Oooh.. this year’s BANFF MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL is bigger and better, according to the organisers. I love a mountain film festival and so I have already booked seats for myself and the G-Force at the Glasgow showing.

The world tour hits the UK at the end of this month starting in Wales before heading to Scotland on January 30. The first event is at the  Mitchell Library Theatre in Glasgow, then Eden Court Theatre, Inverness, on January 31 and  The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, on February 1. After that the tour goes to England and, for the first time, Ireland.

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 more than 300 entries every year. Following the original screenings that take place each autumn, 25 award-winning films and audience favourites are selected for the World Tour. To give you an indication of the tour’s popularity, it now visits nearly 400 communities across 35 countries.

There are 35 screenings planned in UK alone, expected to attract 16,000 adventure lovers. Each location has hand-picked films that best match local interests, from adrenaline-raising adventure sport shorts to longer, heart-warming tales of environment and culture.

 Among the 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.

THE GIMP MONKEYS – What has four legs, five arms, and three heads? The Gimp Monkeys! Three climbers are linked by their missing limbs, but it is their shared passion for climbing that pushes them towards an improbable goal – to achieve the first all-disabled ascent of Yosemite National Park’s iconic El Capitan. A refreshingly humorous film that portrays what’s possible with the right combination of guts, determination and climbing ability.

Now in its fourth year, the BMFF UK and Ireland tour is 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.

Audiences will also have the opportunity to enjoy a photography exhibition from award winning wildlife photographer, Jasper Doest.

UK and Ireland 2013 Tour dates are as follows:

• 25 January                   Forum Theatre, Malvern
• 26 January                   The Hall Venue Cymru, Llandudno
• 30 January                   Mitchell Library Theatre, Glasgow
• 31 January                   Eden Court Theatre, Inverness
• 1 February                   The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh
• 2 February                   The Playhouse, Whitley Bay/Newcastle
• 6-7 February                The Carriageworks, Leeds
• 8  February                  Theatre by the Lake, Keswick
• 9 February                   The Crescent Theatre, Birmingham
• 13 February                 Gulbenkian Theatre, Canterbury
• 15 February                 Komedia, Bath
• 16 February                 Lighthouse Theatre, Poole
• 21 February- 1 March Union Chapel, London
• 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
• 20 March                     OPEN, Norwich
• 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
• 12 April                                    Awesome Walls, Dublin
• 13 April                                    Waterfront, Belfast

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