UPDATED – Paddling Film Festival World Tour 2022

Lawn Chair Luminata | Outdoor screening

NEW DATE, DUE TO WEATHER – Thursday, July 21, 2022
Meridian Place, Downtown Barrie
Admission: Free
Starts at dusk, weather permitting

Adventure, 2022, PG – some films are unrated, 91 min.

Hosted by:

The Paddling Film Festival is an international adventure film tour presenting the world’s best paddling films of the year – whitewater, sea kayaking, canoeing, SUP, action and lifestyle – in more than 120 cities and towns across Canada, United States and around the world.

Here is the line up:

LEAN AGAINST THE WIND
Conquering the Mount Everest of canoe racing—a 45-mile stretch of stacked waves, crashing currents and blistering winds off the coast of Hawaii—is just one way 12-time Molokai OC-1 World Champion and outrigger canoeist Lauren Spalding has distinguished herself. Add Olympian and working parent to the list, and it’s safe to say she’s fully inherited her father’s legendary, push-the-limits fervor.
Director: Keith Malloy
Producer: Brett Williams (11:51)

CONNECTED TO WATER: STEFI VAN WIJK
Though paddling is in Stefi Van Wijk’s blood, she had to find her own connection to the water. This Connected To Water episode features her story growing up in a family of championship paddlers, finding her place at the Madawaska Kanu Centre, and also what the Madawaska River has taught her after years of paddling.
Director: Ben Hemmings
Producers: Julie Mulligan & Joseph Coppolino (3:56)

DORY LAND
For whitewater dory lovers, there’s no better place than Idaho. The state’s miles of wild, free-flowing rivers are home to the country’s deepest gorges and some of the best big water rapids. In 1972, renowned conservationist and Grand Canyon Dories founder Martin Litton asked Curt Chang if he’d like to take some boats and a crew to Hells Canyon. After an initial scouting trip, Curt started up the Idaho operation. Since then, Curt has fostered a community of guides who care deeply about rivers, running good trips and the legacy of dories.
Director: Logan Bockrath (22:17)

A QUALITY OF IMAGINATION
In a culture seemingly full of adrenaline junkies and going bigger, Benny Marr contemplates the ultimate form of self-expression, and the subtle moments defining one’s style.
Director: Caleb Roberts (5:28)

FLUID TRAILS
Fluid Trails follows three adventurers as they make their way across Kahurangi National Park in New Zealand via mountain bike and packraft. The park is an ancient place with rare birds, rolling alpine tussock, earthquake shattered peaks and towering podocarp forests. A place of colonialism, gold fever and exertion. A place of cascading rivers and winding singletrack.
Director: Deane Parker
Producers: Deane Parker, Dylan Gerwschitz (12:08)

MY DEAR FEAR
Whether sea kayaking in the surf, climbing a giant rock wall or hiking alone in the woods, most outdoor enthusiasts have had a run-in with fear. Sometimes fear offers a rush of adrenaline that pushes us towards our limits and beyond. Sometimes it takes control and we’re left paralyzed. When is fear valuable? What amount is too much? And how can paddlers distinguish the thin line between the two? My Dear Fear is the filmmaker’s creative approach to engage with these questions.
Director & Producer: Tom Vetterl (5:42)

ANIAKCHAK
Newlyweds Graham Zimmerman and Shannon McDowell are professional athletes in different sports and find joy and common ground in a new, fledgling activity: packrafting. This shared pursuit takes them on a harrowing adventure to Alaska’s Aniakchak National Monument, the most remote and least visited part of America’s national park system.
Directors: Forest Woodward, Graham Zimmerman
Producers: Jim Aikman, Graham Zimmerman (25:04)

Presented in partnership with the Downtown Barrie Business Association

Supported by: