A welcome to the 2nd Edinburgh Mountain Film Festival
I can barely believe that it is a year since many of us crammed into the Caley
Brewery to see what this Edinburgh Mountain Film Festival thingamabob was all about. Hopefully when you left that night, you
had a better idea. Thinking back, there were some great lectures and films that gave us all a bit of a buzz, some inspiration
and a few laughs. I can’t promise any more climbing Jack Russells but I am confident that this year’s festival
will be a bigger and better event.
We have moved to a new venue – the George Square Lecture Theatre at Edinburgh
University - which has tiered seating and a cinema-size screen. When
we checked out the venue and saw clips from our films on the big screen, we were blown away. Size matters, it seems!
We have also switched to a weekend festival, with five sessions over three nights and two afternoons. As a result, the programme
is much wider than last year, with more varied lectures and lots more films.
We had over 50 films submitted to us this year and almost 20 will be screened.
These have come from all over the world but I am particularly pleased by the number of home-grown films entered. There are
high budget Production Company films and “we filmed it with my mate’s camera” films. There is climbing (all
kinds!), kayaking, skiing, boarding, BASE jumping, adventure, exploration…all mountain life is represented. Please note
that some films contain moderate swearing – though nothing worse than you’d hear in the playground these days!
Such films are marked with an asterisk*.
We also have lectures from Andy Kirkpatrick, Dave McLeod, Andrew Greig, Liz Duff,
Andrew Cooney and ‘Touching the Void’ star Simon Yates, providing a strong line-up of speakers who will thrill
and enthral us with their tales of climbing and adventure from across the globe. The photography, poetry and art exhibitions,
along with the sponsors’ stands, complete the weekend’s line-up.
I am delighted to say that Tiso has continued its sponsorship of the
festival. Tiso has been joined this year by Glenmore Lodge as the two Presenting Sponsors of the festival. Mountain Equipment,
John Muir Trust, High Mountain Magazine, Pocket Mountains Guidebooks, On The Edge Magazine, Wilderness Scotland and Extreme DV have also chosen to sponsor the festival
and we are very grateful to all of them for helping make the festival what it is. Many of them will have stands at the festival
– go and say hello! We’re also grateful for assistance from Alien Rock, MCoS and ScottishClimbs.com Of course, a lot of work goes on behind the scenes and a special thank you to all
those involved.
It looks all set to be an exciting, enlightening and inspiring weekend –
even without the climbing Jack Russell. I hope you can join us.
STEVIE CHRISTIE
Festival Director
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2003 Welcome to the
First EMFF
It has been an ambition
of mine to stage a festival like this in Edinburgh ever since I attended the Banff Mountain Film Festival in Canada in 1999.
The films that year covered a huge range of activities from BASE jumping to ice climbing and also looked beyond ‘action’
films to explore the culture and mindset of people who seek adventure, solace and peace in the mountains and wild places of
this world. The Banff festival is the biggest and best festival of its type in the world, and I was very much inspired by
the films I watched and speakers I heard that week. I hope that when you come
to the Edinburgh Mountain Film Festival, you will leave similarly inspired and stimulated to get out there and enjoy the wilds.
The film programme we
have is a mixture of international and Scottish made films that are all easily watchable and will entertain all of us with
an interest in the outdoors. The films focus on climbing, skiing, snowboarding and kayaking, with some paragliding thrown
in for good measure. But one thing that all the films have in common is that they feature people with a spirit of adventure
who are ‘out there’, living the dream.
As well as the films, I am delighted to have a mountain
photography exhibition by the leading climbing photographer in the country. Cubby’s display, along with the mountain
and wilderness poetry from members of the John Muir Trust, are an attraction in themselves and should not be overlooked. Mountain
Rescue are attending the festival and the raffles each night will raise much-needed funds for the service.
Many people have helped get this show on the road. At
the top of the list are Tiso, the outdoor specialists. Without their support, this festival could not happen. I am also deeply
grateful for the help from the other festival supporters – John Muir Trust, Caledonian Events, High Magazine and Wilderness
Scotland. But there are many other people who I am not able to mention here but who have helped incredibly over the past few
months and to them I offer my heartfelt thanks.
I hope you are as excited by the prospect of this Festival
as I am. But already we are looking towards next year, searching for films, photographers, poets and speakers. With your support,
I hope this festival can grow to be every bit as important as the one in Banff that first inspired me. I hope it inspires
you to get out there, to do your thing. And maybe next time, pack the film camera.
I hope to see you there,
Stevie Christie Festival Director
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