It travels to more than 500 locations across 45 countries.
Princess Cinemas has been bringing it to Waterloo since 1987. And this year, we’re getting a program Waterloo has never seen before.
I knew the Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival was big.
I didn’t realize how big.
Every year, films leave the Canadian Rockies and travel around the world as part of the Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour.
And when I say around the world, I mean it.
The tour reaches more than 500 locations across 45 countries, with more than half a million people watching every year.
Banff Centre calls it the largest adventure film tour on the planet.
And next Wednesday, one of those stops is Waterloo.
Even better, Waterloo has been part of this story for almost 40 years.
Princess has been bringing Banff to Waterloo since 1987
Princess Cinemas says it has presented the Banff World Tour here since 1987.
That means Princess had only been open for two years when the relationship began.
Over time, Waterloo audiences kept showing up, and the event grew into larger venues around the city, including university spaces and more recently Knox Presbyterian Church.
This year, one program is coming back to the Original Princess Cinema.
And it’s not something Waterloo has already seen.
CREVASSE is completely new to Waterloo
On Wednesday, September 23, Princess is screening CREVASSE, a collection of films that has never been shown in Waterloo before.
Yes, there are mountains.
There are climbers.
There are skiers.
There are people doing things that may make you quietly think, absolutely not.
But the best part is that the films aren’t just about the action.
They’re about the people behind it.
Why choose something difficult?
Why keep going when the weather turns or the plan falls apart?
Why are some people happiest when they’re far outside ordinary life?
One film, Jaunt, starts somewhere much less dramatic: an office, where imagination becomes an escape from routine.
Another, Reel Rock: Riders on the Storm, follows climbers in Patagonia attempting a first free ascent on Torre Central while dealing with some extremely unfriendly weather.
That range is what makes a Banff night interesting.
You don’t have to be outdoorsy
I think “Mountain Film Festival” can sound like something designed only for people who own climbing gear.
It isn’t.
The mountains are the backdrop.
The humans are the story.
These films are about curiosity, obsession, fear, resilience and why people decide to do difficult things.
And on a cinema screen, the scale matters.
A phone can show you a mountain.
A theatre makes you feel how tiny the person standing on it really is.
Want to go for free?
If you entered our Banff giveaway last week, you’re already in the draw.
If not, you can still enter until September 21 through our Banff giveaway.
Every new person who subscribes to Waterloo Region Rhythm through your personal referral link gives you another entry.
The winner will be contacted directly on September 22.
Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour: CREVASSE
📅 Wednesday, September 23, 2026
⏰ 7 PM
📍 Original Princess Cinema, Waterloo
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