This year's festival offers an unequalled range of films, art, debates and lectures from and for people passionate about the mountains. With specialist programmes for skiers and boarders, BASE and parapente, white water and bike, together with the unique Adventure Film Academy, it's a simply unmissable event.

Highlights include appearances from Catherine Destivelle, Reinhold Messner, Graham Milton, Leo Houlding, Steph Davis, Mark Beaumont, Kenton Cool, Chris Bonnington, Zoe Hart, Karen Darke, Andy Cave, Remy Lecluse and Graham Bell.

Reinhold Messner is also speaking at the festival and will give audiences a rare opportunity to hear one of the true greats in the mountaineering world speak about his experiences. In 1978, Messner and Peter Habeler were the first to summit Everest without supplemental oxygen and in 1980 Messner repeated this feat single handedly.

He was the first to climb all of the world's fourteen 8,000m peaks, and is one of the first and more enthusiastic supporters of alpine style mountaineering in the Himalayas.

Catherine Destivelle will be presenting the UK premiere of her film Au Dela des Cimes (Beyond the Summits) with voiceover by world famous climber and actor, Brian Blessed on November 22.

Directed by Rémy Tezier, this film shows Catherine climbing three classic routes in the Chamonix area with three different groups of people, all of whom have had a profound influence in Catherine's life.

World renowned producer Anthony Geffen will be previewing his much anticipated movie, The Wildest Dream. The Wildest Dream documents leading climbers, Conrad Anker and Leo Houlding being the first climbers to free climb the famous North East Ridge of Everest.

The expedition is part of a feature documentary investigating whether Mallory and Irvine could have been the first men to summit Everest in 1924.

This film will only be shown in full for the first time at The Sundance Film Festival in January.

This is a magnificent chance to see a preview of the much anticipated film where Anthony Geffen will show clips and discuss the making of this iconic film.

Moreover, in a special event to mark the opening of this year's Kendal Mountain Festival, David Breashears will tell of his experiences on Everest in May 1996.

This will be both a dramatic story in its own right as well a master-class on adventure film making. In a remarkable tour-de-force, he will use the gigantic size of the IMAX format to show the stunning beauty of the world's highest mountain and tell a dramatic story of disaster, survival and ultimately triumph.

His film remains the most popular Giant Movie of all time. The festival also has the privilege of showing the UK Premier of his latest film.

* Kendal Mountain Festival dates are 20-23 November. Tickets can be bought online at www.mountainfilm.co.uk or through Kendal's Brewery Arts box office on 01539 725133.