Forget the superheroes currently lining up at your local multiplex cinema, Friday night was an opportunity to see a diverse collection of super-humans defy the odds and perform death-defying feats for real.

More than 1,000 people packed into Brighton Dome Concert Hall to see eight of the best submissions to the annual Banff Mountain Film Festival, which has taken place in the Canadian Rockies since 1976.

There was extreme skiing and kayaking down waterfalls but lesser-known sports also featured, such as the jaw-dropping and frankly bonkers wingsuit flying (man dons a flimsy suit with small fabric wings between the limbs, like a flying squirrel, and leaps off a mountain).

That was one of many wow moments – even the trailers were exhilarating – but tour director and compere Nell Teasdale also managed to create a fun and friendly festival atmosphere in the three short hours.

Film highlights included The Sensei, about the relationship between veteran climbing legend Yuji Hirayama and goofy, naïve “human fly” boulderer Daniel Woods. There was also plenty of humour and wonder in Norwegian film North Of The Sun, the rightful Grand Prize Winner. A delightfully understated story of Arctic surfing, friendship, anti-consumerism and survival, it was endearing, entertaining and inspiring.