"Microadventures" focuses on the life of Alastair Humphreys as an adventurer, blogger, author and motivational speaker who often speaks on his expeditions such as cycling round the world, walking across India and rowing the Atlantic.If you go
For more information, visit www.lookoutfilmfestival.org.
Mountain biking in Peru, cave diving in the Bahamas, skiing in Alabama and rafting through the Grand Canyon.
Those are some of the offerings in the Lookout Wild Film Festival, which runs Thursday through Sunday, Jan. 28-31.
Festival Director Andy Johns says the list is based on what past participants have said they wanted. The crowd for the first year was around 350 people, which that grew to 1,500 for the second and 1,900 for the third.
"Audience members have let us know how much they've enjoyed the LWFF films in the past three years," says Johns. "That history puts a lot of pressure on this year's films, but I think they live up to it. The audience is going to love them.
The festival is all short films, with the longest clocking in at about an hour, and their filming crisscrossed the globe.
"What is really exciting is to see how enthusiastic people were, especially on the Friday night last year," Johns says. "It was kind of rowdy. We had people hollering during the first film and then crying during the second and then laughing. That was kind of neat to see the way people interacted with the films. People can watch a movie on their iPad or phone or whatever, but there is something about seeing a movie with other people."
The festival also will be back at Chattanooga's Memorial Auditorium Community Theater for a second year.
"As soon as you come into the lobby, you just feel at home with all of the other outdoor enthusiasts and film lovers," Johns says. "It's always great to see and hear the audience hoot and holler, gasp, cry and laugh together. It's really a fun experience to all go through together."
The festival will also include yoga sessions, after-parties and special guests.
THE FILMS
* "55 Hours in Mexico"; 10 minutes, Colorado/Mexico. Joey Schusler spent 55 hours in Mexico with Karl Thompson exploring the limits of the weekend warrior to see just what can be done in that amount of time.
* "Above All Else"; 8 minutes, USA. Based on a book of the same name and produced by Live Unbound and directed by Yali Sharon, "Above All Else" is the story of skydiver Dan Brodsky-Chenfeld and how he managed to overcome a life-altering accident in order to pursue his stratospheric dreams.
* "Appalachian Gold"; 5 minutes, North Carolina. A short documentary, this student film looks at the threats and conservation efforts around North Carolina's native ginseng population.
* "Atchafalaya"; 7 minutes, Louisiana. John Ruskey and crew take a meditative ride down the Atchafalaya River.
* "BalloonSkiing"; 8 minutes, Austria. People are always looking for a new adrenalin rush, and Stephan Keck takes viewers on a balloonskiing adventure in which he takes a hot air balloon up a mountain, then jumps out to ski back down.
* "Bringing Back the Brooks"'; 10 minutes, Tennessee. A poetic look at a forgotten native of Appalachia, the Southern Appalachian brook trout, which is being brought back from the brink of extinction by hand, bucket and hoof.
* "Cloudmont"; 58 minutes, Alabama. For 43 years, the Jones family has battled climate change, personal tragedy and financial struggles to maintain the first and only ski hill in Alabama.
* "Crystal Labyrinth"; 24 minutes, Bahamas. Underwater caver Brian Kakuk attempts to make the connection between Dan's Cave and Ralph's Cave on Abaco Island in the Bahamas.
* "Denali"; 8 minutes, California. The film is focused on how hard it is to say goodbye to a friend.
* "Eclipse"; 32 minutes, Canada/Norway. Filmmakers travel to the edge of the earth to see one of the planet's rarest events - a total solar eclipse in the Arctic.
* "The Edge of Impossible"; 14 minutes, Alaska. This video was produced to showcase the human spirit as it follows one man's dream of accomplishing a lifelong goal of experiencing the weightlessness of pure Alaskan powder skiing.
* "Frank and the Tower"; 13 minutes, Wyoming. Frank Sanders has climbed Devils Tower more than 2,000 times and learned a thing or two about going up and not growing old.
