What do you get when you cross two Banff touring teams, one adventure dog and a torrential storm? The UK & Ireland Banff team’s first ever broadcast from our brand-new Backyard Theatre!
Life on the road with the Banff Mountain Film Festival UK & Ireland tour can get eventful, so our hardy touring teams like to think they are prepared for anything, but filming our first shows from the Banff Backyard Theatre brought a whole new set of challenges – and fun!
After months of lockdown, the Banff team assembled at Banff HQ in peaceful Northamptonshire for socially distant filming – an occurrence that is unusual in itself, as staff are normally at opposite ends of the country running events, rarely seen in the same place at the same time. After remembering how to exchange social pleasantries, and swapping our finest lockdown gardening accomplishments, the hard work began.
The day started smoothly, by which we mean it was dry. The neighbours were possibly a bit bemused by the construction of a 24ft screen in a nearby back garden – and Gilbert the adventure dog certainly was!
One thing you rarely have to worry about while setting up a show inside theatres is the weather (although we’ve had some exciting journeys between venues), but like all good British and Irish adventures, the day was heavily influenced by the elements.
First came the wind, and the team got very familiar with clinging on to the back of the screen.
Then there was the un-forecast torrential downpour. What happens when a 24ft screen gets thoroughly drenched? We’ve no idea – but it seems to still work!
Splosh...
Despite the setbacks, behind-the-scenes gurus Hilary and Lauren still found time to put up their feet, grab some popcorn and test out the best seats in the house.
After a lot of Tribe bars and only a few more mishaps, including an unfortunate incident with bird poo (Rosie still doesn’t like to talk about it), it was pretty late by the time we finished… but the moon was spectacular.
And although filming madness did set in a little bit…
…we’re delighted with our first ever virtual events and so happy that you could join us to watch these inspirational films. We can’t wait to see you back in theatres again soon – and until then, enjoy the virtual show!