“Congratulations on a brilliant festival.” Mick Fowler
”The program was so good it was impossible to fit it all in.” Ian Shaw

The 2nd Llanberis Mountain Film Festival will take place over the weekend of 27th-29th Feb 2004. Building on the success of the 2002 festival we are adding an extra venue showing yet more brilliant films and amusing, entertaining and/or controversial guest speakers to make LLAMFF an unmissable date to put in your PDA!

LAUNCH

Alun Pugh, Minister for Culture, Welsh Language and Sport is opening the festival on Friday evening, followed by a video welcome from Paul Pritchard (our Patron)

FILMS

Å (Torsti Laine & Chris Smith) 2003 (45 mins) European premiere
In late Summer, 2003, climbers from Britain, Sweden and Finland descended upon the sleepy archipelago of Åland in the Baltic Sea to discover for themselves its spectacularly beautiful scenery and array of climbing problems. See Ben Moon and others on an unclimbed highball project that stretches mental strength to the limits.

Aber MTB (Tom Fryer) 2003 (8 mins)
Mountain biking, downhilling, jumping and big drops in locations in Aberystwyth and Somerset by local film-maker Tom Fryer.

Acro-base 2003 (Acro-base Team) (13 mins) French with English subtitles
In which the paraglider is a means of bringing together aerial activities - delta, hot air balloon, helicopter, base-jumping, freefall - into one single dimension - the extreme.

Against Giants 2003 (25 mins)
An Asian documentary on climbing Everest follows the story of an climber who fights a rare nerve disorder that paralysed him completely and returns to the mountains.

Antarctic Odyssey (John Whittle) (9 mins)
This short film surreally covers two months and three thousand miles of a journey to Cape Horn, Elephant island and South Georgia.

Between the Rain (Mark Reeves) (61 mins)
A cluster of short films which capture the essence of the up-and-coming scene of boulderers, deep-water soloists and on-sighters.

The Birds and the Suitcase (Elaine Townson) (13 mins)
An avant-garde and quirky film inspired by the spectacular coastal scenery about the sea around Southstack lighthouse on Anglesey by Lancashire-born artist, writer and poet Elaine Townson. Introduced by Elaine Townson

The Blue Light (Leni Riefenstahl) 1932 (70 mins)
Sponsored by The Occasional Cinema Film Society of Llanberis Subtitles
Leni Riefenstahl, who became notorious for her supposed Nazi sympathies and her friendship with Hitler, died in 2003, aged 101. She directed and acted in this fairytale 'bergfilm', set in the Tyrolean mountains where Riefenstahl's character lures young men to their deaths with her secret cave of blue crystals.

This is a rare screening of a German legend which to the modern viewer may appear in some ways kitsch but is a shining example of the bergfilm genre.

Boulder Cymru (Mark Reeves)
Bouldering - in Wales

Caught between a Rock and a Hard Place
(T Guilford & J Curgenvan) 2003 (47 mins) 2003 Banff winner
Three friends explore hidden passages that have never before been trodden by man – in fact no-one even knew they were there until now. Lou Maurice and her friends are only 150 metres beneath normal life on the surface, but they’re in one of the last true wildernesses, searching for cave passages in a hollow Welsh hillside in ‘Ogof Draenen’ or the ‘Cave of Thorns’.

The Climbers (Bev Clarke ) (27 mins) Film courtesy of DMM, Llanberis.
Archive footage of the Holliwell brothers on Cenotaph Corner, Grond, Diagonal and Octo.

Deep-Water Soloing (Mark Reeves) (9 mins)
In which the boundary between DWS and soloing high sea-cliffs becomes very blurred.

Eastern Tide (Todd Foster) 2003 (45 mins)
Best Canadian Film at Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival.
Nova Scotia's eastern shore is a landscape of granite, scoured by glaciers
and beaten by wind. Long a playground for people who love the outdoors, Nova Scotia is now the bouldering mecca of Eastern Canada.

