The Sheffield Adventure Film Festival hits the Steel City next weekend.
Screenings and events take place at venues across the city from 20-22nd March. There’s loads of stuff on for cyclists, including those of a fat-tyred persuasion, with not one but two mountain bike sessions. Highlights include the premier of Anthill Films Afghanistan adventure, ‘Forgotten Dirt’; ‘Huayhuash’, a spur-of-the-moment circumnavigation of the Peruvian Andes by bike, and ‘All My Own Stunts’, which follows professional stuntman and downhiller Rob Jarman as he navigates the challenges of his day job.
Physics-bending Scot Danny MacAskill will be doing a free Q&A and signing on Sunday 22nd March, as well as presenting his films that have so far clocked up more than 106 million views between them: Inspired Bicycles, Way Back Home, Industrial Revolutions, Imaginate and Epecuen. (Yes – 106,000,000…)
As well as the bike films, there’s a huge program of adventure and outdoor film making on offer, covering everything from climbing, wakeboarding and ultra-distance trail running, to record breaking para-athletes and a film in which “an elite group of paragliders attempt an unsupported vol-bivvy across the Rockies… the ultimate alpine minimalist approach to travel in the mountains at 18,000 feet”, which is probably going to deliver some invigorating views if nothing else.
The substantial Women In Adventure section within the listings is worth a look, too. This gathers together details of and acknowledges the fifty or so films on the listings which feature female protagonists/film makers, while still allowing the films themselves to be seen in the context of the broader program. SHAFF says: “We took a conscious decision not to have a dedicated Women in Adventure film screening as we want these films to stand on merit as part of all our other screenings.” Sounds like an excellent idea to us.
For tickets, listings and venue information, go to the event website: shaff.co.uk