Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival kicks off another strong year with an evening of shorts at the Centennial Theatre (2300 Lonsdale Avenue) in North Van on Friday (February 12). Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the event is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m.

One of the highlights on opening night will be the awarding of the Tim Jones Community Achievement Award in honour of the beloved former leader of North Shore Rescue.

If that's not enough to pack in a crowd, there will also be a talk by famed climber Kevin Jorgeson. He's credited with scaling the hardest wall in the world with climber Tommy Caldwell.

They spent six years planning to ascend up the Dawn Wall on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. It took 19 days in December 2014 and January 2015, to accomplish what some feel was an impossible task.

It earned them a spot on The Ellen Show.

Jorgeson hopped up trees, fences, and ladders as a toddler, and he became hooked on ascending boulders at the age of 10 when a climbing gym opened in his community.

Below, you can see video of him on the Dawn Wall.

The Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival covers a wide range of outdoor themes, including adventure, rock climbing, the environment, mountain climbing, and mountain sports.

Here are the five films scheduled to be shown on opening night:

* Common Threads features climbers David Lama and Conrad Anker in Utah's Zion National Park.

* Frank and the Tower focuses on 63-year-old Frank Sanders, who has scaled Wyoming's Devils Tower more than 2,000 times.

* Nature RX is billed as a comedy/social-justice film by therapist Justin Bogardus about the health benefits of the outdoors. Unlike some prescriptions, this one doesn't have nasty side effects.

* Operation Moffat showcases Britain's first female mountain guide, Gwen Moffat.

* Stuart Range: The Enchanting Triple documents a three-peak expedition by Jens Holsten and Blake Herrington in the Stuart Range in Washington state.