Adventure Film Festival hosts U of O screening, and more
Film festivals have been known to cover everything from popular genres to societal issues, but they may need to make room for a new set of films—adventure documentaries.
On Thursday, Nov. 22, Ottawa’s Adventure Film Festival will end its week-long run of movie screenings with four films in the University of Ottawa’s Alumni Auditorium.
“Essentially the festival was created because the Ottawa outdoors community is thriving and very supportive of events like this,” Jordan Kent, one of the organizers of the film festival, explained to the Fulcrum in an email.
The Adventure Film Festival, which was created in Ottawa last year, looks to bring adventure films from around the world to the city, and get people excited about the environment around them.
“Ottawa is really uniquely situated because (you can go exploring) within an hour-drive from downtown,” he continued. “You can be climbing in Calabogie, running in Gatineau Park, skiing in Chelsea, or whitewater kayaking on the Ottawa River.”
For viewers of the festival, these films have highlighted the major challenges in these types of outdoor activities, and others—including a 100 kilometre trek across the mountainous tip of northern Oman, and setting the record for the longest continuous bike-ride in a single country.
The films being shown vary in length, from three-minute shorts to an 80-minute feature film—yet, all centre around the theme of adventure.
At Thursday’s screening, audience members can expect to see three shorter films—The Camera Trap, Breaking Boundaries, and The Indo Project—and the full-length feature: 3100: Run and Become.
“(The U of O) approached us and we were excited to test a new venue for the festival,” explained Kent. “We wanted to screen a longer film that we thought would fit the university community.”
3100: Run and Become follows the journey of a Finnish runner and an Austrian cellist as they set out on a mission to complete the Self Transcendence 3,100 Mile Race in 52 days.
“We wanted to screen something really great and 3100 is an inspiring and fascinating film,” Kent said. “This is the Canadian premiere of (the movie) which is pretty exciting.”
The Ottawa Adventure Film Festival has substantially grown from last year’s debut, by including three extra evening events and creating two local awards.
In fact, the increasing levels of engagement from these local businesses—and viewers—are not the only indicators of the film festival’s growth. The event’s creator, Mike McKay strongly believes that the city’s film festival will continue to gain traction.
“Adventure stories have a place in our lives always,” he told the Fulcrum. “Always have and always will.”
Tickets to Thursday’s screening cost $15 regularly, or are $5 with a special discount code offered by the U of O, and can be purchased on the Festival’s eventbrite page.
