And the winner is...
9th Mar 2012
The Sheffield Adventure Film Festival is delighted to announce that ‘Unbreakable: The Western States 100’ has won the 2012 ShAFF Best Film award.
Festival Director Matt Heason says: “It’s a double first for ShAFF - the first ever running film to win and the first feature length film to win. What makes it stand out in a year where we’ve had a record-breaking number of films on show is the brilliant story telling and characters. And it proves you need nothing more than a pair of trainers to have an adventure. And just to prove what a great film it is, with a week to go, it’s sold out. But don’t worry - we’ve put an extra showing on Sunday evening.”
Sheffield Adventure Film Festival Judge, Team GB duathlete and Adventure Sports Writer Nikalas Cook says: “My fellow judges Lucy Creamer and Tim Glasby and I were in total agreement about ‘Unbreakable’. The 2010 Western States 100 was a perfect storm of a race with four of the greatest, undefeated mountain runners on earth fighting to win the oldest and most prestigious 100-mile foot race in the world. Even if you already know the result, it’ll still have you on the edge of your seat right down to the final few miles.”
Fellow judge, Lucy Creamer, the UK's top female climber, says: "I’m not a runner, so having to watch a running film that was an hour and a half long was not an exciting prospect. But I have already watched this twice and now can’t wait to see it on the big screen. It is an extremely well put together film that combines different stories interweaved throughout to create genuine interest in these world class athletes; the race itself leads you towards an incredibly nail biting finish. How can a running film be nail biting? Well, watch this and you’ll find out. An absolute joy that almost made me want to go out running- not a hundred miles though!"
Here's the full list - we'll be adding more reaction from winners & judges as we get them.
ShAFF 2012 Best Film - Unbreakable: The Western States 100
Best Film Commended:
Obe and Ashima
All.I.Can
ShAFF 2012 Best Climbing Film - Obe and Ashima
Climbing Films Commended:
Race for the Nose
The Long Hope Route
ShAFF judge and the UK's top female climber, Lucy Creamer says: "Big Up Productions have created yet another quality offering that ticked a lot of boxes for me. You’ve got; raw emotion, hard climbing, high production standards and two characters with interesting stories. To say that 9 year old Ashima is a future star would be an understatement, she is a star now! Her climbing ability is difficult to believe and with Obe’s passion for coaching, her development in comps and on rock is fascinating. Watching her climb some of the hardest boulder problems in Hueco, Texas, that the majority of hard core boulderers would find desperate is a sight to behold and not to be missed."
ShaFF 2012 Best Environment & Culture Film: Spoil
Director Trip Jennings says: "Winning this award is very exciting because it takes the important message of Spoil international, highlighting the issues and risks faced by indigenous people as a result of the world's largest corporations and their desire to export more and more Canadian oil."
Environment & Culture Films Commended:
Chasing Water
Finnsurf
ShaFF 2012 Best Short Film: Pillow Line
Director Kari Medig says: "I'm excited to have been a part of the festival and really glad that people enjoyed our animation. It was a lot of work, but fun to show our ski world in a creative way."
Short Film Commended
:
Whitewater Grandprix
The Man and the Mammoth
ShaFF 2012 Best Adrenaline Film: Sketchy Andy
Adrenaline Film category Commended
:
Being There
This is My Winter
ShaFF 2012 Best Spirit of Adventure Film: Journey On the Wild Coast
Director Greg Chaney says: "Hey ShAFF! Thank you for the recognition of the "Spirit of Adventure" award. I helped put this film together in part to show the power of a couple working together to achieve a goal in the wilderness. It was also a great opportunity to show the beauty of a strong woman in the wild. And I also hoped that we will inspire some people who have adventurous spirits that they can make an engaging movie even with a tiny budget. Cheers to the true "Spirit of Adventure"!"
Erin, Hig & family say: "We are pleased to accept the "Spirit of Adventure" award. Adventure is a mistake one makes on purpose. It springs from a naive optimism that we can, in fact, do something that seems impossible, and from the stubborn perseverance to make it actually happen. It's probably a good thing that humans have poor memories for physical discomfort. Because the adventures that look uncomfortable on a screen are the most addictive thing I can imagine. I'm sorry we can't be there in person today. But I wish you all adventurous lives."
Spirit of Adventure Film Commended:
Kadoma
ShaFF 2012 Hammer Design Best Artistic Film: Solitaire
Zac Ramras from Sweetgrass says: "We at Sweetgrass Productions are so honord to win Best Artistic Film among such a talented group of filmmakers. We wish we could be there to accept the award in person but we are in the middle of filming our next film. Thank you to the ShAFF Staff for putting on such a great festival and all the filmmakers out there pushing the boundaries of what we all thought was possible."
Artistic Film Commended
Uncommon Ideals
Pillow Line
ShaFF 2012 Steve Peat Best Bike Film: Industrial Revolutions
Steve Peat Bike Film Commended
:
Into Thin Air
ShAFF judge Lucy Creamer says: "Danny MacAskill, what more can you say? This short gem packs in Danny doing some gob-smacking tricks, a great track and superb editing and visuals. Nearly five million people have watched it on the web, they can’t be wrong. Look out for the tight rope cycling, unreal!!"
