NZ Mountain Film and Book Festival - Speaker Announcement

The 15th NZ Mountain Film and Book Festival will run from 30 June to 9 July in Wanaka, Cromwell and Queenstown. The festival continues to punch well above its weight on the international film festival stage, attracting world-class speakers, films and written work to the programme. The festival content has evolved throughout the years, now expressing and showcasing the art of adventure through a broad range of mediums.

The NZ Mountain Film Festival Charitable Trust manages the strategic development of the festival with support from sponsors, funders, patrons and audience members and it is through this support that the festival can bring the world’s best speakers and adventurers to small town stages. The Festival is pleased to announce one of the 2017 keynote speakers is Chris Jensen Burke (Timaru).

Chris Jensen Burke’s climbing résumé is impressive; she has climbed nine of the world’s 14 peaks over 8000m, including Mt Everest, K2 and Annapurna, and numerous peaks over 6000m. Burke was the first NZ woman to complete the Seven Summits (‘Carstensz’ list), a challenge to climb to the summit of the world’s highest peaks on each of the seven continents. Next month she has Kanchenjunga (8586m) in Nepal in her sights.

Chris is a lawyer by trade; she also fundraises for projects supporting the health, welfare and education of women and girls in Nepal. She is the author of ‘The Power in Girls’, an inspirational handbook for young girls, the proceeds of which provide funds for local people to deliver solar power into a remote village in Nepal. This year Chris will be speaking at the NZ Mountain Film Festival about her climb in Nepal, her life balancing her passion projects and her quest to climb all fourteen 8000m peaks.

The foundation of the festival’s film and literature programme is made up from entries in the Adventure Film and Mountain Book competitions. Festival Director Mark Sedon has received an astounding amount of film entries from around the globe and claims the quality continues to evolve in an unprecedented manner.

“The film quality continues to increase year-on-year as does the scope and range of adventures and expeditions. The addition of the literature events has also been popular. We have received adventure books and essays from New Zealand and abroad for our Mountain Book competitions.”

There are five categories under which written work can be submitted: short form articles and essays; travel or expedition books; guidebooks; adventure fiction and poetry; and non-fiction adventure literature. Themes include adventure, mountaineering, culture and travel. The entries for the festival book and literature competition close on 30 March and the deadline for the film competition is 20 April.

The festival is run by a not-for-profit charitable trust that receives strong financial support from a group of loyal patrons each year. This contribution helps to ensure the calibre of the speakers is held high and the price of the tickets continues to be low and accessible to a wide range of people.
There is a range of ways to give to the trust and receive benefits in return. The trust is calling for donations to support the event.

The full festival programme will be announced when tickets go on sale on 1 June. The 2017 festival begins in Wanaka on Friday 30 June and in Queenstown on Thursday 6 July.

• Film Festival Wanaka 30 June to 4 July
• Film Festival Cromwell 5 July
• Film & Book Festival Queenstown 6 to 8 July
• Book Festival Wanaka 7 to 9 July

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About the New Zealand Mountain Film and Book Festival

The 15th NZ Mountain Film and Book Festival will run from 30 June to 9 July in Wanaka, Cromwell and Queenstown. The event will host international and NZ speakers, a world-class line up of films, and a broad range of literary events all honouring adventurous sports and lifestyles. From off-the-cuff storytelling to highly crafted filmmaking and written works, all events champion the love of adventure and the outdoors, the environment and foreign cultures.

The Festival holds an international adventure filmmaking competition that receives submissions from filmmakers from all corners of the globe. The finalists make up the Festival programme screened in Lake Wanaka Centre and Queenstown Events Centre. The standard is exceptionally high and the event sits on the world stage alongside the well known Banff and Kendal Mountain Film Festivals.

The addition of the Mountain Book competition has broadened the scope to illuminate the theme of ‘adventure sports and lifestyles’. Written work can be submitted under a range of categories to win prize money and go into contention for the Grand Prize. The Mountain Book event also features author readings, old fashion story telling, writing workshops and children’s events.

The festival line-up includes world famous speakers, a packed programme of adventure, cultural and environmental films, informal storytelling, workshops, author readings, an adventure trade show and a free youth programme.

The festival programme will be announced when tickets go on sale on 1 June. The 2017 festival begins in Wanaka on Friday 30 June and in Queenstown on Thursday 6 July.

• Film Festival Wanaka 30 June to 4 July
• Film Festival Cromwell 5 July
• Film & Book Festival Queenstown 6 to 8 July
• Book Festival Wanaka 7 to 9 July

More details can be found online at mountainfilm.nz

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