ShAFF 2021: Spirit of Adventure Films 3

From the archive

This film was last shown on 11 July 2021

Big Gums 15 minutes

Gum Trees define Australia. No other continent is dominated by a single species of tree. In the over 800 varieties found on the continent, around 100 are listed as endangered or threatened. Beau Miles lives within a cluster of Strzelecki gums, a rare breed of gum found in Gippsland, Victoria. Waxing on between awe at the great trees, and the disbelief of developers continually allowed to cut them down, Beau spends a night in one of his big gums- cooking dinner, sleeping eerily, then coffee and breakfast, while overlooking the front door of his house, and his boyhood town in the distance. It's a story of a man spending the night in a gumtree, and why such a simple gesture is meaningful, easy to do, and can provide unexpected insights into being human.

Connection 29 minutes

Eight girls from France, The Czech Republic and Canada decide to rig half a kilometer long highline between two iconic rock towers in the Moab desert in Utah. They spend five days on the towers and not only they connect these towers with a thin strap, which they then walk on, but they also find a connection with the sky, The Earth and each other.

Wood On Water 45 minutes

A traditional, slow, strenuous and all female adventure. Forty days spent canoe tripping in the Canadian wilderness with twelve young women, nine of whom are teenagers. There’s only one thing we know for sure, these girls won’t see each other at best. Think bug-bitten, cold and boob-deep in muskeg bog while carrying an incredibly heavy canoe on their heads. A counter-cultural summer spent exploring their physical surroundings and inner selves free from mainstream society’s expectations.