NZ Mountain Film Festival - national tour

Come and watch a selection of the year's best adventure short films, as screened at the 20th NZ Mountain Film Festival.

The NZ Mountain Film Festival National Tour takes a selection of recent award-winning adventure, action sports and environment films to audiences around NZ. Celebrate the stunning, the adventurous, the quirky, the breath-taking, the challenging and the serendipity of the unexpected with these short films, all from the comfort of the movie theatre at the Waitomo Caves Museum.

Two nights - two selections of New Zealand & international short films. Buy tickets for Friday, 30 September at 7pm ($25) or Saturday, 1 October at 7pm ($25) or both nights ($40).

Door sales from the Waitomo Caves Museum or email info@waitomodiscovery.org

On Friday night, we will have Merry Schminanski, talking about his climbing film, The Airport Wall, based in Milford Sound.

SCREENING PROGRAMME - FRIDAY, 30 SEPTEMBER at 7pm
Total time screening time - 128 minutes, not including intermission for tea / coffee and a free brownie - thank you to the HUHU Café.

*** We Don't Usually Have Ice Creams (10 mins). Director: Paul McCredie, NZ.
This isn't your average pensioner walking group. They don't believe in tracks or bridges. They scale untracked ridges, ford or swim rivers, scramble up waterfalls, abseil over bluffs and seldom get home before dark. These men are tough, but the women are tougher.

*** Traversing the Night (40 mins). Director: Maddy Whittaker, NZ.
With an average age of 22, the four New Zealand Alpine Kids (as they called themselves) set off from Arthur’s Pass. The dream was to traverse the spine of the Southern Alps for the next three months until they reached Fiordland. The mountains are wonderful, beautiful and healing – but they are healing because they make us confront things that get drowned out in regular civilisation.

*** The Great Alpine Highway – 73 (23 mins). Directors: Fin Woods, Chris Maunsell & Craig Murray, NZ.
This is a film following local skiers as they pile into Rongo – a converted school bus – and explore some of NZ’s best terrain. They dive into the eclectic club scene and meet some of the locals that make skiing in Aotearoa so exceptional.

*** The Long Way Home (40 mins). Directors: Rebecca Wardell & Whitney Oliver, NZ.
Three Kiwi women living in Switzerland decide to skip the airplane and take the long way home - by bicycle. They set out on two wheels to cover the 20,000 km through Europe, Asia, and the length of New Zealand, learning many lessons along the way.

*** Airport Wall (15 mins). Director: Allie Rood, NZ.
Dan and Merry have both been looking at the Airport Wall in Fiordland for over 20 years. As almost a culmination of their careers as climbers, this is the story of how these guys achieved a first ascent of this massive big wall climb. It explains in detail what it takes, and what it means, for people interested in going there and trying to climb it themselves.

The screenings are a fund-raiser for the not-for-profit Waitomo Caves Museum & we're grateful to Discover Waitomo for sponsorship. Thank you for your support.