The REEL Paddling Film Festival 2012

The YCCC is happy to be co-hosting Ottawa's screening of the REEL Paddling Film Festival for the 3rd year in a row!

Rapid Media's 6th annual Reel Paddling Film Festival showcases the world's best paddling films and inspires more people to explore rivers, lakes and oceans, push physical and emotional extremes, embrace the lifestyle and appreciate the heritage of the wild places we paddle. Check out the official REEL website http://www.reelpaddli... (http://www.reelpaddlingfilmfestival.com/)

Tickets $15 (at the door)

Includes free 1-year on-line subscription to one of Rapid Media's magazines.

All proceeds from this event go to support youth Outdoor Ed programs in Ottawa high schools.

The following films will be part of the Ottawa screening on Thursday night:

Solo Reflections Ottawa - based canoeist Becky Mason and musician Ian Tamblyn combine their artistic talents in this remarkable convergence of video, audio and paddling. Alone in her cedar-canvas canoe with Tamblyn’s original score as the backdrop, and seen from some astonishing underwater camera angles, Mason gracefully links a myriad of strokes and maneuvers.

Rescues - Sea Kayak with Gordon Brown Exciting and practical rescue coaching sessions from one of the world’s top coaches, mixed with a spectacular journey to St. Kilda, a remote cluster of islands in the North Atlantic. Essential rescue techniques are demonstrated in calm water and rough, with on-screen graphics emphasizing key learning points.

WildWater - is a journey into the places only river runners can go. It’s a visually stunning feast for the senses, and an expedition into new ideas. We wanted to communicate the essence of whitewater and put its soul on film. After thousands of hours of effort, borrowing Hollywood film tools and techniques, WildWater brings new images to kayaking and adventure cinema.

Currents First Descents Canada - In 2011, First Descents came to Canada for the first time to give the experience of the river and paddling to young adult cancer survivors.

Locals Only - follows some of the world’s best paddlers to the places they call home and explores the unique attributes of each region. The idea is simple, let the locals showcase their home turf and explain what it has to offer from their perspective.

reIMAGINED - Whitewater paddling has many different aspects: big wave surfing, steep creeking, expedition and freestyle paddling. This film captures it all, featuring stunning locations and kayaking’s biggest stars.

Searching for the River God - The Journey Continues Extreme Kayak World Champion Sam Sutton and filmmaker Olaf Obsommer spent a year searching for the most spectacular runnable whitewater on the planet. Their journey took them to Russia’s remote Altai Mountains, to Iceland—the kingdom of waterfalls, and to Chiapas in the south of Mexico.

Chasing Water - Pete McBride grew up on a ranch in Western Colorado, a child of the Colorado River. After a life spent visiting other countries to tell stories as a National Geographic photojournalist, in 2008 Pete decided to follow the water from his family’s ranch to see where it ends up. This is the story of Pete’s journey, and a story about the lifeblood of the American West.

Standup 4 Greatbear - Norm Hann's 400-kilometer standup paddling expedition through the Great Bear Rainforest, and along the proposed North Coast oil tanker route, visited First Nations communities and highlighted the area’s rich marine ecosystems, bringing awareness to the threat of an oil spill in this world-class natural environment.

On the Line - The Northern Gateway Pipeline Project is a proposed 1,170-kilometer oil pipeline from the Alberta Tar Sands to Kitimat, British Columbia. The pipeline would cross 773 watercourses and bring supertankers bound for Asian markets to B.C.’s pristine North Coast for the first time ever. In the summer of 2010, filmmaker Frank Wolf and his friend Todd McGowan biked, hiked, rafted and kayaked the GPS track of the pipeline. Their journey reveals the severe risks and consequences associated with this $5.5 billion mega-project.