Written by Jess Evans and translated by Iwan Thomas
10/03/23
The Arts Centre is buzzing. Heading out of the theatre, I find myself caught in a lively throng of families, couples, and friends, all excitedly discussing the events of the past few hours. Nobody, it seems, has been able to escape the thrill of the Kendal Mountain Film Festival. Part of an ongoing UK tour, the festival showcased seven short films from around the globe, each one unique in both tone and topic. From Sheffield to Afghanistan, dirt biking to mountain climbing, the event truly had something for everyone.
Kicking off the tour with a burst of adrenaline and a punchy soundtrack, ‘Write Your Line’ (dir. Marc Augey, Andy Collet) traced freestyle skier Ben Buratti’s journey from young boy in the south of France to international Winter Sports athlete and featured a great deal of flips and tricks. Coming in at just three minutes long, it was the perfect tone-setter for the rest of the show, eliciting gasps from all around the theatre every time the camera pulled in on a particularly high-risk stunt. This was immediately followed by ‘Digging for Answers’ (dir. Eric Seymour), which took us to Jackson Hole Bike Park in Wyoming, to see the positive impact that adaptive changes to their ‘Deepest Darkest Trail’ have had on the local biking community. One speaker in the film was Pierre Berman, who fell while on a bike trail a few years ago and received a full spinal cord injury as a result. The new universal trail design (as well as some incredibly impressive bike adaptations that the film proudly showed off) has allowed for adaptive riders like Pierre to experience the same thrills as before his accident.
‘Enchainment’ (dir. Nick Kowalski) followed Alastair McDowell & Hamish Fleming’s quest to ‘enchain’ New Zealand’s 24 highest >3000m mountains in 31 continuous days. Thirty minutes long, this film was significantly longer than the first two, but it was easy to get hooked. The dramatic backdrops certainly played a part in that, with wide shots that framed the climbers against the sunlit, snowy mountain faces they were ascending, but the enthusiasm of the two athletes also helped in making the film memorable. What could have been a boring, repetitive film was made enjoyable by the honesty and humour of McDowell and Fleming, who provided voice-overs reflecting on their memories of the experience.
In my opinion, the most powerful film of the evening was ‘Free to Run’ (dir. Dream Lens Media), which followed runner and human rights lawyer Stephanie Case, back and forth over the course of a single month in 2021, which changed her life forever. The film began in September 2021, with Stephanie preparing to run the gruelling TOR450 race, one of only a few international athletes who had proven themselves strong and capable enough to do so. Just a month before, though, Stephanie was running in Afghanistan, advocating for local women’s rights amid the infamous August 2021 Taliban military offensive with the ‘Free to Run’ organisation. The film provided a deep insight into the things many of us often take for granted, such as the freedom to run and enjoy the outdoors.
Also featured were a handful of short films from various sources, covering a range of topics. ‘The Water Holds Me / The Water Binds Us’ (dir. Lily Mae Kroese) was a watercolour stop-motion animation reflecting the joy of wild water swimming, and ‘The Farm Under the City’ (dir. Brett Chapman, Jordan Carroll) investigated Luke Ellis’s vertical bioponic micro-herb farm under the streets of Sheffield. ‘The 86-Year-Old Marathon Runner’ (dir. Sara Joe Wolansky) followed Ginette Bedard in her seventeenth New York City marathon, and was an inspirational celebration of later life, and a challenge to always push the perceived limits of the human body.
The highlight of the evening was getting the opportunity to hear from a live speaker prior to the interval. Kendal Mountain Tour have a constant rotation of guest speakers following the event around the country, so every location has the opportunity to hear from a different speaker with different experiences. The Aberystwyth speaker was endurance athlete Jamie Ramsay, who spoke to the audience about his experience getting into endurance sport at a late stage as a result of dissatisfaction in his desk job, and all the “man-powered” adventuring he has done since—from his 28-day ‘Atlantic to Andes’ cycle tour, to his 17,000km run through the Americas. Complete with photos and videos of just some of the incredible places Jamie has travelled through, it was truly remarkable to witness someone discussing their individual experiences live, in contrast to the other films which were all projected onto a screen. Jamie then took questions from the audience at the end and spoke individually to multiple audience members in the interval.
