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Embassy of India

Alpine Tour Service

Director: Neal Michaelisi
USA (2000)
Audio: English
Subtitles: Japanese
45 min.
www.dawntreaderfilms.com

As one of the 40 festival finalists and 212 entries from 24 different countries,
Michaelis's film was one of 10 films awarded at the Banff Mountain Film festival.
Aside from the People's Choice Award, "A Higher Calling" earned additional
honours. The film was selected for the Banff World Tour. Michaelis has made six,
short films prior to "A Higher Calling" but his kudos at Banff were the largest
credits he's received in his career.

The 45-minute piece is about six friends - Michaelis, Donn Pinkney, Jeff Cristol,
Josh Weinstein, Judah Kuper and Brett Schreckengost - making their way across
western Nepal via paraglider. The crew was in Nepal in the fall of 1999 for five
weeks where they laid much of the groundwork, but finishing touches and fine
tuning were done through last winter and into last spring.

The film captures the culture of Nepal through spectacular cinematography and
interactions with locals along the way. "The intention of the film was not to hype
flying although you see us flying and we talk about flying," said Michaelis. "The
film is more about being immersed in the culture. The paragliders were just our
vehicles for seeing the country and getting lost in it.

"In the film, the pilots touch down in one tiny village after another. With each
landing they are received with swarms of warm welcomes as the jagged, snow
capped peaks of the Annapurna range in the Himalayas tower in the background.
The People's Choice Award is as its name suggests - an award voted on by the
viewers. Banff had a panel of five judges who decided the other awards but "A
Higher Calling" was chosen by the festival-goers.

People's Choice Award Banff Mountain Film Festival, selected for the Banff World
Tour

(ENVIRONMENT)
* Meltdown
* Leave Nothing but Footprints
* Turf Wars
* Timber to Tibet
(ADVENTURE)
* Riding Solo To The Top Of The
World
* A Higher Calling
* Into the Thunder Dragon
* Farther than the Eye Can See
* Trio for One
* Fatal Game
(POLITICS / HUMAN RIGHTS)
* Thin ice
* Chulo, Choli ra Banduk - a stove,
a blouse and a gun
* Better to Have Been Killed
* The Forbidden Team
* Jashn-e-azadhi (How We
Celebrate Freedom)
* Siachen: A war for Ice
* Tibetan Refugees: A Struggle
Beyond Generations
(POVERTY & DEVELOPMENT)
* Journey of a Red Fridge
* Hami kunako maanche –
We corner people
* A Bridge over the Himalayas
* Yi khel gi kawa
(The Price of a Letter)
* Tingvong: a Lepcha village in
Sikkim
(CULTURE)
* Angry Monk
* Miss Tibet
* Closer than Tibet
* Bhedako Oon Jasto...in search
of a song...

* A man called nomad
* Call it Karma
* Daughters of Wisdom
* Bhutan - Taking the Middle Path
to Happiness

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