Eiger Solo (Leo Dickinson)1982 (52 mins)
Widely acclaimed by serious climbers as a masterpiece of a mountaineering film. This film is a documentary of the first British solo ascent of the Eiger North Face by Welsh climber Eric Jones, skillfully blended with an excellent reconstruction of the dramatic epics and tragic history of the Eiger North Face.

Eric Jones - His Feet on the Ground (Llion Iwan) 2003 (50 mins)
Eric will introduce and answer questions about this recent film which takes a look back at his life and many of his significant achievements.

The Great Descent "The Movie" (53 mins)
In 2002 an international team of kayakers and rafters made the first descent of the Brahma Putra river in Arunachel Pradesh. Introduced by Pete Catterall

Kite skiing the Karale Glacier (John Griber)2003 (24 mins)
To East Greenland for skiing, snowboarding and kite-skiing.

Leo Houlding - My Right Foot (Ed Stobart) (52 mins)
Follows Leo Houlding's year long struggle to recover from a serious climbing accident in which he fractures his right foot. The frustrations, the recovery, the partying - it's all here!

Letter to America (Iglika Trifanova) 2001 (90 mins)
Sponsored by The Occasional Cinema Film Society of Llanberis
A friend of a dying man makes a trip to the heart of the Bulgarian mountains in search of a song believed capable of resurrecting the dead. The people he meets are enchanting characters - among them, the woman with the cheese, the widow who he finally persuades to sing for him - and all played by real people. Both the scenery and the touching encounters with the people bring post-Communist rural Bulgaria vividly to life.

Life of Evan Roberts (1985) (60 mins) (to be confirmed)
Film of botanist Evan Roberts who lived and worked in Capel Curig.

The Return to Siula Grande The Making of Touching the Void (2004) (25 mins)
An opportunity to see the making of the award-winning Touching the Void, which examines, among other things, the psychological effects on Joe Simpson and Simon Yates as they return to Siula Grande.

With commentary and Q & A by film crew member John Whittle

The Man who Jumped Beneath the Earth (Llion Iwan) 2003 (29 mins)
Eric Jones, at the age of 66, attempts the world's most dangerous base jump, a 1,400 foot leap into Mexico's Cave of Swallows...like dropping off the Empire State Building but into a very dark hole.

A Mountain Romance 1978 (50 mins) (To be confirmed)
Film footage of one of the first Snowdon mountain running races.

The Mountains of Glass (Ned Kelly) 1963 (50 mins)
With lecture by John Earle, cameraman on the original expedition.
The film of an expedition led by Eric Shipton, the veteran mountaineer and explorer, to the unexplored Darwin Range in Tierra del Fuego, in which two unclimbed peaks were climbed. A vivid account of a region of fur seals, glaciers to the sea and winds over 100 mph.

One Winter (Heap/Pritchard) 2003 (52 mins)
A film which goes winter climbing with the talented and outspoken Airlie Anderson who has been at the forefront of UK climbing for 10 years. Boasts impressive filming in hostile situations, a great soundtrack, and some damn fine climbing, including a truly terrifying first ascent in the Alps with alpine legend Andy Parkin.

Paragliding the Simien Mountains (Bob Drury) 2003 (24 mins)
Paragliding in Ethiopia, Africa's most mountainous country, with Bob Drury and friends.

Parahawking - the Ultimate Flying Adventure (S G Graham)2003 (32 mins)
In Spring 2001. Pokhara Nepal. an ambitious project was launched: to train birds of prey to fly with paragliders. From this a new discipline emerged - that of 'Parahawking' - in which raptors locate thermals and accompany the fliers across the Himalaya ranges. This film stunningly captures this relationship.

Preposterous Tales (Martin Crocker) 2003 (17 mins)
Climbing at Pembroke in all its finery from three of the area's most prolific activists: Martin Crocker, Peter Hall and Carl Ryan. From their new epic-length work 'Sea Fever, Classic Climbs of Pembroke' this stars the ultimate sandbag Preposterous Tales.