The Kendal Mountain Tour is a national travelling event, part of the world-famous Kendal Mountain Festival. The tour will conclude in Kendal on the 29th of June, and the Festival will take place from Thursday 16th to Sunday 19th November 2023.
I’d like to extend a big thank you to the Aberystwyth Arts Centre for providing me with a ticket to attend this event.
Cymraeg
Cyfieithiad gan Iwan Thomas
Mae Canolfan y Celfyddydau yn fwrlwm. Wrth fynd allan o’r theatr, rwy’n cael fy hun mewn torf fywiog o deuluoedd, cyplau, a ffrindiau, i gyd yn gyffrous yn trafod digwyddiadau’r ychydig oriau diwethaf. Does neb, mae’n ymddangos, wedi llwyddo i ddianc rhag cyffro Gŵyl Ffilmiau Mynydd Kendal. Yn rhan o daith barhaus o amgylch y DU, dangosodd yr ŵyl saith ffilm fer o bob rhan o’r Byd, pob un yn unigryw o ran naws a thestun. O Sheffield i Afghanistan, beicio baw i ddringo mynydd, roedd gan y digwyddiad rywbeth i bawb.
Gan ddechrau'r daith gyda byrstio o adrenalin a thrac sain bachog, olrhainodd 'Write Your Line' (cyf. Marc Augey, Andy Collet) daith y sgïwr dull rhydd Ben Buratti o fachgen ifanc yn Ne Ffrainc i athletwr Chwaraeon Gaeaf rhyngwladol ac roedd yn cynnwys llawer o fflipiau a thriciau. Gan ddod i mewn ar ddim ond tri munud o hyd, roedd yn gosodwr tôn perffaith ar gyfer gweddill y sioe, gan ennyn nwyon o bob rhan o'r theatr bob tro y byddai'r camera'n tynnu i mewn ar stynt risg uchel. Dilynwyd hyn yn syth gan 'Digging for Answers' (cyf. Eric Seymour), a aeth â ni i Jackson Hole Bike Park yn Wyoming, i weld yr effaith gadarnhaol y mae newidiadau ymaddasol i'w 'Llwybr Tywyllaf Tywyllaf' wedi'i chael ar y gymuned feicio leol. . . . Un siaradwr yn y ffilm oedd Pierre Berman, a syrthiodd tra ar lwybr beic ychydig flynyddoedd yn ôl ac a ddioddefodd anaf llinyn asgwrn cefn llawn o ganlyniad. Mae'r cynllun llwybr cyffredinol newydd (yn ogystal â rhai addasiadau beic trawiadol iawn a arddangosir yn falch yn y ffilm) wedi caniatáu i feicwyr addasol fel Pierre brofi'r un wefr â chyn ei ddamwain.
Dilynodd 'Enchainment' (cyf. Nick Kowalski) ymgais Alastair McDowell a Hamish Fleming i 'glannu' 24 o fynyddoedd uchaf Seland Newydd >3000m mewn 31 diwrnod di-dor. Tri deg munud o hyd, roedd y ffilm hon gryn dipyn yn hirach na'r ddwy gyntaf, ond roedd yn hawdd cael eich swyno ganddi. Roedd y cefnlenni dramatig yn sicr yn chwarae rhan yn hynny, gydag ergydion eang yn fframio'r dringwyr yn erbyn wynebau heulog, eiraog y mynyddoedd yr oeddent yn eu dringo, ond bu brwdfrydedd y ddau athletwr hefyd yn helpu i wneud y ffilm yn gofiadwy. Cafodd yr hyn a allai fod yn ffilm ddiflas, ailadroddus ei gwneud yn bleserus gan onestrwydd a hiwmor McDowell a Fleming, a ddarparodd droslais yn myfyrio ar eu hatgofion o'r profiad.
