A B.C. filmmaker is pleased with the way her unique look at the Jasper wildfire has sparked passion and stoked conversations about climate change in Banff.
Kimberley’s Trixie Pacis, recently returned from the 2025 Banff Centre Film and Book Festival, where she premiered her recent film Embers, which follows aerialist Sasha Galitski’s experience losing everything in the devastating blaze.
“It means the world to connect with an audience and hear that Embers has touched them deeply,” Pacis said. “Our world premiere marks the end of a very intense, yet meaningful filmmaking process but in some ways, this is just the beginning.
“Our film will make its way into the world and we hope that it will continue to resonate the way it has here at Banff. I hope Embers sparks conversations about the Jasper wildfire and climate change, and also reminds people that there are infinite ways to make an impact — sometimes, it just requires a little creativity.”
The festival was held from Nov.1 to 9 and the screening of Embers was attended by upwards of 630 guests in the Jenny Belzberg Theatre on Nov. 4.
Embers is the sequel to Pacis’ film Wild Aerial. It showcases Galitski as she channels her grief into her artwork and environmental advocacy, performing among burnt forests and receding glaciers.
“Telling my story at such a raw time was deeply vulnerable and often scary, but the heartfelt response to our world premiere in Banff has confirmed that it was worth it: Embers touches people, and is already sparking new flames,” Galitski said.
Joanna Croston, the festival’s Director of Mountain Culture, said films like Embers and other community-focused “authentic mountain stories” are critical to their programming.
“In a world of mass media, AI and cultural homogenization, impactful grassroots films like Embers are the reason our audience keeps coming back year after year,” Croston said. “It was especially meaningful for us to host the premiere here during our 50th anniversary celebrations.”
Following the film’s screening and a live performance from Galitski, she and Pacis were hosts at the Festival’s 50th Anniversary public Fire and Ice Symposium. It focused on the power of storytelling as a means to drive action in the context of a changing climate and prioritizing the preservation of glaciers.
Other panelists at the symposium, who also appeared in Embers included: Dr. Alison Criscitiello, Director, Canadian Ice Core Lab; Ice Core Scientist; Girls* on Ice Canada Co-founder; Dr. Amy Cardinal Christianson, Indigenous Fire Specialist; Host, Good Fire Podcast and Lynn Martel, Writer-in-Residence, United Nations Year of International Glaciers’ Preservation; Author of Stories of Ice.
If you would like to watch Embers, it is available for streaming from Nov. 12 to 23 on the Banff Centre website, with passes available here.
The film will also be screened at the Whistler Film Festival this December.