Our favorite paddling films of 2020 inspired us to explore rivers, lakes and oceans, push extremes, embrace the paddling lifestyle and appreciate the wild places. These 9 films are currently screening as part of the Paddling Film Festival, which has been showcasing the very best paddling films since 2006.
(people) of water
For thousands of years, outrigger canoes have connected diverse cultures and people around the world. (people) of water follows the story of Rob Prechtl, a member of the U.S. Men’s Whitewater Raft team, as he embarks on a journey to learn the craft of outrigger paddling.
Director: Forest Woodward
Producer: GnarlyBay
Balkan Rivers Tour 4 | Action for Wild Rivers
Balkan River Defence (BRD) is a group of friends, kayakers, artists and activists working with locals throughout the Balkans to protect the last wild rivers of Europe from hydroelectric dams. Each year, they hit the road with kayaks, cameras and creativity to travel the Balkans and directly support locals fighting to save their rivers. During the fourth Balkan Rivers Tour in 2019, the crew visited Romania’s Basca Mare River, Slovenia’s Soča River and Bulgaria’s Struma River.
Directors: Matic Oblak, Mitja Legat, Tim Vrtnik
Producer: Balkan River Defence
Banking on Bailey
Banks, Idaho is home to 17 hearty residents, including Ryan Bailey, a whitewater kayaker, wildland firefighter, and the unofficial mayor of the town. Situated at the confluence of the North and South Fork of the Payette River, Banks is to kayakers what the North Shore of Hawaii is to surfers, and Yosemite is to climbers. The river terrified Ryan when he was growing up, but it kept calling to him. Twenty-one years after his first competition in Banks, he continues to live his life unapologetically. He’s not concerned about what’s next, but rather what’s right now.
Director: Tim Kemple
[ Banking on Bailey is included in our 2020/21 World Tour – Culture Program. Click here to buy your virtual ticket. ]Family Routes
In Family Routes, Leanne Robinson and Dwayne Wohlgemuth embark on a summer-long canoe trip across the Northwest Territories with their two sons, four-year-old Emile and one-year-old Aleksi. Together they face the challenges of living off the land and criticism from back home.
Director: Keith Robertson
[ Family Routes is included in our 2020/21 World Tour – Adventure Program. Click here to buy your virtual ticket. ]
[ Also Read: The 10 Paddling Films We Loved Most In 2019 ]
ICEolation
Two people, two weeks, two kayaks. Sophie and Ewan took a self-supported journey via sea kayak to connect with an uninhabited land of ice and penguins. ICEolation takes the audience on their journey, from the preparations of planning such an expedition, through the challenges and the highs of Antarctica.
Directors: Sophie Ballagh & Ewan Blyth
Producer: Sophie Ballagh & Ewan Blyth, Mathew Farrell – Flowstate Photography
Lawaiʻa, A Family Fishing Fable
Hawaii means many things to many people. For Nick Wakida, his homeland of Maui is tied to community and that community is part of a larger family. Nick doesn’t have the big boats and expensive gear to do the deep sea fishing the islands are known for, but his can-do attitude and a sea kayak enables him to fish the waters. Fishing for Nick is about more than reeling in a big one. It’s about tapping into the cultural and spiritual history, and sharing his bounty with family and community.
Director: Jeff Thomas
Producer: Mat Jackson
The Rio Caqueta
Jules Domine and Tyler Bradt are addicted to whitewater adventure and make a plan to journey the long way, from the source of Rio Caqueta, to find an unreal, big-water canyon deep in the Colombian Amazon. This is the type of adventure that makes you glad you were not there.
Director: Tyler Lee
Producer: Barry Barr
Vitamin Sea
One woman’s record-breaking standup paddleboarding journey, spans the entire length of the mainland U.K.—1,000 miles, from Land’s End to John O’Groats. Vitamin Sea documents positive ways to tackle plastic pollution, and how crucial our connection to nature is in driving positive environmental change.
Director: James Appleton
Producer: Cal Major
2021 Virtual World Tour Tickets
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