Canadian Films and Books Among Winners at 2026 Banff Mountain Festival

Several Canadian filmmakers and authors were among those recognized at the 2026 Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival, which wrapped up Nov. 8 after nine days of screenings, literary events and award presentations.

The 51st annual festival, held at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, attracted a record 610 film submissions from 59 countries, with 83 films selected as finalists.

Canadian productions earned three major film category awards, while Canadian-published books won two literary categories. Canmore alpine guide Sarah Hueniken received the Summit of Excellence Award, and former Banff National Park superintendent Kevin Van Tighem was among the book competition finalists.

The book results marked a change from 2025, when no Canadian authors won a category award.

Canadian Films Take Home Three Awards

Three Canadian productions received $3,000 awards in the film competition, recognizing stories about cultural traditions, personal identity and environmental change.

The Navigator, directed by Jordan Manley, won Best Film: Adventure. The 90-minute documentary follows Native Hawaiian navigator Nainoa Thompson as he undertakes an ocean crossing to Tahiti, relying on the stars and natural signs rather than modern navigation technology.

Hello, Beautiful, directed by Darcy Hennessey, won Best Short Film. The 13-minute documentary follows Canadian Olympic climber Alannah Yip, who was diagnosed with alopecia universalis while training for the Paris Olympics, and explores how she redefines her identity beyond competitive climbing.

Ceremony, directed by Banchi Hanuse, received Best Feature Film. The 84-minute documentary explores the disappearance of ooligan, a culturally significant fish, from British Columbia's Bella Coola River, examining the connection between environmental change, Indigenous traditions and cultural identity.

Canadian filmmaker Ryan Wilkes also received a special jury mention for The Last of the Lookouts, about Bart Vanderlinde, who reflects on his 50-year career with the British Columbia Wildfire Service as fire lookout towers become increasingly rare.

Canmore Climber Also Honoured at Festival

Canmore alpine guide Sarah Hueniken received the Summit of Excellence Award on Nov. 7, recognizing her more than 25 years of contributions to climbing and mountain communities in Canada.

Hueniken, a certified Association of Canadian Mountain Guides (ACMG) Alpine Guide, was recognized for her climbing achievements, mentorship and work supporting people affected by mountain trauma.

She co-founded Mountain Muskox, a Bow Valley-based organization providing peer support to people navigating trauma and loss in the outdoors.

During an emotional acceptance speech, Hueniken reflected on the importance of the mountain community.

"I've had my richest and most rewarding moments in the mountains with the best people in the world and, you know, I've also had the darkest and most soul-breaking ones here," she said.

"This is the best community to be a part of, and I wouldn't be standing up here right now without this amazing community."

Bow Valley Insider previously spoke with Hueniken about the award and her work helping people recover from mountain-related trauma.

American Documentary Wins Film Grand Prize

The festival's $5,000 film Grand Prize went to Listen, a 15-minute American documentary directed by Taliesin Black-Brown.

Set in Alaska, the film follows author Hank Lentfer as he records sounds from the natural world while caring for his mother, who has dementia. The documentary explores themes of nature, memory and environmental change.

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

Other winners included Zindabad, about Pakistani climbers attempting a first ascent in the Karakoram, which won Best Film: Climbing, and Threshold, about American skier Jessie Diggins' struggle with an eating disorder, which won Best Film: Snow Sports.

The competition awarded $35,000 across 10 categories and the Grand Prize.

Canadian Books Earn Recognition

Canadian-published books also received recognition in the festival's Mountain Book Competition.

Two books published by Knopf Canada won category awards, each worth $3,000.

Black Bear: A Story of Siblinghood and Survival, by Canadian author Trina Moyles, received the Environmental Literature award.

The memoir draws on Moyles' experiences working in a remote Alberta fire lookout tower, weaving together her encounters with wildlife and her relationship with her brother.

Lone Wolf: Walking the Line Between Civilization and Wildness, by British author Adam Weymouth, won Mountain Literature. The book follows a wolf's journey through Europe, examining tensions between conservation, rural communities and changing attitudes toward wild animals.

Canadian photographer Jack Plant also received a special jury mention for Spirit of the Great Bear, a photography book documenting British Columbia's Great Bear Rainforest.

Former Banff Superintendent Reaches Book Finalists

Among the book competition finalists was Understory: An Ecologist's Memoir of Loss and Hope, written by former Banff National Park superintendent Kevin Van Tighem.

Published by Rocky Mountain Books in 2025, the memoir reflects on Van Tighem's decades working in conservation and Canada's national parks, exploring environmental change, loss and hope for the future.

The book was shortlisted for Environmental Literature, although the award ultimately went to Moyles.

Van Tighem has longstanding connections to the Bow Valley through his work with Parks Canada and his writing about the Canadian Rockies.

Bow Valley Insider previously covered the release of Understory and Van Tighem's reflections on his career in conservation.

Alaska Adventure Wins Book Grand Prize

The book competition's $5,000 Grand Prize went to American author Ben Weissenbach for North to the Future: An Offline Adventure through the Changing Wilds of Alaska.

The book follows Weissenbach's journey into the Alaskan wilderness alongside explorer Roman Dial, combining personal experiences with reporting on climate change and the relationship between technology and nature.

It also received the $3,000 Adventure Travel award.

Other winning books explored alpine huts in Europe, Scottish winter climbing and mountain photography in Norway.

Festival Continues Online

The 2026 festival ran from Oct. 31 to Nov. 8, featuring 12 world premieres, 24 North American premieres and 20 Canadian premieres.

Although the in-person festival has concluded, nearly all award-winning films will be available to stream online in Canada and the United States from Nov. 12 to 22.

A selection of films will also travel internationally through the festival's annual World Tour, which brings mountain and adventure filmmaking to audiences in more than 45 countries.

The Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival is scheduled to return Oct. 30 to Nov. 7, 2027.