Brit Rock 5 Headed to Edmonton Tomorrow
It's the tour's first-ever stop in the Canadian city. The following stop is in Chilliwack, B.C. on December 14
On Wednesday December 6 in Edmonton, Alberta, the 2023 Brit Rock Film Tour is making one of its last stops in Canada. This year’s tour showcases Brit Rock 5, a collection of five U.K. adventure and climbing films by award-winning director Alastair Lee. After Edmonton, the tour is headed to Chilliwack, British Columbia on December 14.
Wednesday’s event is being held at Edmonton’s Metro Cinema at 6:30pm and is being hosted by rock and ice climbing pro Tim Emmett. The five films being shown include Goddess of Craic, Shining Stones, Helmcken Falls, Hard Git, and Headjam. You can read Brit Rock’s synopses for the five films below. You can purchase tickets for the Edmonton event here.
Goddess of Craic (25 minutes)
This film tells the story of rising trad star Freja Shannon. We join half-Swedish, half- Irish Freja in her ancestral homelands as she pursues her climbing goals for the season – ‘Sista Bossen’ E8 6c at the world-class granite climbing area of Bohuslan, Sweden and ‘Snell’s Law’ E7 6c at the Burren on the west coast of Ireland. Freja is as affable as she is committed once on the lead, resulting in captivating and gripping footage that will leave your jaw on the floor.
The film also delves into Freja’s past, where we learn of her less-than-glamorous journey to becoming a professional climber – and how she overcame her inner doubts to break through as a leading female trad climber and alpinist. Whippers, sends and Nordic power screams all-inclusive in this spectacular and entertaining film.
Shining Stones (25 minutes)
Climber Robbie Phillips chances upon a little-known mountain in the very far north of Scotland whilst driving from east coast to west. After some research, Robbie discovers the mountain is called Ben Loyal, and that climbing legend Simon Nadin has been developing a couple of lines at the crag. Simon tells him that there is something very special up there…
What Robbie finds at Ben Loyal is off the scale: endless bouldering, highballs, countless quality granite tors and buttresses with untapped climbing potential. But all this pales into insignificance compared with the main face, which holds the future of trad climbing on what is surely one of Britain’s greatest cliffs. A truly stunning film of hard new routing by Robbie and Simon in an extraordinary setting.
Helmcken Falls (15 minutes)
Emma Powell and Neil Gresham join the original pioneers of this unique ice climbing venue in British Columbia, Tim Emmett and Klemen ‘Klem’ Premrl once again push the boundaries of steep, sporty ice. After years of teasing, Tim finally invites his life-long friend Neil Gresham, along with top mixed climber Emma Powell to stoke up their pioneering spirit and develop some new lines at this surreal venue.
Hard Git (20 minutes)
Controversial and never far from the news; climber Matt Wright goes trailblazing across the UK, making wild first ascents, hard solos and bold new lines. Loveable rogue and working-class hero Matt puts his money where his mouth is in this tour-de-force of hard climbing. After weighing up his time-verses-routes equation, Matt abandons an attempt of the infamous Rhapsody (E11) and sets off on a quest to climb new inspiring lines. He does not disappoint, with his energetic journey culminating in the first ascent of ‘Magical Thinking’ E10 7a – a heart-stoppingly dangerous route at Pavey Ark, Lake District.
Headjam (30 minutes)
Filmmaker Alastair Lee turns the camera on himself in this deep introspective story of triumph through adversity. Perceived as a successful man with the perfect life, Al experiences unexpectedly dark times. Fearing he will lose everything, we watch a man on the brink claw his way from despair, using climbing and training to find peace and salvation.
Having never been the greatest of climbers, Al demolishes his inner punter – attempting to fulfil his potential by setting his sights on routes he’s spent 30 years avoiding. Includes hard first ascents, calamitous trad leads and bold on sights.
Carnage ensues almost every time Al sets off on a lead in this gripping, hilarious, emotional and ultimately inspiring story of a man in struggle as he seeks to reconnect with himself. Adding to the riotous flavour of this production, Al asks the climbers he’s working with to do the filming.
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