Rock climbing film tour to show at Plaza Theatre
By Rachel Woodward, April 04, 2017 —
Local event organizer AJ Jutras and his brother Luc founded SNIF*, a company that aims to provide local events and bring a sense of community to Calgary, earlier this year. But the organization has existed for much longer between the two brothers.
“SNIF* has been a thing for a longer time,” Jutras says. “It started as a band between the two of us. Then it was going to be a production company — film and video production — and now it’s miscellaneous events. We wanted to start the company because we’re sort of noticing that in Calgary, there’s a lack of really interesting things to do on a regular basis. My friend group has their things that they do — they go to a bar, go to the movies, hang out at someone’s house — and it’s always the same. We want to try and open that up and engage the community.”
SNIF* will produce their first event — a screening of the 2016 Brit Rock Film Tour at the Plaza Theatre — on April 28. The Film Tour consists of two shorts and a feature-length film that all explore rock climbing and bouldering.
“Brit Rock Film Tour is a climbing film tour from Britain,” Jutras says. “To start us off, we just wanted to do something that we’re super interested in and engages the community that we’re already involved with.”
The three films all explore different aspects of climbing and bouldering. The two shorts are around 15-minutes long each. The first, Shauna Coxsey Goes Crack Climbing by Nick Brown and BMC TV is about Shauna Coxsey, an English rockclimber. The Quarryman by Neil Hart explores a return to a climbing ascent 30 years after its creation. The feature film, Blocheads by Alastair Lee, takes a closer look at the recent spike in the popularity of bouldering.
The event will feature the screening of the three films as well as prizes and art. Boulder Climbing Community will provide merchandise for prizes happening between screenings. SNIF* will also partner with Spirit West outdoor gear company and local artist Emily Beaudoin, whose nature-inspired artwork will be showing in the lobby before the screening. Jutras says that incorporating local organizations into the event is important to solidify the community.
“What I really want is to build the climbing community and for people within the climbing community to meet each other and go climbing together and go out together,” he says. “I know for a lot of people, climbing is tough because it can be tough to find partners if you don’t want to approach people or are timid or new and you see people that are experienced. So [the goal is] just to build spaces where people can be like ‘let’s climb together.’”
The Brit Rock Film Tour will screen at the Plaza Theatre on April 28. Tickets are $13 with a student ID.
For more information visit snifevents.com