The world-renowned Banff Mountain Film Festival (BMFF) returns to UK shores in 2013, visiting Ireland for the first time on its largest World Tour to date. Through the big screen, audiences are offered an intense and inspiring experience, as the films take them around the globe alongside some extraordinary adventurers.

BMFF is an international film competition hosted by The Banff Centre, based in the Canadian Rockies, and accepts over 300 entries every year. Following the original screenings that take place every autumn, 25 award-winning films and audience favourites are selected for the World Tour. To give you an indication of the tour’s mind-blowing popularity, it now visits nearly 400 communities across 35 countries!

There are 35 screenings planned in UK alone, expected to attract over 16,000 adventure lovers and promising even more sold out shows than last year. Each location has handpicked films that best match local interests, from adrenaline-raising adventure-sport shorts to longer, heart-warming tales of environment and culture.

Among the exhilarating and provocative titles to hit UK theatres this winter, highlights include:

CROSSING THE ICE – Two Australians set off across the ice in a bid to be the first adventurers to walk unsupported from the coastline of Antarctica to the South Pole and back again.  This epic expedition is an immensely emotional and physical struggle for the duo and concludes with an incredibly surprising and deeply moving twist.

WIDEBOYZ – American off-width crack climbing has spawned a culture of rough-and-tumble characters that aren’t afraid to bleed their way up a route. This film follows a pair of proper British lads as they spend two years training in a cellar before crossing the Atlantic to test themselves on some of the gnarliest cracks in the US. From the edge of their seats, viewers witness the duo’s jaw-dropping first ascent of the world’s hardest off-width climb Century Crack, which stunned both the British and American climbing circles.

NDIZOTHEKA – From opposite corners of the earth, two men are united by a common dream: to be the first to paraglide from Mount Mulanje, Malawi’s highest peak. Adding another dimension to this already ambitious mission, audiences discover that one has never paraglided before. Illuminating Malawian culture, this uplifting story shows us what really is possible as both men confront and overcome the challenges on their shared journey.

Now in it’s fourth year, the BMFF UK and Ireland tour is so much more than a series of film nights. The events are fun, social evenings where outdoor lovers of all backgrounds and ages come together to celebrate mountain culture. While the inspirational films are incentive enough, audiences also have a chance to win some lucrative prizes provided by the tour’s sponsors.

This year BMFF is delighted to be working with Arc’teryx as the Presenting Partner of the 2013 UK and Ireland Tour.  The festival’s organisers are also pleased to welcome Patagonia as a new Principal Partner to the 2013 Tour as well as Cotswold Outdoor, Buff, Keen and Banff Lake Louise Tourism. The upcoming Tour is also supported by Sea to Summit, Black Diamond, World Expeditions, Clif Bar and Artemis.

UK and Ireland 2013 Tour dates are as follows:

• 25 January                    Forum Theatre, Malvern (Sold Out)
• 26 January                    The Hall Venue Cymru, Llandudno
• 30 January                    Mitchell Library Theatre, Glasgow (Sold Out)
• 31 January                    Eden Court Theatre, Inverness
• 1 February                     The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh (Sold Out)
• 2 February                     The Playhouse, Whitley Bay/Newcastle (Sold Out)
• 6-7 February                  The Carriageworks, Leeds (both Sold Out)
• 8  February                    Theatre by the Lake, Keswick (Sold Out)
• 9 February                     The Crescent Theatre, Birmingham (Sold Out)
• 13 February                   Gulbenkian Theatre, Canterbury
• 15 February                   Komedia, Bath (Sold Out)
• 16 February                   Lighthouse Theatre, Poole (Sold Out)
• 21 February- 1 March     Union Chapel, London (21 and 22 February Sold Out)
• 2 March                        The Plaza, Stockport
• 7 March                        The Grand Pavilion, Porthcawl/Bridgend
• 8 March                        The Ffwrnes, Llanelli
• 9 March                        Corn Exchange, Brighton
• 14 March                       Dorking Halls, Dorking
• 15 March                       Gatehouse Theatre, Stafford
• 16 March                       Plaza Cinema, Liverpool
• 21 March                       City Hall, Salisbury
• 22 March                       Corn Exchange, Exeter
• 23 March                       Victoria Rooms, Bristol
• 5 April                           Hall for Cornwall, Truro
• 10 April                         Devere Hall, Cork
• 11 April                         The Set, Kilkenny
• 13 April                         Waterfront, Belfast
• TBC                              Dublin 

For Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour tickets, full programme, merchandise and further information go to www.Banff-uk.com.