A Risk too Far (Justine Curgenvan)2003 (47 mins)
An attempt to kayak about 400 miles along the Eastern coast of Kamchatka in far east Russia. Because of Kamchatka’s immense military presence, the authorities have insisted a Russian accompanies the entire expedition. The trouble is he has never sea kayaked before!

The Sherpas of Everest (John Earle) 1968 (50 mins) With lecture by John Earle
A vivid account of the Sherpa people - inside their cartrefs, at a wedding and finally a unique Buddhist masked dance at Thyangboche monastery.

Soft Explosive, Hard Embrace 2004 ( 30 mins)
A 'work in progress' of the new film by John Redhead set in the great, grey holes of Dinorwig quarry, Llanberis. Redhead uses the sounds and shapes of the quarry and the memories of those living and working in Deiniolen in a bygone era to show how the landscape has its own spirit which changes the people.

Snippets of climbers, slackliners, downhill-bikers are interspersed with interviews as well as a performance of Butoh dancer Yumino Seki filmed live in the quarry.

We are delighted that Yumino will perform her unique dance live after the screening.

Spiders Web (Alan Chivers) 1970 (45 mins) Film courtesy of DMM, Llanberis.
A TV live broadcast of Joe Brown and Ian Macnaught-Davis on Spider's Web at Gogarth in 1970. Also features Les and Laurie Holliwell and Janet Rogers on TRex and Pete Crew and Don Whillans on Wen. Commentary by Chris Brasher.

Stall Point (Jonathan Townsend) 2001 (28 mins)
A "fly on the wall" style documentary about paragliders doing an SIV course in Oludeniz, Turkey. Stunning videography and pilot interviews take the viewer through the ups and downs of this demanding course.

Steel Women (Geoffrey Odds) (58 mins)
A documentary exploring the lives and motivations of 10 of three generations of women rock climbers from Geraldine Taylor (50) to Katie Whitaker (13) who have made Sheffield and the Peak District their cartref.

Swimming the North Cape (Ben & Sebastian Smith) 2003 (24 mins)
Lewis Gordon Pugh's single-minded attempt to brave the Arctic Ocean and become the first person to swim round the Nordkapp in Norway.

Touching the Void (Kevin Macdonald) 2003 (106 mins) Certificate 15
Ok, so if you haven’t heard of “Touching the Void” you’ve probably never read a mountaineering book in your life. Read the book, now see the film, experience the drama. It makes Vertical Limit, Cliffhanger and all the other fictional dramatisations of mountaineering look like “Toy Story on Ice”…

Kevin Macdonald's incredible achievement in bringing this epic tale to the screen has already been rewarded as the film becomes the 2nd most successful drama-documentary in UK History, ahead of Buenavista Social Club and In bed with Madonna! Also nominated for a UK Bafta.

Unicycling Orizaba (Sean White) 2004 (24')
A unicycling adventure to Mexico

Women Rock Iran (Linda Eziquiel-Huxter) 2004 (30 mins)
A trip to Iran where British women rock climbers Glenda Huxter, Kath Pyke and Celia Bull climb Alum Kuh, one of the most renowned and formidable rock walls in the Middle East. As guests of the Iranian Women's Climbing Federation, they also get a glimpse into the lives of Iranians and hold climbing workshops for local women climbers.

World Kayak Surf Championships 2003 (Simon Westgarth) 2003 (26 mins)
Does exactly what it says on the can

BEST OF KENDAL FILMS - Dinorwig Room, Electric Mountain


Biscuit (Peter Mortimer) (4 mins) Best Video Short
A segment from the weird world of Front Range Freaks fully glorifying tradiitonal climbing ethics with Biscuit the Dog - aka the Lynn Hill of Jack Russells

Cold Haul (Karen Barber) (50') Climbing Film Commendation
The attempt by Andy Kirkpatrick and Ian Parnell on the Lafaille route on the Dru in winter - at close quarters.