ShAFF 2012 Best Viral Film: Industrial Revolutions
Viral Film Commended
:
Storm Freerun Volume 1
FULL DETAILS OF 2012 ShAFF winners:
ShAFF 2012 Best Film - Unbreakable: The Western States 100
Director: JB Benna
Producer: JB and Jennifer Benna (US, 106 mins, 2012)
Website: www.ws100film.com
Review: http://runbritain.com/little-runbritain/156/
Synopsis: Feature length film about a perfect storm of a race - in 2010 four of the greatest undefeated mountain runners on earth toed the starting line at the oldest and most prestigious 100-mile foot race in the world, The Western States 100.
Best Film category Commended - Obe and Ashima
Director: Josh Lowell, Brett Lowell and Cooper Roberts
Producer: Josh Lowell (US, 23 mins, 2011)
Website: www.reelrocktour.com
Synopsis: A nine year old girl from New York is taking the bouldering world by storm and her name is Ashima. Under the tutelage of her ex champion coach Obe she's cracking problems and crushing her competition. Through her he rediscovers his passion for climbing but can she cope with the pressure and avoid the danger of burnout?
Best Film category Commended - All.I.Can
Director: Dave Mossop & Eric Crosland
Producer: Malcolm Sangster & Eric Crosland (Canadian, 76 mins, 2011)
Website: sherpascinema.com
Synopsis: 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.
ShAFF 2012 Best Climbing Film - Obe and Ashima
Director: Josh Lowell, Brett Lowell and Cooper Roberts
Producer: Josh Lowell (US, 23 mins, 2011)
Website: www.reelrocktour.com
Synopsis: A nine year old girl from New York is taking the bouldering world by storm and her name is Ashima. Under the tutelage of her ex champion coach Obe she's cracking problems and crushing her competition. Through her he rediscovers his passion for climbing but can she cope with the pressure and avoid the danger of burnout?
Climbing Film category Commended - Race for the Nose
Director/Producer: Nick Rosen and Peter Mortimer (US, 24 mins, 2011)
Website: www.reelrocktour.com
Synopsis: For 50 years the world's best climbers have been one-upping each other on this massive granite monolith in California's Yosemite national park, racing up 3000ft of vertical rock in less than 3 hours, risking life and limb to shave seconds off the record time to claim this hotly contested prize.
Climbing Film category Commended - The Long Hope Route
Director/Producer: Paul Diffley (British, 57 mins, 2011)
Review: www.calmandfearless.com
Website: www.hotaches.com
Synopsis: The Long Hope is the story of Britain's hardest sea cliff route, St. John's Head, Hoy. Interweaves Ed Drummonds' recollections of his original 1970s ascent with gripping footage of Dave MacLeod's full free ascent of the direct line last year.
ShaFF 2012 Best Environment & Culture Film: Spoil
Director/Producer: Trip Jennings (Canadian, 44 mins, 2011)
Website: www.balancemedia.tv
Synopsis: The rare white 'Spirit' bear lives in the Great Bear Rainforest in British Columbia but its habitat is under threat from a proposed oil pipeline. A group of world renowned photographers and videographers teamed up to help the Gitga'at First Nation campaign to protect the forest by documenting its wildlife and culture.
Environment & Culture Film category Commended - Chasing Water
Director: Peter McBride
Producer: Anson Fogel (US, 18 mins, 2011)
Website: http://www.petemcbride.com/
Synopsis: For six million years the Colorado River has flowed from its desert source 1,500 miles to the sea - until now. Photojournalist Pete McBride sets out to follow the river of his childhood to find out how long it takes the water that irrigated his family's ranch to reach the ocean.
Environment & Culture Film category Commended - Finnsurf
Director: Aleksi Raij
Producer: Henri Salokangas, Tuukka Konttinen, Aleksi Raij, Lauri Ahlgren (Finnish, 47 mins, 2011)
Website: www.finnsurf.fi
Synopsis: The world's first (and last?) Finnish surf film. Glassy waves, swaying palm trees, shorts and bikinis - that's the surf dream. But in Finland you can only surf when a storm front whips up waves on the inland Baltic Sea when it's often snowing, blowing a 30 m/s wind and temperatures are sub zero.
ShaFF 2012 Best Short Film: Pillow Line
Director/Producer: Kari Medig (Canadian, 5 mins, 2010)
Website: http://www.karimedigphoto.com/
Synopsis: 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.
Short Film category Commended - Whitewater Grandprix
Director/Producer: Patrick Camblin (Canadian, 4 mins, 2011)
Website: www.whitewatergrandprix.com
Synopsis: The Whitewater Grand Prix brings together 25 of the world's best kayakers for a six-stage competition on spectacular white water in Quebec.
