“The Crossing” Selected for Prestigious Festival

“The Crossing” Selected for Prestigious New Zealand Mountain Film Festival

July 7 2013 at 4.00pm in Wanaka

The Story of the First Adventurers to Walk Across Victoria Island

Distracted Media’s feature documentary “The Crossing” will cross the Tasman to be shown at the prestigious New Zealand Mountain Film Festival on Sunday July 7 at 4.00pm in Wanaka on the South Island. “The Crossing” is the story of the infamous Victoria Island adventures of explorer, Clark Carter and his expedition partner, Chris Bray.

The award-winning filmmakers of Australian horror film, The Tunnel partnered with the Australian adventurers four years ago. Directed by Julian Harvey and with the support of Australian Geographic, iiNet and Gore-Tex®, the feature documentary details the first attempt in 2005 by Clark Carter and Chris Bray to navigate Victoria Island in the Arctic Circle. It will then recount when the pair returned in 2008 to finally complete the expedition.

"It has been such an exciting journey that I am now thrilled to see “The Crossing” lined up for its third film festival. Last year the feature documentary had an excerpt played at the European Outdoor Film Tour and it was met with lots of positive feed-back so I can’t wait to see what locals here and in New Zealand think of “The Crossing”. The New Zealand Mountain Film Festival is the perfect fit for the film – what better place to screen an adventure film than in Wanaka – surrounded by the mountains and full of adventurous like-minded film-goers” said adventurer, Clark Carter.

‘The Crossing’ is a feature documentary following two young Australians, Clark Carter and Chris Bray as they set off on the adventure of a lifetime. The pair attempted to drag their home-made kayaks more than one thousand kilometres across a remote island in the arctic. Their story is equal parts rock n’ roll and youthful exuberance, resulting in disaster! They battled freezing temperatures, knee-deep mud, razor sharp rocks, got chased by wolves and hid from polar bears until finally being forced to admit their dream was over.

After 58 days alone in the wilderness, they had covered only a third of the distance. Unable to let go of their dream, three years later Clark and Chris confidently returned to finish the job. They were a little older, wiser and thought they knew what to expect from the island. They re-designed and re-built a custom cart to carry the five hundred kilograms of food and equipment needed to survive a hundred days in the arctic. After a positive start, things yet again take a turn for the worse. The duo soon realised the island isn't going to let them across without a fight.

Edited from more than a hundred hours of stunning high definition footage shot by Clark Carter and Chris Bray, 'The Crossing' is an insight into the minds of two young adventurers biting off far more than they can chew. This story is an antidote to a world of instant gratification, showing that you can achieve anything - but sometimes there ain’t no easy way.

ends

© Scoop Media