Iconic lodge to benefit from Film Festival

NEW ZEALAND ALPINE CLUB, CHRSTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND

Media Release
Friday 16 August 2010, 1.00pm

Iconic lodge to benefit from Banff Mountain Film Festival

Up to 6000 people are expected to vie for tickets for the 2010 Banff Mountain Film Festival being hosted for the seventh year by the New Zealand Alpine Club (NZAC). The prestigious festival, owned by the Banff Mountain Centre in Canada and toured around numerous countries, has grown steadily since its inception in New Zealand, NZAC Event Co-ordinator Pat Deavoll says.

“This is now a major annual event for the outdoor and not so outdoor fraternity,” she says. “We’ve got ten screenings in eight different centres- that’s two up on last year.”

And especially important the festival provides good revenue for the club this year she says, as the NZAC’s “flagship,” Unwin Lodge is in need of an upgrade.

Unwin Lodge is a familiar but ‘weathered’ sight on the iconic drive up the Tasman Valley to Aoraki/ Mt Cook village. It provides accommodation for up to 48
climbers, travellers and families at the height of the summer season, but has seen better days, and is badly in need of a revamp.

NZAC Executive Officer Ollie Clifton says “It’s been pretty much left to its own devices since it was officially opened in 1951. The club’s planning a half a million dollar upgrade. The whole bunkroom wing will be demolished and rebuilt to a more modern standard. The lodge will still be ‘basic’ but we hope to be able to attract a broader range of visitors, including school groups.”

“We want to breathe life into the old girl, re-invigorate climbing at Mt Cook, and provide for a least another fifty years of usage.”

Mr Clifton says he expects this years Banff Film Festival to raise around $50,000 for the upgrade.

“I encourage anyone with a love of the outdoors to try and attend a screening. The standard of the films is superb and there will be “something there for everyone.”

Organiser for Auckland Suzanne Stickney agrees. “From having reviewed the films I can say they are a definite step up from previous years. This year’s films are cracking!”

Banff screenings will be held in Wellington, Hamilton, New Plymouth, Nelson, Auckland, Napier, Dunedin and Christchurch. Details can be found on: http://alpineclub.org.nz/banff

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