A Man called Nomad (Alex Gabbay) (38') Mountain Culture & Environment Film Prize
How a Tibetan man strives to combine the modern world with his traditional nomadic lifestyle. Namaste (Dominique Perret) (15')

Namaste (Dominique Perret) (15')
Feel your jaw drop in awe at the skiing and filming in Manali in North India. From the director of Timeless.

Old Rock (Paul Rastrick) (10')
An unmanned camera goes off-piste with a snowboarder...in Scotland!!

Rubicon or People from the Other Side of the Earth (Andrew Kim) (29')
Mountaineering Film Prize
Russian climbers a long long way from cartref - Great Sail peak in Baffin Island.

The Other Final (Johan Kramer) (53') Special Mention
Fixture - Bhutan v Montserrat. Venue: A fine cultural backdrop. Final score: A journey of discovery.

Thoughts in Wind (Pensieri nel Vento) (Ermanno Salvaterra) (19')
A film which captures the essence of climbing in bad weather - on the East Face of Cerro Torre.

Vertical Frontier (Kristi Denton Cohen) (91') Climbing Film Prize
One of the most comprehensive and beautiful rock climbing films ever made - climbing in the Yosemite valley from the 1860's to the present day.

Wookey Exposed (Gavin Newman) (48') Mountain Adventure Prize
Spectacular footage and excellent commentary from the remotest areas of Britain's best known cave systems.

Yenisey River Expedition (Remy Quinter) (56') Judges Special Prize
A 5 month trip along the Yenisey River from high in Mongolia to the Arctic Ocean.

LECTURES & SLIDESHOWS

Henry Barber - A life of climbing
Henry was perhaps the most impressive and accomplished of the 1970s American free climbers, and unquestionably had the greatest influence on world-wide climbing standards of any climber at the time. He was also one of the first US climbers to travel widely. His visit to Britain in the '70's is memorable for his solo of The Strand but he also climbed in Cornwall, and on the Grit.

As Henry talks about routes that have been significant to him and others, expect shots of Dresden sandstone, Russian alpinism, Norwegian ice as well as several other areas around the world.

John Beatty: 'WILD' - A new audio-visual presentation
With a continuous flow of changing images with choreographed sound and music creating an emotional atmosphere of textures, scenes and action within wild places, John Beatty explores the relationship of people and nature.
"Every now and then you experience something of such great creativity that you know you could never have created that…his photographs were amazing, his talk enlightening.. the result was beautifully simple, with image dissolving into image" (Niall Grimes)

A must-experience for lovers of wilderness.

Pete Catterall - Arunachel Pradesh - An Adventure Paradise
Join expedition member Pete Catterall on a trip to arunachel for some big white water kayaking action including the first descents of the Siang and the Lohit rivers.

Noel Craine and George Smith deliver The Quiz
A key event in the calendar of the competitive mountaineer - and anyone who loves to see lots of people get very excited. Spot (the) prizes.

Chris Davies - Room To Swing A Katz - Bouldering in Ailefroide
Hear the hand of Llamff speak! Our local hero tells a tale of three
ill-matched travel companions - Davies, Dave "Nodder" Noden, and the eponymous Mark Katz, the hardships endured and "The Battle of the Ego's", all played out in one of the most beautiful alpine settings without any 'Alpining' whatsoever!

Bob Drury - Himalayan Highs
Beautiful pictures of adventure paragliding at altitudes up to 24,000 in the Himalaya with tales of hypoxic flights, airborne dog fights with vultures and sandstorm surfing, all set to a graceful soundtrack.

Catrin Ellis Jones - ANTARCTIC COLDPLAY - mountains at the edge of the world
Catrin has been on a number of expeditions to this part of the world and has some great pictures and interesting insights.

