What is possible? That’s the key question being posed by the 12th Edinburgh Mountain Film Festival, which runs Friday 6 – Sunday 8 February. From un-climbable rock routes and un-skiable lines to the ball-and-chain ties of a job and mortgage; and from surviving temperatures of -47°C to overcoming the hardships of life-changing injuries, the stories to be told at the EMFF will challenge what you may believe is humanly possible.
The three-day festival is being staged, as always, at George Square Lecture Theatre in Edinburgh. Tickets for the popular festival start at £7 and are on sale now at www.emff.co.uk with the organisers reporting that tickets are already selling fast.
The 2015 festival programme is a weekend packed full of inspiration and entertainment, with an impressive diversity of speakers and films delivering a rucksack-load of stories about dreams, challenges and over-coming adversity – a good match for your new year’s resolutions! Over the years, the EMFF has built a strong reputation as a fun, lively, enlightening and inspiring event, suitable for all of the family, and now in its 12th year, it will continue to build on that trend.
Each of the EMFF’s guest speakers has had their fair share of pain and suffering but have used that in a positive way. Karen Darke is now well-known as a successful cyclist in the British Paralympian team. She was just 21 when a climbing accident left her paralysed from the chest down but adventure remains a key part of her life. American mountaineer and photographer Cory Richards was a high-school drop out aged 14 but found his path through climbing. He endured horrendously cold weather & survived a major avalanche while making the first winter ascent of 8,035m Gasherbrum II. However, the ascent was a positive turning point in his life.
Other speakers include top climber Tom Randall, who built a ‘climbing dungeon’ in his basement so that he could train for Century Crack, the world’s toughest off-width crack climb; and Dave Cornthwaite, who found the pain of the daily grind too much to bear so quit his job to embark on adventures as varied as skateboarding across Australia (3618 miles in 156 days) and swimming the length of the Missouri River (1,001 miles in 58 days).
As well as the speakers, there are many remarkable films being screened.
The epic Valley Uprising tells the story of climbing in Yosemite and has won scores of awards at festivals across the world while The Limbless Mountaineer tells the story of Edinburgh mountaineer Jamie Andrew’s dream of climbing the Matterhorn – and Jamie will be there to introduce the film.
Fans of the extreme will marvel at Stone Free, featuring legendary solo climber Julian Lines climbing (and falling) in the Highlands. Snowsports fans will be drooling at the many awesome films shot in venues as diverse as Alaska, the NZ Alps, Baffin Island and the Cairngorms. A series of mountain bike films and adventurous journeys in wild places ensure that there truly is something for everyone.
Stevie Christie, Festival Director, said: “There are many great films to be excited about this year, from 5 minute shorts to feature length epics, and the variety will make for a great event.
“Whether you are a committed outdoor enthusiast or more of an armchair fan, or if you simply enjoy hearing enthralling stories set against incredibly beautiful scenery, there is something for you at the EMFF. This is the place to come at the start of the year to marvel at these stories and to get inspired to make this the year for your big adventures too. ”
The festival, staged in association with Tiso, Mountain Equipment, Gore and Wilderness Scotland, expects big numbers from the climbing, snowsports, kayaking, adventure sports, outdoor photography and filmmaking communities; as well as those who love the outdoors, travel and mountain adventure, from all over the UK to attend the event. From its humble beginnings in 2003, it’s grown to be one of the most popular and dynamic events in Scotland’s outdoor adventure calendar, attracting in excess of 3,000 outdoor enthusiasts annually.
For full details of the festival and how to buy tickets go to: www.emff.co.uk
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
