arc’teryx for $3,000.

“Zindabad is a beautifully crafted and inspiring film that challenges traditional mountaineering narratives by placing local Pakistani climbers, at the heart of their own stories.”

Best Film: Adventure

The Navigator, a 90-minute Canadian film by Jordan Manley, won the Adventure category sponsored by Clipper Race for $3,000.

“The navigator is a visually stunning film that weaves together adventure, cultural identity and ancestral knowledge.”

Best Film: Mountain Culture

Land of Canaan, a 87-minute Palestinian film by Maggie Lemere, won the Mountain Culture category sponsored by Rab for $3,000.

“Mountain culture is unique. It is itself a gathering of colossal geologic forces and acclimatized adaptations of humanity to belong in resonance with one another indefinitely.”

Best Film: Environment

Derek vs Derek, an 88-minute UK film by James Dawson, won the Environment category sponsored by Nature United for $3,000.

“This is the story of two men on opposite sides of the fence, in every sense.”

Best Film: Mountain Sports

Roots, a 54-minute French film by Alexis Berg, won the Mountain Sports category sponsored by YETI for $3,000.

“Few sports are as hard as ultra-trail running.”

Best Film: Snow Sports

Threshold, an 84-minute US film by Torsten Brinkema, won the Snow Sports category sponsored by the American Alpine Club for $3,000.

“Threshold is an intimate and deeply moving film that takes us beyond the triumphs of elite sport to reveal the vulnerability behind success.”

Best Short Film

Hello, Beautiful, a 13-minute Canadian film by Darcy Hennessey, won the Short Film category sponsored by DUER for $3,000.

“This film is told with tender pacing, and visuals that reflect the transformative journey into identity that an elite climber embraces with curiosity and courage.”

Best Feature Film

Ceremony, an 84-minute Canadian film by Banchi Hanuse, won the Feature Film category sponsored by Myron and Catherine Tétreault for $3,00.00.

“The jury was especially moved by this film’s ability to reveal the significance of the disappearance of a seemingly small fish.”

Creative Excellence Award

75’ Seconds, a 12-minute Swiss film by Marco Tribelhorn, won the Creative Excellence Award sponsored by Nikon Canada for $3,000.

“A compelling visual treatment brings to life an experience that is impossible to imagine.”

Audience Choice Award

Only Music // Snake River, a 40-minute US film by Justin Fountain, won the Audience Choice Award sponsored by The Lake Louise Ski Resort for $3,000.

“Follow a group of musicians as they trade concert stages for river currents, embarking on a multi-day journey down the Snake River.”

Special Jury Mention

Just Climber / Cap ou pas Cap? and The Last of the Lookouts were both named Special Jury Mentions.

“This boundary pushing film takes us to the edge of human achievement in wild spaces and into the depths of perseverance over stigma and categorization while shattering expectations of who can hold centre stage in climbing and in the mountains.”