Yn fy marn i, ffilm fwyaf pwerus y noson oedd 'Free to Run' (cyf. Dream Lens Media), a ddilynodd y rhedwr a'r cyfreithiwr hawliau dynol Stephanie Case, yn ôl ac ymlaen dros gyfnod o fis yn 2021, a newidiodd hynny hi. bywyd am byth. Dechreuodd y ffilm ym mis Medi 2021, gyda Stephanie yn paratoi i redeg y ras flinedig TOR450, un o ddim ond ychydig o athletwyr rhyngwladol oedd wedi profi eu bod yn ddigon cryf a galluog i wneud hynny. Fis ynghynt, fodd bynnag, roedd Stephanie yn rhedeg yn Afghanistan, yn eiriol dros hawliau menywod lleol yng nghanol meddiannu milwrol enwog y Taliban ym mis Awst 2021 gyda’r sefydliad ‘Free to Run’. Darparodd y ffilm fewnwelediad dwfn i bethau y mae llawer ohonom yn aml yn eu cymryd yn ganiataol, megis y rhyddid i redeg a mwynhau'r awyr agored.
Roedd llond llaw o ffilmiau byr o ffynonellau amrywiol hefyd yn ymdrin ag amrywiaeth o bynciau. Animeiddiad stop-symudiad dyfrlliw oedd 'The Water Holds Me / The Water Binds Us' (cyfeiriad. Lily Mae Kroese) yn adlewyrchu llawenydd nofio dŵr gwyllt, a 'The Farm Under the City' (cyf. Brett Chapman, Jordan Carroll) archwilio fferm feicro-berlysiau bioponig fertigol Luke Ellis o dan strydoedd Sheffield. Dilynodd ‘The 86-Old Marathon Runner’ (cyf. Sara Joe Wolansky) Ginette Bedard yn ei hail marathon ar bymtheg yn Ninas Efrog Newydd, ac roedd yn ddathliad ysbrydoledig o fywyd diweddarach, ac yn her i wthio terfynau canfyddedig y corff dynol bob amser.
Uchafbwynt y noson oedd cael y cyfle i glywed gan siaradwr byw cyn yr egwyl. Mae gan Daith Mynydd Kendal gylchdroi cyson o siaradwyr gwadd yn dilyn y digwyddiad o gwmpas y wlad, felly mae pob lleoliad yn cael cyfle i glywed gan siaradwr gwahanol â phrofiadau gwahanol. Y siaradwr o Aberystwyth oedd yr athletwr dygnwch Jamie Ramsay, a siaradodd â’r gynulleidfa am ei brofiad o fynd i mewn i chwaraeon dygnwch yn ddiweddarach o ganlyniad i anfodlonrwydd â’i swydd ddesg, a’r holl anturiaethau “dynol” y mae wedi gorfod eu gwneud ers hynny. yna — o’i daith feicio 28 diwrnod o Fôr yr Iwerydd i’r Andes, i’w daith 17,000km drwy’r Americas. Ynghyd â lluniau a fideos o rai o’r lleoedd anhygoel y mae Jamie wedi teithio drwyddynt, roedd yn wirioneddol anhygoel gweld rhywun yn trafod eu profiadau unigol yn fyw, yn wahanol i’r ffilmiau eraill a gafodd eu taflunio i gyd ar sgrin. Yna cymerodd Jamie gwestiynau gan y gynulleidfa ar y diwedd a siarad yn unigol ag aelodau lluosog o'r gynulleidfa yn yr egwyl.
Mae Taith Mynydd Kendal yn ddigwyddiad teithiol cenedlaethol, sy'n rhan o Ŵyl Fyd-enwog Mynydd Kendal. Bydd y daith yn dod i ben yn Kendal ar y 29ain o Fehefin, a chynhelir yr Ŵyl o ddydd Iau 16eg tan ddydd Sul 19eg Tachwedd 2023.
Hoffwn estyn diolch yn fawr iawn i Ganolfan y Celfyddydau Aberystwyth am roi tocyn i mi fynychu’r digwyddiad hwn.