While things may be slightly different this year, it has not stopped filmmakers from drawing inspiration from our diverse and resilient nation. The 2020 Adventure Film Challenge (AFC), brought to you by Cape Union Mart, was a resounding success and the winners have officially been announced. The Film Challenge, which ran from 3 August - 13 September 2020, was created to provide a platform for aspiring and professional filmmakers to win the chance to showcase their work at the annual BANFF Centre Mountain Film Festival, which will take place virtually this year.

Local filmmakers, adventurers, and athletes were invited to capture and celebrate the country’s thriving outdoor culture as well as the spirit of adventure in two categories - Aspiring and Professional.

Jacques Crafford, the winner of the Professional category, is a freelance videographer specialising in tourism, travel and adventure filmmaking. He cites nature as his inspiration, with a desire to capture the beautiful landscapes of the country and promote local tourism. His winning submission, I’m Not Adventurous’ is the true story of Crafford’s journey into discovering a life of adventure.

He says, “My aim with this story is to create awareness and inspire our own people to get out more, to start enjoying all the treasures we have in our backyard. We truly have gold under our feet, and I hope this film captures that.”

Winner of the Aspiring category, Katie Levick, started off as a photographer in Pretoria, where she met her husband and her life of adventure started. Her submission, ‘The Mountains are Calling’ are some highlights from the duo’s 2020 adventures. She says, “This is a story of a group of friends that have the same passion and drive for life. There is something very special about the friendships that form in the mountains. There is never a dull moment spent in the wilderness with these amazing souls.”

For the winning entry, Crafford received R10 000 as well as Cape Union Mart K-way gear to the value of R5 000, with Levick walking away with R5 000 worth of K-way gear, for her Aspiring entry.

This year’s submissions were judged on storyline, creativity, originality, visual composition and technical execution, along with editing, sound, music and overall impression, and the independent judging panel was blown away by the calibre of entries.

The BANFF Centre Mountain Film Festival will run from Thursday, 29 October to Friday, 30 October 2020.To register for this free screening, visit www.capeunionmart.co.za.