The Edinburgh Mountain Film Festival is back

Inspiring guest speakers, enthralling films and local heroes are bringing adventure to the 13th Edinburgh Mountain Film Festival

Some people got to the mountains to explore, venture somewhere new and really off the beaten path. For others, years of training can pay dividends when they complete a challenging rock climb or ski descent. And then there are the daredevils, who need the buzz of pushing the limits to keep them sane. All such characters feature at this year’s Edinburgh Mountain Film Festival, which promises to be a cracker.

The two-day festival is being staged, as always, at George Square Lecture Theatre in Edinburgh. Tickets for the popular festival start at £6 and are on sale now at emff.co.uk.

The casts of the various movies read like a Who’s Who of the adventure world: climbers Alex Honnold and Tommy Caldwell, the late extreme adventurer Dean Potter, leading mountain biker Brandon Semenuk.

Darklight: a mind-bending mountain biking film from Sweetgrass productions

Darklight: a mind-bending mountain biking film from Sweetgrass productions

Then there are the unknowns: a team of ‘balloon-skiing’ pioneers, 91 year old former mountain guide Gwen Moffat, and a skier who goes only by the name of Snowflake. Local heroes are well-represented too, with top climber Natalie Berry, Inverness-based extreme skier Peter MacKenzie and a team of paraclimbers who take on the Eiger. As ever, the film line up promises to entertain, enlighten and inspire.  

The guest speakers at the EMFF show as much diversity as the films. Top Scottish climber Dave MacLeod, with a string of world-firsts behind him is the perfect example of devotion paying dividends. Photographer and alpinist Jon Griffith shows similar dedication that has allowed him to capture some truly stunning images.

Andy Kirkpatrick’s years in the mountains are quite contrasting, with his adventurous spirit and apparent love of suffering resulting in some quite incredible tales.

All Roads Lead to Scotland stars climbers Nick Bullock and Tim Neill

All Roads Lead to Scotland stars climbers Nick Bullock and Tim Neill

CHC_AllRoadsLead_Press-2

Meanwhile, top Scottish mountain biker Lee Craigie, a former British Champion and Commonwealth Games athlete is going full circle to rediscover adventure having spent years training for events.  

New for the 2016 festival is a Sunday morning film show which has been designated family-friendly. Stevie Christie, Festival Director, explains: “We have 6 fantastic adventure films to screen at this 90 minute session. It’s definitely not just for kids as the films are awesome and you won’t want to miss them. But we’ve selected these films for this session because there are no adult-themes or swearing in the films, making them suitable for all to enjoy.” 

The festival 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.

OAG