BENGALURU : Here’s some good news for adventure junkies and thrill seekers in the city. For the first time here, the Adventure Film Festival is being conducted that will show an array of award-winning international as well as Indian films based on the subject. It will also have workshops and talks by professional adventurers and sports figures. From a film about a university lecturer from China who breaks from the monotony of daily life to go on a thrill seeking quest of a mysterious frozen waterfall (Searching For Christmas Tree) to another film about four friends set out on an adventure to be the first to highline in one of the most unlikely of places – the Faroe Island (Surf The Line), the fest aims to bring an interesting mix of films.
The Adventure Film Festival has been organised by Trip 360 in conjunction with the Himalayan Club and India Mountaineering Foundation. Rohan Prakash, business head, Trip360, says, “Two independent adventure film events – the Banff Film Festival and IMF Mountain Film Festival have been brought together under one roof in the form of the ‘Adventure Film Festival’. The aim is to showcase the internationally acclaimed films and also build a platform for the Indian adventure athletes and filmmakers to present their creation.”
Besides films, the fest will also have workshops and talks by Indian adventure professionals such as Abhijeet Singh, a mountaineer, an ice climber and an acro-yogi and Sajid Chougle, a skydiver since 2005 and a recent base jumper, who has explored the skies internationally and is the athlete in the film, The Great Indian Tamasha.
Talking about the scope of growth of adventure sports in Karnataka and India as a whole, Rohan says, “This year has been termed as the Year of Adventure by the Ministry of Tourism (MoT) Given the much-required encouragement by the ministry, Indians are all set to explore and be bolder in their adventure plans. MoT is ensuring the facilitation of adequate safety measures and stronger regulations. India’s adventure sector is yet at a nascent stage, however its growth’s pace has been impressive.”
He further says that Karnataka is a great adventure destination in India given the serenity and abundance of natural landscapes it has. “With seamless alignments between the state and central tourism boards, adventure travel and sports is set to grow phenomenally making India one of the safest and best adventure destinations in the world,” adds Rohan.
Film fest
The fest will take place at Mother Tekla Auditorium, Off M. G. Road on July 28 and 29, 5.30pm onwards.