ShAFF 2021: Run Films 2

PLEASE NOTE: The outdoor screening originally due to take place at 17:00 on Sun 11 July, will now be taking place inside Showroom Cinema, Screen 3, at 11am. Please call Box Office for more details.

1500 Miles 17 minutes

"This 1,500 mile journey was the biggest athletic feat I had ever attempted. I faced the same challenges any able-bodied athlete would – fatigue, pain, even fear. But doing it on a prosthesis built only for walking meant I was putting my health and mobility at risk. I had to ask myself: at what point should I give up on my goals to be a better athlete?" – Nicole Ver Kuilen Nicole started this project – known as “Forrest Stump” – as a 1,500 mile journey down the coast to bring awareness to the challenges amputees face. This film is an extension of Forrest Stump’s mission: we will show the limitations of prosthetics and encourage support for a greater standard of care. The only obstacle standing between Nicole and the completion of her 1,500 mile journey is her prosthetic. With the advances being made in prosthetics – this does not need to be the case. While the media highlights vast improvements in prosthetic technology, the “activity-specific” prosthetics are inaccessible to most amputees. Although Nicole has been an athlete her whole life and is categorized as a K4 amputee (the highest activity level), insurance denies requests for anything besides a walking leg and K3 foot.

The Corris Round 20 minutes

Initially during lockdown, 12 year old Tom was content with local walks, some climbing and watching videos on YouTube. As the days he passed and it was clear that lockdown was not going to end quickly he decided he needed a project - his own version of The Bob Graham Round that he could do from his front door. He got out maps and guidebooks, roped his Dad into exploring with him and together they came up with the Corris Round. Along the way he learned about a famous neighbour - John Disley - who used to live on his street and went on to found The London Marathon, win an Olympic Medal and collapse on the Welsh 3000 challenge due to lack of food. Not a mistake that Tom will repeat thanks to help from his Mum & sister along the way.

John McAvoy: the Ironman set free 14 minutes

What makes someone able to endure? Practise? Natural ability? In the case of John McAvoy it was something far more extreme. Imprisoned in his early 20s, he discovered his ‘ability to suffer’, an ability that has seen him transform from convicted criminal to becoming Nike’s only sponsored triathlete. Born in South London, John became involved in a life of crime after his mum married Billy Tobin, a prolific armed robber. Aged just 14 years old, John decided he would follow in his stepdad’s footsteps. He moved to Spain and started living the high life - big houses, fast cars, nice watches - convinced that money was what made the world go round. It didn’t matter that he was earning it illegally, money was all that mattered. That all changed in 2005 when he was involved in a robbery which was in fact a police sting. Convicted and sent to prison with two life sentences, John’s future looked bleak. Imprisoned in a high security unit in Belmarsh Prison, he spent a year locked in a tiny cell. While there he discovered that his best friend Aaron had been killed while committing a robbery. That was the turning point for John - he realised that no amount of money was worth the life he’d been living. And so he started to train - conducting circuits in his cell and also going to the prison gym where he would spend hours on the rowing machine. So many hours in fact, that a prison officer took notice and with his help, John broke two indoor rowing world records while still in jail, including the furthest distance rowed in 24 hours. John was released, in part due to the dedication he’d shown in the gym, but now came the hard part. To help him turn his back on crime and the life lived before, he threw himself into training and training hard. His aim? To become a professional Ironman. He bought himself a bike, taught himself how to swim by watching YouTube videos, and got on with it. Those hours of suffering in the prison gym translated to a remarkable ability to suffer during the 10 hours Ironman races he was about to partake in. The culmination of the film shows John taking on Ironman UK as part of his journey towards becoming a professional athlete. But for John, competing is not just about winning. It’s about showing others what you can do with drive and focus - and that it’s never too late to change your life.

Fastest Known Time 11 minutes

In this movie, we follow Salomon athlete Jeanelle Hazlett as she attempts to establish a new Fastest Know Time (FKT) on Mount Brunswick, British Columbia. We'll learn what it takes to establish a FASTEST KNOW TIME to go up and down a mountain. Trail running. Enjoy!!

Mira Rai: The Girl Who Runs On Happiness 16 minutes

Mira Rai’s path has taken her from an isolated Nepalese village, to becoming a child soldier, to being one of the greatest ultra runners in the world. She’s a trailblazer for women in Nepal: challenging convention, forgoing tradition and forging her own path. As soon as we heard Mira’s story, we knew it was the perfect fit for our ‘wildcard’ series - celebrating athletes who have taken the road less travelled. Growing up in a remote Nepalese mountain village, Mira’s path was mapped out in front of her. She would marry at a young age, have children, and work the farm - just as her parents and grandparents had before her. But this map was not what Mira wanted. Instead, she decided to run away and join the Maoist army as a child soldier. She did not see combat but instead spent three years learning the art of karate and running in battalion races - beating both the girls and boys in the camp. Mira felt like she had found her place in the world so when Nepal signed a peace accord in 2006 and she was released from the army, she struggled to find somewhere she belonged. She moved to Kathmandu but found the big city overwhelming and with her money quickly running out Mira feared she would be forced to return to her village or move abroad to find factory work. But then fortune turned her way. She heard of a long-distance race taking place in the city and signed up. Despite having no training and wearing unsuitable shoes, she was the only woman to complete the 50km course, coming just two hours behind the male winner. She’s not looked back since. Family, tradition and expectations - Mira defied them all, and yet was also defined by them. Using a mixture of archive, UCG and historic reconstruction this film celebrates not only Mira’s choice but her character too. Relentlessly positive, we wanted to show Mira as ‘the girl who runs on happiness’, and that this emotion has helped shape her story, from child soldier to star of the ultra running world.