Birdman of the Karakoram (65 minutes) - Great Britain

Produced by Alun Hughes
Directed by Alun Hughes
Alun Hughes


What's it really like to fly at 7,000 m, crossing frozen mountains, soaring massive rockwalls and forging new cross country routes on a paraglider in the Himalayas? To find out, adventure filmmaker Alun Hughes joins high altitude paragliding star John Silvester on a tandem paraglider and goes 'col busting' in the Karakoram. Leaving the comforts of Snowdonia, UK, Alun embarks on a journey into the frozen world of extreme altitude paragliding. Installing themselves in Karimabad in the now fabled Hunza valley of the Karakoram Highway, Alun straps himself to the front of Silvester's tandem paraglider and together they commit themselves deep into previously unflown terrain. The footage they bring back from their adventure is nothing short of astonishing. This gripping adventure film documents not only an extraordinary pilot and the cutting edge of high altitude Himalayan paragliding, it also introduces a growing subculture of paragliding that has never been explored before.

Mount St. Elias (100 minutes) - Austria

Produced by Gerald Salmina
Directed by Gerald Salmina
Mount St. Elias


Axel Naglich and teammates Peter Ressmann and Jon Johnston are attempting to ski the longest run in the world on 18,008 foot Mount St. Elias.

Mt St Elias Trailer from Williamstown Mountain Film Festival on Vimeo.

Far away from the civilized world, Mount St. Elias is located in south-eastern Alaska bordering the Yukon Territory. The Canadian side is part of Kluane National Park, while the U.S. side of the mountain is located within Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. Mount Saint Elias is notable for being the highest peak in the world so close to tidewater, the second highest peak in the U.S. and the fourth highest in North America. Mount St. Elias is a spectacular snow-covered pyramid. Icy, almost-vertical slopes hide perilous deep crevasses. Well known for its extreme and changeable weather patterns, hazards like avalanches, falling rocks and ice, dense fog and temperatures below -60°C (-76°F) are an expedition's permanent companions.

Take A Seat (47 minutes) - Great Britain

Produced by Ginger Productions
Directed by Ginger Productions
Take A Seat


Dominic Gill has gone to extraordinary lengths to find some new friends. He has ridden a bicycle made for two from the wild northern coast of Alaska to the southern tip of South America, with an empty backseat- just so that he can pick people up along the way to talk to. As the journey - including all twists and turns - is some 30,000 miles it has taken over two years to complete. His route will take him through wildly contrasting social and physical landscapes - everything from hanging around with firemen in LA to the very real dangers of crossing the lawless no mans land between Panama and Colombia.

Generations (17 minutes) - U.S.A.

Produced by Steve Jones
Directed by Josh Murphy
Teton Gravity


Generations, a short film on the consequences of Climate Change upon winter environments and snow culture. Presented by The North Face in partnership with the non-profit group Protect Our Winters, Generations discusses climate change through the perspectives of those for whom snowy winters have a deeper personal significance. Going beyond charts and numbers, Generations humanizes the debate on climate change by exploring the delicateness of winter and the intrinsic value of snow to people across generations and cultures.

MedeO'Z (5 minutes) - France

Produced by Fred Steinberg
Directed by Fred Steinberg
Medeo


MedeO'Z was shot and edited in one week, during the Outdoorgames in Chamonix (February 2008). This 5-minute film features 5 different sports: mountaineering, skiing, snowboarding, paragliding and base jumping. All the footage and editing had to be done in five days, from Monday to Friday and had to be shot in the Mount Blanc range. The photographer's goal was to take one photo with all 5 athletes in it. He achieves this in a creative and original way. You will enjoy this one.