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Review: Banff Film Festival

Posted by n8oen from Torfaen - Published on 15/03/2012 at 13:23
4 comments » - Tagged as Culture, Festivals, Movies, Sport & Leisure

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Yn Gymraeg

Writing on forums and working in the outdoors I've always heard of the Banff Mountain Film Festival and viewed the videos on YouTube but never considered watching the world tour. Last week was not only my first film festival but also the Banff UK Tour in the Grand Pavilion, Porthcawl. It was an amazing night and definitely something I will be adding to my calendar of events for next year!

There was a range of films from skiing to kayaking, mountain biking to walking and rock climbing. A real mix for any outdoor enthusiast to sink their teeth into.

Each film amazed me for their own individual reason, whether it be the cinemagic that had been created or the personal message within the film. However there was one that struck a cord with me and that was Kadoma.

Kadoma is the nickname for Hendri Coetzee, a legendary South African kayaker who is known for exploring some of Africa's wildest rivers. In December 2010, pro-kayakers Chris Korbulic and Ben Stookesbury followed Coetzee into the Democratic Republic of Congo for a first descent of the dangerous Lukuga River. Seven weeks in to the expedition, tragedy struck...

Spoiler Alert!

As the group were deep in the DRC, tragedy struck as a monstrous African crocodile silently surfaced and pulled Hendri underwater, never to be seen again. This not only hit me as a paddler myself but personally because of the message at the end of the film. The death of Hendri brought two sides of the Congo together with both sides chanting "Kadoma" which had a different meaning in both languages but brought them both together.

Last night was an experience and one I'll be looking to grow on.

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