Today on Too Opinionated, we sit down with the director of the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival, Ivan Hughes and his special guests.

Ivan Hughes is an independent filmmaker with more than 20 years of experience producing documentary films across Canada and around the world. His award-winning work has screened nationally and internationally in festivals, broadcast and online. He brings technical knowledge of workflows and equipment to projects, whether he is directing, shooting, or editing. Ivan has worked on outreach programs across the province, bringing filmmaking workshops to remote indigenous communities. He has mentored new filmmakers, founded the Squamish Mountain Festival in 2006, and served as a board member and programming manager for the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival for 5 years. Ivan has previously worked at the Winnipeg Film Group as the Production Centre Director from 2012 to 2014. Claudia Bastien is a Squamish-based Indigenous endurance athlete, adventure storyteller, and digital creator. She is known for taking on ambitious solo expeditions, including leaving directly from her front door in Squamish to begin a 5,000 km unsupported bikepacking journey from Canada to Mexico, and a 1,350 km ride along Australia's Coral Coast. In November 2025, she will return to Mexico to bikepack the length of the Baja Divide route, continuing her pursuit of long-distance endurance challenges.

Vince LaPointe is a Coast Guard Helicopter Rescue Swimmer, Vince's job was to jump out of a perfectly good aircraft to help distressed mariners on the worst day of their life. Today, Vince implements the high-pressure skills learned in the military on time-sensitive film sets. As a dedicated outdoorsman and rock climber, his passion is for capturing emotion, drama and humour in adventure films.

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