The 10th annual Edinburgh Mountain Film Festival ventures back into the capital from 26 to 28 October 2012. From its humble beginnings in 2003, the festival has grown to be one of the most popular and dynamic events in Scotland's outdoor adventure calendar and will attract in excess of 3,000 outdoor enthusiasts over the weekend in 2012.
The three-day festival is staged at George Square Lecture Theatre in Edinburgh. Tickets for the popular festival are on sale now at the festival website.
This year the festival organisers say they are promising, “A weekend packed full of inspiration and entertainment, with an impressive diversity of speakers and a selection of films delivering lots of high drama and painful wipeouts! The EMFF has built a reputation as a fun, lively and inspiring event, suitable for all of the family, and in its 10th anniversary year, it will continue to build on that trend.
“Of course, you would expect adventurers, climbers and mountaineers at a mountain film festival and the EMFF does not disappoint! Highlights include lectures by alpinist, climber, BASE-jumper and all around adventurer Leo Houlding; and Alan Hinkes, the only British mountaineer to have scaled all 14 of the world’s 8000m mountains. Coming in from the cold is Norwegian polar explorer Børge Ousland, a true adventurer of modern times who seems to genuinely enjoy extreme suffering! He’s not only travelled to the North Pole in winter – he even got married there (in summer!).
“Meanwhile, self-styled Alpine Princess, Zoe Hart, inspires the climbers on Saturday afternoon and Ardnamurchan-based Simon Willis will share tales of his sea kayaking adventures on his lecture on Sunday afternoon.”
Speaking about his forthcoming lecture, Leo Houlding said: “I’ve been hoping to come to the EMFF since it started back in 2003. Time flies but I’m delighted to be speaking at the 10th anniversary festival. I’ve got some great stories to share with everyone. It’s going to be an awesome weekend!”
As well as the speakers, there are many remarkable films being screened, including the first public screening in Edinburgh of renowned Scottish climber Dave MacLeod in ‘The Long Hope’; the gritty high altitude epic ‘Cold’ with its frightening footage of the aftermath of a major avalanche; and the astonishing and hilarious ‘don’t-try-these-at-home’ antics of ‘Sketchy Andy’, a slackliner. ‘Smitten’ is an extraordinary film about an Australian BASE-jumper known as ‘Lucky Chance’. The film features some crazy BASE jumps and includes footage of the daredevil Down Under carrying out his 100th jump; where he gets into trouble, his parachute doesn’t open and he is sent plummeting to the ground completely out of control. Most mountain sports are represented in the film programme, including climbing, snowsports, BASE-Jumping, mountain culture and epic journeys, with a good combination of international and locally made films.
Stevie Christie, Festival Director, said: “It’s been a thrilling 10 years since the EMFF came into being. We’ve had some great speakers, such as Sir Chris Bonington, Mark Beaumont and Doug Scott, and lots of special moments at the event.
“I remember people shouting support as they watched the movie of Dave MacLeod attempting the world’s first E11 climb; and then cheering loudly when he made it – even though they were just watching a film! There were lots of tears in the audience when we screened Solo, a tragic tale of a sea kayaker who went missing. And of course, there are always lots of laughs, oohs and aahs, as the stars of our movies don’t quite get the moves right and encounter painful endings!
“I’ve been delighted at the positivity shown towards the festival by attendees, sponsors and film-makers alike – and I’m really looking forward to getting our 10th festival up and running in a few weeks time!”
The festival, being staged in association with Tiso, Mountain Equipment, Gore, the EICA at Ratho, Visit Norway and Wilderness Scotland, expects big numbers of outdoor enthusiasts from all over the UK to attend the event. These will include climbers, skiers, snowboarders, mountain bikers, walkers, as well many others who simply have an interest in travel and adventure.