SHAFF SKI and BOARD programme announced
17th Jan 2012
The 2012 Sheffield Adventure Film Festival programme has just been released and there are more films than ever with 75 of the best adventure, travel and extreme sports films hand-picked for you from around the world. That’s 1,550 minutes of film screened over one weekend (9-11 March) at Sheffield’s art deco Showroom Cinema - the UK’s biggest independent cinema outside London.
For skiers and snowboarders there’s a cracking line up with TWO SPECIAL SKI and SNOWBOARD SCREENINGS as well as TWO FEATURE LENGTH FILMS big-budget hits All.I.Can and Art of Flight, plus the British premiere of Path of Roses - A Girl's Skiing Episode in Kashmir in our Environment/Culture Screening.
Sheffield Adventure Film Festival Director Matt Heason who had a record-breaking 230 films to choose from said: “I’m amazed how the entries get stronger and stronger every year. I reckon I was downloading around 10GB of film a day in the run up to the submission deadline. I’m really excited about this year’s programme. Climbing films are traditionally strong but this year the ski and snowboard films have blown me away. We’re holding two separate screenings as well as showing two feature length ski films. We’ve also created a new virals prize category to reflect the huge increase in popularity of video sharing. And so people can pack even more into their weekend we’ve programmed an hour long ‘Adventure Bites Loop’ of the best shorts that people can slot in between the usual two hour multi-film, themed screenings.”
And because variety’s the spice of life (and perhaps not all your family and friends are snow-junkies!) there’s a whole host of other adventure sports films, talks and lectures as well as family-friendly Young Adventurer Showings. Don’t forget the Showroom Cinema has a comfy bar/cafe with live music where you can relax in between screenings. We’ll also have a photo and video competitions, exhibitions, a charity auction, 2nd hand kit sale, massage by Global Therapies and much, much more.
ALSO NEW FOR 2012:
- New awards category ‘Best Viral’ to reflect the surging popularity and quality of shorts posted on You Tube and Vimeo.
- New ‘Adventure Bites Loop’ - an hour long repeat screening of the festival’s best shorts.
- Extra ski/board films screening to accommodate the strong field of ski/board entries.
- Extra Young Adventurers showing - afternoon matinee in addition to the Saturday and Sunday morning showings which sold out last year.
- Feature length movies - 3 feature length film screenings including big budget ski hits All.I.Can and The Art of Flight.
- New charity auction on behalf of Community Action Nepal.
Can’t wait for your adventure film fix? check out the Heason Events Facebook page for a Daily Adventure Dose www.facebook.com/heason.events. Follow us on twitter at @HeasonEvents and @Heason_Lissa #dailyadventuredose #shaff
ENDS
FULL SKI/BOARD PROGRAMME DETAILS:
Ski & Board Films 1 (104mins)
Sat 10 Mar - 13.00 - Screen 2 (tickets: standard prices)
This Is My Winter - 26 minutes
Follow big mountain snowboard legend Xavier de la Rue through a whole season. Includes a hair-raising 4 hour descent down one of the most mythical ski descents in Chamonix, the 3,700m Aiguille de Plan.
Pillow Line - 5 minutes
An amazing, amusing short that uses an innovative stop motion technique to show the world of skiing in a whole different light. Ski the pillow line without ever getting out of bed.
Ski Guides of La Grave - 12 minutes
La Grave is unique. Up high, a small ski lift serves a piste on the glacier. Apart from that, there is nothing or close to nothing ... just off-piste, ski-touring routes down 2000m of pure mountain. The area's four ski patrollers explain their light-touch approach and their passion for protecting this one-of-a-kind ski experience.
Solitaire - 52 minutes
A poetic celebration of back country skiing and snowboarding in South America. The hypnotic Spanish narration (based on Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness) and hauntingly beautiful ski and board sequences reel you in to create a real connection between the sport and its natural environment that makes this film stand out from the crowd.
