Films for armchair travelers at OCC

From the comfort of cushioned seats tonight, the audience at Orange Coast College’s Robert B. Moore Theatre will journey from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, through China, Tibet and Nepal to Calcutta, India — the 5,000-mile route that Canadians Olivier Higgins and Mélanie Carrier traversed on their first ever bicycle trip in 2005.

Documenting their ride, the cyclists’ film “Asiemut” earned the People’s Choice Award at last year’s Banff Mountain Film Festival — along with six other handpicked festival favorites — promising outdoor adventure, remote culture and a feeling of unparalleled accomplishment.

The international film competition is held each fall in Banff, Alberta, and brings in more than 300 short films and documentaries from 35 countries, all focusing on mountain milieu and activities. At its conclusion, a selection of the best films go on a world tour that is attended by more than 150,000 people in 30 countries.

For its only Orange County screening, the OCC Friends of the Library brings the three-hour program to campus annually, aiming to entertain and educate a diverse audience on the environment and new cultures, said librarian Carl Morgan. Proceeds from the event support the library collection.

“What I like most about the festival is that the appeal goes beyond the activities themselves,” Morgan said, adding that you don’t have to be an extreme adventurer or outdoor enthusiast to enjoy the films. “What really brings people back year after year are the human stories that are portrayed in these films.”

Though her love for Orange County’s temperate fall weather has kept her from traveling to Banff for the event, avid backpacker and UC Irvine faculty assistant Melanie Sanders hasn’t missed the festival in more than a decade.

“It’s a three-hour armchair adventure that feels like a three-year vacation,” she said. “The films really open your eyes to different places, to different cultures and to so many new possibilities for yourself.”

In addition to “Asiemut” (56 minutes), the following films will screen tonight: