ShAFF 2019: Spirit of Adventure Films 3 PG

A selection of the best adventure films from the last year. Spirit Of Adventure really defines the essences of what ShAFF is about. Part of Sheffield Adventure Film Festival 2019 (ShAFF 2019). 100+ of the best adventure, travel and extreme sports films over one weekend in the UK's Outdoor Capital City.

1. Traces - 36 minutes

   In the autumn of 1942 the Lena river delta became a prison for almost three thousand innocent Lithuanian men and women, young and old, who were secretly deported here by the Stalin’s regime. These forced labour camps (Russian, Gulags) on the banks of Lena and the shore of the Laptev Sea, were supposed to supply Soviet army with fish during World War II, became graveyards for thousands. Those who died in this faraway land and those, who survived the ordeal, were later proudly called “the Laptevians”. Inspired by the legacy of Gulag survivors and led by the son of a Laptevian a group of four friends and experienced adventurers decided to embark on an unprecedented, lasting more than 600 km laying the route that no one has ever done before. The aim of the trip was to cross the Verkhoyansky range using nothing but their feet, inflatable boats and a spirit of friendship, in order to endure a 30-day long unsupported expedition from Batagay Alyta to the Kyusyur – a village on the bank of Lena – a place where the father of one of the members of expedition was born, hoping to meet ancestors of Lithuanian gulag survivors, who might be living there until the present day. Finally, the group planned to reach the notorious Tit-Ary island in the Lena delta, visiting abandoned Gulag and cemetery, paying tribute to all that suffered there. Initially a 4 part web-documentary “Traces” is a part of a multimedia project, which encompasses the trials of this expedition and the past events that linger in the subconscious of the Lithuanian society. It invites the viewer to explore the map with the route of the expedition, see archival material which helps to understand the history of deportations, hear the stories of survivors and relive the experience of the expedition in a mini series of short video documentaries. As a multimedia project it was nominated for an award at European broadcasting festival PRIX EUROPA 2018.

2. The Mirnavator -11 minutes

   Ultra-runners overcome obstacles on every trail. While competing in her first 50K trail race of the season, Mirna Valerio must overcome the negative voices that don’t believe she belongs in the sport.

3. The UK In 100 Seconds - 2 minutes

   Friends of the Earth is campaigning to make more space for nature everywhere for the benefit of people and wildlife. This means bringing nature to life in towns, cities and where we live, learn and work, not just consigning it to special reserves. 100 Seconds asks some searching questions. How much space is there for nature in the UK? How do we use the land? Look at it from the air and you find some surprising answers. Each second of the film equates to 1% of what the country looks like from the air. One of the most shocking things, is going through literally hundreds of miles of crops, you realise that half of all the cereal crops you see in the countryside are fed to livestock. What else could we do with that land? More detail on this links The film premiered on 24th September in London https://friendsoftheearth.uk/nature/uk-100-seconds-short-film-asks-can-we-make-space-nature https://friendsoftheearth.uk/nature/space-nature-uk-100-seconds https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/environment/2018/09/discover-britain-100-seconds https://twitter.com/DanRavenEllison

4. This Is The Northland - 11 minutes

   The film focuses on Sandwood bay, a remote, wild beach just south of Cape Wrath. Though now known as a place of unspoilt natural beauty, stories of ghosts and shipwrecks litter the beach's history and linger still in the minds of many. Told through the filmmaker’s personal connection to this place, the film explores these stories, and offers a candid and honest exploration into the human relationship with wild land.

5. Waterway Jay - 7 minutes

   In 2017, Jay Gustafson launched Paddle for Progress, a two-year, 4,300-mile personal journey in response to Governor Dayton's call for water action. Jay's mission to reconnect humanity with one of our most precious resources took him to the most remote and least visited corners of Minnesota, as well as through nearly every major community in the state. ​ Alone in the wilderness, Jay reminds us how we are all linked to water, one of the most powerful elements on earth that is in a constant state of danger. His passion for paddling and call to something greater than himself leads us down water trails into our own spirit's journey and connection with the earth. ​ Waterway Jay is the story of this one man's journey to save water, and how we are connected to it all.

6. The Passage - 25 minutes

   In 1974, my 20-year-old parents and uncle Andy built their own canoes, launched them into the Pacific, and became some the first people in modern history to canoe from Washington to Alaska up the Inside Passage. My brother and I grew up paddling those wooden canoes in the Virginia rives and the 1974 adventure became legend in our family - shaping who we’ve become, how we view our parents, and how our parents view themselves. In the summer of 2017, we renovated those canoes and with our aging parents completed their 1974 journey. The Passage is a story about the dreams of aging brothers, fathers and sons, and the wild places that define us.