Short Film category Commended - The Man and the Mammoth
Director: Callum Paterson and Nathan Gilliss
Producer: Public Ritual, Mike Douglas, and Sherpas Cinema (Canadian, 7 mins, 2011)
Website: publicritual.ca
Synopsis: A charming, witty animated short in which a caveman discovers skiing thanks to his friendship with a wooly mammoth.
ShaFF 2012 Best Adrenaline Film: Sketchy Andy
Director/ Producer: Nick Rosen and Peter Mortimer (US, 20 mins, 2011
Website: www.reelrocktour.com
Synopsis: He has a tremendous amount of talent, but no fear. It's part insanity, part genius. Slack lining pioneer Andy Lewis solos the world's longest highlines going harder and faster with climbing, slack and BASE.
Adrenaline Film category Commended - Being There
Director: Filip Christensen
Producer: Filip Christensen and Even Sigstad (Norwegian, 55 mins, 2011)
Website: blog.fieldproductions.com
Synopsis: 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.
Adrenaline Film category Commended - This is My Winter
Director: Guido Perrini
Producer: Matthieu Giraud (Swiss/French, 26 mins, 2011)
Website: www.timelinemissions.com
Synopsis: 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.
ShaFF 2012 Best Spirit of Adventure Film: Journey On the Wild Coast
Director: Greg Chaney
Producer: Glacier Light and Shadow (US, 45 mins, 2011)
Website: www.groundtruthtrekking.org
Synopsis: A young couple sell-up to spend a year trekking the coast from Seattle to Alaska. Proof you don't need a Hollywood budget to make a great adventure film - just a shared sleeping bag, toothbrush and plenty of cheese.
Spirit of Adventure Film category Commended - Kadoma
Director / Producer: Ben Stookesbury (US, 42 mins, 2011)
Website: www.clearh2ofilms.com
Synopsis: Kadoma was a nickname for Hendri Coetzee, a legendary South African kayaker who had explored some of Africa’s wildest rivers. American pro kayakers Chris Korbulic and Ben Stookesbury followed Coetzee into the Democratic Republic of Congo for a first descent of the dangerous Lukuga River. Seven weeks into the expedition, tragedy struck.
ShaFF 2012 Hammer Design Best Artistic Film: Solitaire
Director: Nick Waggoner
Producer: Ben Sturgulewski, Zac Ramras, Michael Brown (US, 52 mins, 2011)
Website: www.sweetgrass-productions.com
Synopsis: 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.
Artistic Film category Commended - Uncommon Ideals
Director / Producer: Chris McClean (British, 5 mins, 2011)
Website: www.uncommon-ideals.com
Synopsis: Uncommon Ideals is part of a project to document surfing on the North Sea - as far from the traditional ideal as you can get with its cold, grey, windy waves and murky brown water. Set to a poem by Dan Crockett, this beautiful short was shot to raise funds and exposure for film-maker Chris McLean's dream of making a feature length version.
Artistic Film category Commended - Pillow Line
Director/Producer: Kari Medig (Canadian, 5 mins, 2010)
Website: http://www.karimedigphoto.com/
Synopsis: 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.
ShaFF 2012 Steve Peat Best Bike Film: Industrial Revolutions
Director: Stu Thompson
Producer: Mike Christie (British, 5 mins, 2011)
Website: www.mtbcut.tv
Synopsis: Danny MacAskill is the definitive adventure sports viral overnight success story. 3 years ago the Scottish street trials riders uploaded a video of his bike stunts filmed by his flatmate Dave Sowerby - it's now been watched over 28 million times. 'Industrial Revolutions' has already clocked up more than 3 million hits. Turn off the iPad, sit back and enjoy MacAskill in cinematic style.
Steve Peat Bike Film category Commended - Into Thin Air
Director/Producer: Sebastien Doerk (Swiss, 9 mins, 2011)
Website: infinitetrails.de
Synopsis: Bike-mountaineering takes mountain biking to a whole new level. Harald Phillip and Martin Falkner hike up then bike-ski and crevasse hop through snow fields, following hairy turns along awesome World War 1 singletrack trails down Monte Cevedale (3778m, Italy).
ShAFF 2012 Best Viral Film: Industrial Revolutions
Director: Stu Thompson
Producer: Mike Christie (British, 5 mins, 2011)
Website: www.mtbcut.tv
Synopsis: Danny MacAskill is the definitive adventure sports viral overnight success story. 3 years ago the Scottish street trials riders uploaded a video of his bike stunts filmed by his flatmate Dave Sowerby - it's now been watched over 28 million times. 'Industrial Revolutions' has already clocked up more than 3 million hits. Turn off the iPad, sit back and enjoy MacAskill in cinematic style.
Viral Film category Commended - Storm Freerun Volume 1
Director / Producer: Claudiu Voicu (British, 8 mins, 2010)
Website: www.stormfreerun.com
Synopsis: Paul “Blue” Joseph, Phil Doyle and Mathiue Ledoux star in a Spooks style "test" to identify elite athletes mixing parkour and inline-skating - and fire. One of the Channel 4 documentary 'Concrete Circus' quartet of urban adventure films.