Ski & Board Films 2 (99mins)
Sun 11 Mar - 13.00 - Screen 2 (tickets: standard prices)
A Downhill Affair - 13 minutes
Is it possible for two people to both live the dream and stay happy together? In 'Downhill Affair: A Love Story' extreme skiers Molly Baker and Zack Giffin admit that the one thing that could bring them closer could tear them apart.
The Freedom Chair - 15 minutes
Josh Dueck was an aspiring skier and coach until a ski accident left him paralysed. Not content with his comeback winning a silver Olympic medal in downhill sit-ski racing, he craves the thrill and freedom of backcountry skiing.
The Man And The Mammoth - 7 minutes
A charming, witty animated short in which a caveman discovers skiing thanks to his friendship with a wooly mammoth.
Being There - 55 minutes
The world's best freeskiers filmed in HD by a passionate ski-mad film-crew in mind-blowing locations, Being There is a behind the scenes look at the production of an adventure ski film.
Feature Films
All I Can (84 mins)
Sun 11 Mar - 19.30 - Creative Lounge (tickets: 2/3 prices)
All.I.Can is a two-year feature film project aiming to make the connection between skiing and the environment skiers enjoy. Whilst unashamedly green it's not preachy - facing up to the paradox that logging, mining and cars allow skiers access to some of the most beautiful areas in the world. Inspirational ski performances and ground-breaking cinematography celebrate nature in all its glory.
The Art Of Flight (88 mins)
Sun 11 Mar - 17.00 - Creative Lounge (tickets: 2/3 prices)
Big-budget, feature length, Hollywood style, adventure/travel documentary drama of epic proportions that focuses as much on the process of making a snowboard movie as about snowboarding.
Environment & Culture Films (104mins)
Sun 11 Mar - 12.30 - Screen 1 (tickets: standard prices)
includes British premiere of ski film:
Path Of Roses - A Girl's Skiing Episode in Kashmir - 25 minutes
Female free ski mountaineers meet the Himalayas. Austrian skiers Eva Walkner and Katharina Schuler explore the unique ski culture, untouched powder slopes and colourful villages of the Kashmir, a paradise for freeriders.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
HIGH RESOLUTION PRESS IMAGES: http://www.shaff.co.uk/press-filmakers-volunteers/press-images/2012-images/
- ShAFF is the weekend of 9-11 March 2012 (www.shaff.co.uk) at the art deco Sheffield Showroom cinema - the UK’s biggest independent cinema outside London. (15 Paternoster Row, Sheffield, S1 2BX / tel 0114 275 7727 or book online at www.showroomworkstation.org.uk/)
- Film screenings are mixed in with talks and lectures on epic climbs, runs and rides by world-class adventurers.
- It’s great value - one ticket buys you a multi-film screening so you can see several films in one hit. Passionate about your sport? Then try our specialist selections. Want a high energy hit? Then book our Adrenaline showing. Fancy inspiration and escapism? Try the Adventure Medley. - For a family friendly weekend try our morning Young Adventurer showings were both sell outs last year so this year we’ll also have afternoon matinees with urban orienteering afterwards.
- Chill out in the bar/cafe between screenings with live music, comfy-seating and free wifi. During the day grab a light lunch and coffee with friends and in the evenings, book dinner made by experienced chefs with fresh, local produce. Why not try the great selection of on tap or bottled beers, wines and ciders - not forgetting the awesome cake cabinet!
- Getting there’s easy - We’re just across the road from the mainline train station with regular services to the Peak District, Manchester and the UK, there are also local buses, trams and a plenty of nearby car- parks.
- We’re growing in the face of a global recession. Now in its 7th year, for the past six years 100% of the audience said they’d come back again and recommend it to a friend. ShAFF 2011 was our best ever year with a 77% increase in ticket sales, an amazing film programme and a packed series of lectures including the legendary Steve Peat.
Contacts:
Festival Director, Matt Heason, Heason Events - [email protected] or 1433 639378 / 07966 529219
Lissa Cook, PR & Media consultant, Heason Events - [email protected] / or 01663 751 126 / 07818 411 791
Follow us on facebook and twitter at @Heason_Lissa and @HeasonEvents
