Leo Houlding on The Prophet. Photo: © Posing Productions
Adventure enthusiasts have a chance to hear the stories behind some of the top films forming part of this weekend’s Sheffield Adventure Film Festival.
Organiser Matt Heason has teamed up with former Radio 4 producer Lissa Cook and her husband, writer and Shaff judge Nik Cook, to bring a series of podcasts featuring interviews with some of the key players in the festival.
Top rock climber Leo Houlding and ultra-runner Stephen Pyke, who smashed the munro record last year, are among those interviewed for the series.
Other subjects of the podcasts include climber and photographer Ian Parnell, endurance mountain biker Rebecca Rusch, Great Britain Olympic cyclist Nick Craig and Phil Harwood, who canoed 3,000 miles down the River Congo.
Matt Heason said: “Running a film festival has taught me that the stories behind the films are the most important element of any successful adventure film.
“Hearing from the film-makers and the adventurers who star in them adds an extra element to the mix. And there’s undoubtedly an appetite for it: our interview with Leo Houlding just a couple of days after he topped out on his first ascent of The Prophet after a decade of trying had 20,000 hits.”
Lissa Cook added: “The beauty of audio podcasts is you can listen wherever you are, whether you’re in the car or out on a run. Everyone loves a good story and we hope this series will inspire people to get out there and find their own adventures.”
Phil Harwood’s film Mazungu will be screened on both Saturday and Sunday as part of the Adventure Medley 2 screening; the film of Leo Houlding’s ascent of The Prophet will be shown as part of the Climbing films 2 screening on Saturday and Sunday, and Race Across the Sky, the film of the 2009 Leadville 100 mountain bike race starring Lance Armstrong which Rebecca won the while setting a new course record is showing at on Friday as part of Bike Films 1 screening.
Stephen Pyke will deliver his lecture Around the Highlands in 40 Days on Sunday. Further details are on the Shaff website.
The podcasts can either be streamed from Matt Heason’s website or downloaded from the iTunes store.