Lindsay Griffin - Escape!
As guidebook editor and prolific explorer of the greater ranges, Lindsay needs no introduction. Escape? Come and hear his story of getting out of the Mongolian Altai.

Eric Jones - Q & A
Eric will be introducing and answering questions on his 'A'I draed Ar Y Ddaear' (Eric Jones, his feet on the ground) which is a look back at his lifetime of climbing and base-jumping.

Pat Littlejohn - Scary Seacliffs from the Lleyn to Tenerife
The crags of the Lleyn Peninsula have a fearsome reputation for looseness and seriousness. Pat starts his talk here then moves on to the massive volcanic cliffs of Los Gigantes on Tenerife, where things get even more exciting!

Iwan Llwyd and Meirion Mac - Reading the Landscape
These two travelling Welsh poets make a special trip to Llamff to perform some of the finest modern Welsh poetry, including 'cynghanedd', or the strict metre forms of Welsh poetry.

Performing mainly in Welsh with some English poems.

Simon Osborne - The circumnavigation of the UK by sea-kayak
Anglesey-based paddler Simon Osborne took 4 months to complete this trip, undertaken to raise money for the Leukaemia Research Fund in memory of his brother Mark.

Simon Panton - Fear of a Slopey Planet.
A sideways glance at the history of bouldering in North Wales from the author of the forthcoming guidebook.

Al Powell - Fear and Loathing in Los Andes
Known for his low profile, lightweight ethic and high tolerance for knarl. Al talks about perhaps the most significant British first ascent in South America for 20 years - the SE face of Jirishanca in Peru with Nick Bullock. Be afraid, be very afraid...

Olly Sanders - Asterix and the Great Crossing(s)
From paddling in the arctic around Nordkapp to soloing to the Isle of Man, Olly and his trusty sea kayak have been around, and then there's Obelix...

Sue Savege - Rock and snow in the Quimsa Cruz, Bolivia
Two women's trips to Bolivia to find new and not-so-new rock and Alpine climbing routes.

Catrin Thomas - Travels in Schweizerland in Greenland (with penguins)
Travelling in on skis to this rock-climbing area of Greenland. How do the penguins get there? They don't - they're in Antarctica!

Twid Turner - Sheer Summits
Slides, video and banter of first ascents in the greater ranges: Climbs in Alaska, Borneo, Madagascar, Patagonia and Pakistan. Twid has a ferocious record of big walls and new routes, and has recently been nominated for the 2003 Piolet d'Or for his first ascent of the Supa Dupa Couloir in Kichatna, Alaska with Stuart MacAleese.

EVENTS

The Quiz!! Noel Craine and George Smith warm up the festival with the irreverent, University Challenge of mountain quizzes. A raffle of climbing and local goodies - in aid of the Electric Mountain's helicopter appeal. A Trade Show in the Electric Mountain.

The Beacon hosts a bouldering competition with cash prizes, masterclass by Glenda Huxter and Silvia Fitzpatrick and yoga sessions by Beyond.

>> CLICK HERE << for details of the programme at the Beacon.

EXHIBITIONS

All over the village you'll find works from local artists and photographers, including Mark Radtke, Fran, Shelley Hocknell, George Smith, Tony Loxton and Ray Wood. Andy Parkin from Chamonix will be creating a trail of sculptures in the slate quarries.

PLUS!!

CRECHE
For families, Llamff is subsidising a creche conveniently situated in Llanberis village. There will be a charge for this and may only be used by ticket-holders or pass-holders. Places can be reserved. See www.happyhours.plus.com for details and booking.

Llamff is proud to be able to co-promote a party night on Saturday 27th February at our local venue, Hendre Hall with the 'Beat em Break em' team which will run into the reasonably early hours. Festival ticket-holders will receive a discount on entry at the door. Full details will be available on the festival weekend.

LLAMFF organisers reserve the right to make alterations to this programme.