* "Huayhuash"; 13 minutes, Colorado/Peru. In the winter of 2014, three friends set out to circumnavigate one of the most wonderful and wicked mountain ranges in the world - the Huayhuash - by bicycle.
* "I Will Not Fear"; 10 minutes, Tennessee. The film follows the role God played in Ed Rusk's attempt to set a personal record in an Ironman competition in Penticton, British Columbia, Canada.
* "Joe"; 7 minutes, Wyoming. The film looks into the life of noted National Geographic wildlife photographer Joe Riis.
* "Juma of Itanda"; 5 minutes, Uganda. Juma Via Kalikwani is director of operations for Nile River Explorers, a Uganda-based rafting company and, as such, is a hometown hero. The film delves deeper into his work and its impact on the country.
* "Martin's Boat"; 24 minutes, Arizona. The film focuses on conservationist David Brower, who worked to preserve the Grand Canyon by pioneering whitewater dories - small, narrow, flatbottom fishing boats - on the Colorado River in the 1960s.
* "Microadventures"; 8 minutes, United Kingdom. Alastair Humphreys is an adventurer, blogger, author and motivational speaker who often speaks on his expeditions such as cycling round the world, walking across India and rowing the Atlantic. He was named as a National Geographic Adventurer of the Year for his pioneering work on the concept of microadventures, which encourage people to get outside, get out of their comfort zone and go somewhere they've never been.
* "Moving the Giants"; 11 minutes, Oregon/California. In 1991, arborist David Milarch had a near-death experience that inspired a personal quest - to archive the genetics of the world's largest trees before they're gone and to replant global forests to fight climate change.
* "Operation Moffat"; 20 minutes, Britain. Operation Moffat takes inspiration and wit from the colorful climbing life of Britian's first female mountain guide, Gwen Moffat.
* "Paddle for the North"; 33 minutes, Canada. "Paddle for the North" follows the adventures of six friends as they paddle three canoes 2,400 miles through the deepest backcountry of North America, from Canada to Alaska.
* "RAAMED"; 16 minutes, USA. Eight unlikely characters team up to participate in the world's toughest endurance cycling event, Race Across America.
* "Reflections of an Underwater Cameraman"; 5 minutes, Ireland. A filmmaker explores his own work documenting people who swim and dive in the North Atlantic all year 'round.
* "Samaya"; 5 minutes, Iceland. "Samaya" is a word taken from Sanskrit with multiple meanings. In this project's context, it focuses on two factors: humanity's common connection and the concept of time.
* "Sharing the Secrets"; 13 minutes, Alabama. Follow a group of enthusiastic and daring cavers as they explore hidden treasures in the caves of Northeast Alabama, an area that boasts one of the highest concentrations of caves in the U.S.
* "The Fisherman's Son"; 29 minutes, Chile/Hawaii. Ramón Navarro rides the biggest waves on the planet while working to protect the culture and the environment of the Chilean coast.
* "The Important Places"; 9 minutes, Arizona. A father and son recreate an earlier trip by the father down the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River.
* "The Mont Rebei Project"; 19 minutes, Spain. Filmmakers follow a team of "rope jumpers" as they break a freefall world record in Spain.
* "The Rocky Mountain Traverse"; 24 minutes, Canada. Will Gadd and Gavin McClurg took paragliding to a whole new level with their 34-day, 497-mile flight along the Rocky Mountains from McBride, British Columbia, to the U.S./Canadian border.
* "Unacceptable Risk"; 12 minutes, Colorado. The film follows Colorado firefighters who battle record-breaking wildfires; it also looks at how climate changes are transforming Colorado's fire environment, bringing higher temperatures, drier conditions and diseases to forests.
* "Unbranded"; 45 minutes, USA. The film follows the journey of four men and 16 horses over 3,000 miles and five states as they ride from Mexico to Canada.
* "Underground Revealed"; 10 minutes, Tennessee. Underground Chattanooga's hidden history.
* "We Belong To It"; 14 minutes, Canada. Ray Mears - a renowned traveller and British TV personality - journeys into the heart of Wabakimi Provincial Park in Northern Ontario, Canada.