It’s great to see more films than ever feature women as the protagonist. And, of course, this year at the EMFF, we have two incredible and inspiring women as guest speakers. If you’re keen to see women in adventure, here’s a run down of what’s on this year:
Saturday 15th, 2pm session
We’re only screening three films at this session. Top climber Nat Berry appears in Undiscovered, joining Dave MacLeod as they seek out new routes at the top end of the grading scale. And while Jesse Dufton may take the credits for his ascents in Climbing Blind, I’ve no doubt that he would give as much credit to Molly Thompson, his sighted partner, for her guidance and support. Find out more here.
Saturday 15th, 7pm session
The star of the evening is the fantastic Nina Williams. She’s probably the best female free solo climber in the world. But in ‘The High Road’, as she takes on the 2nd free solo attempts of one of Alex Honnold’s hardest highball bouldering routes, it’s clear that she simply wants to be the best. Find out more here.
Sunday 16th, 11am session
Emily Scott features in Project 282, an epic 4-month solo, unsupported and self-propelled journey around all of Scotland’s Munros. It’s an impressive film and achievement, especially as she had only previously been up 40 Munros, all on day trips! Return to Earth is quite the contrast, with mountain bikers flying down insane routes at insane speeds. There are lots of guys in there, but my favourites are the swaggering pack of pre-teens (girls and boys!) showing what they can do. Find out more here.
Sunday 16th, 2pm session
We have two wonderful films featuring strong women in this session. Chasing the Sublime is a beautiful film about two silver-haired wild swimmers. Hilly Skiing is, of course, about Hilly. You may or may not know about Hilly but she is a somewhat determined skier. In fact, she’s skied in Scotland, outside (on real snow!), every month for the past 10 years.
Of course, this session finishes with a presentation by Anna McNuff. We’re excited to welcome Anna to the EMFF and have no doubt that she’ll inspire everyone who comes along. Find out more here.
Sunday 17th, 7pm session
I’m afraid all three of the films at this session are about men. Although ‘For The Love of Mary’, will remind you that some men are not so bad! The highlight, of course, will be the presentation by the amazing Jenny Graham. Not only did she smash the world record for the fastest female circumnavigation of the globe by bike, she did it with a huge smile on her face and no doubt left a trail of new friends in her wake! Find out more here.
So these are the main highlights this year. We would LOVE to receive more films featuring women, and made by women. So please do get in touch if you have something suitable as we are already on the lookout for films for EMFF 2021. You can find out about how to enter a film (it’s free to do so!) by clicking on this link.
EMFF sponsor Wilderness Scotland runs a series of women-only adventure holidays. They also have an inspiring series of short films about women in adventure. Click here for more details.
Edinburgh Mountain Film Festival 