“NZ adventure film-making has experienced significant growth in the past decade, in part due to the regular Adventure Film School’s graduates who have taken out many of the prizes,” says Sedon.
Filmmakers work hard to get their films finished in time for the competition and usually come to Wānaka to introduce them. There are DocTalks (workshops) for filmmakers and social functions.
The festival at Wānaka brings together a community of film-makers who can learn from each other and network.
The NZ Mountain Film Festival National Tour comes to Gisborne’s Dome Cinema on August 29 and 30. The first night features the New Zealand-made films, which vary in duration.
The second night is the awards night, which features the best of the international films.
Included in the tour programme is the newly announced winner of the People’s Choice Award, Inshallah, by New Zealand directors Georgia Merton and Isobel Ewing.
Festival fans were asked to cast votes for the People’s Choice Award and Inshallah, which documents Merton and Ewing’s bike tour through the mountains of Pakistan, earned the number-one spot. The film had also previously been awarded the prize for Best Self-Filmed Film.
Merton and Ewing were delighted and taken aback by their latest award. Merton said: “The film is really a tribute to the people of Pakistan and the power of adventure, so it’s wonderful to know that it touched people.”
PURE NZ NIGHT: Thursday, August 29 from 7pm. Total time 115 minutes.
Up the Cass, No Gas (10 mins). Director: Anna Frances Pearson, NZ, world premiere. An annual ski pilgrimage to the Cass Valley sparks a fresh perspective as friends contemplate their environmental footprint.
Ladies Behind The Lens (14 mins). Producer: Hannah Marshall, NZ, world premiere. A journey of five determined women delving into the world of adventure film-making; grappling with technical challenges, equipment malfunctions, weather constraints and logistical nightmares.
The Adventure of Racing (26 mins). Director: Ben Wallbank, NZ, world premiere. A female-led adventure racing team on their endeavour to compete at the adventure racing World Championships in Fiordland.
Kahurangi: A South to North Traverse (10 mins). Director: Louie Burger, NZ, world premiere. Three teenage boys set off into the bush to walk the full length of the Kahurangi National Park, with over half of the trip spent navigating thick, slow-moving, off-track terrain – AKA sh**ty bush.
Inshallah (18 mins). Directors: Georgia Merton and Isobel Ewing, NZ. A celebration of winging it, of travel by bicycle in the mountains of northern Pakistan, and of the power of exploration to obliterate preconceptions and understand our fellow humans.
The War on Style (15 mins). Director: Chris Maunsell, NZ. A poetic look into the mind and outrageous life of protagonist Hank Bilous.
Terra Incognita (20 mins). Director: Finlay Woods, NZ. A bunch of world-class local skiers experiment with pack horses to access ski touring, with mixed results, but it doesn’t hold them back from some high-flying objectives that don’t always go to plan.
AWARD NIGHT: Friday, August 30 from 7pm, total time 142 minutes
To Be Frank (10 mins). US. Explores authenticity and community in surfing via a 73-year-old South Bay icon and humble local.
Nuptse: Touching the Intangible (67 mins). Director: Hugo Clouzeau, France, subtitled. Three French alpinists are dreaming of opening a new extreme climbing route on the legendary south face of Nuptse, an ice wall approaching 8000m in the heart of the Himalayas. Will their obsessive quest be pushing too far?
Light Beams For Helena (10 mins). US. Pushing the limits in the freediving world, using a single breath to dive to depths that would kill most human beings. Learn what diving into the darkness of deep water has taught her.
Via Sedna (55 mins) Director: Ramona Waldner, Austria, subtitled. An all-female team sailed from France through the rough Arctic Sea to Greenland, where the climbers attempted the first ascent of a big wall. They set sail but it soon became clear Sedna, the Inuit goddess of the seas, would put the team to the test.
