2009 RPFF Award Winning Films PDF Print E-mail

2009 REEL PADDLING FILM FESTIVAL CATEGORY AWARD WINNING FILMS

BEST CANOEING FILM
Digging Water: A Voyage by North Canoe
Duration: 53 min [Festival Version 29 min]
Year Produced: 2008
Year Released: 2008
In 2008, over 300 paddlers set out to commemorate one of the world's greatest geographers and explorers, David Thompson. Their 66-day journey retraced Thompson's historic fur trade route from Rocky Mountain House to Thunder Bay. These modern-day voyageurs traversed four provinces, three drainages and two centuries worth of Canadian history.
Director: Jay Macmillan
Producer: David Thompson Brigade Society
Website: www.2008thompsonbrigade.com

BEST SEA KAYAKING FILM
Eastern Horizons
Duration: [Festival Version 19 min]
Year Produced: 2008
Year Released: 2009
This new film blends North America's east coast environments with world-class sea kayakers, incredible wildlife and compelling stories of people whose lives are deeply connected to the Atlantic Ocean. The film travels from the mangrove swamps of the Carolinas to the icebergs of Newfoundland, from the tidal flows around the Bay of Fundy to the urban landscapes of New York City.
Director: Bryan Smith and Lise-Anne Beyries
Producer: Bryan Smith/Reel Water Productions
Website: www.reelwaterproductions.com

BEST KAYAK FISHING FILM
Kayak Fishing: Game On
Duration: 60 min [Festival Version 15 min]
Year Produced: 2009
Year Released: 2009
Game On follows renowned big-game kayak angler Jim Sammons around North America on the kayak fishing adventure of a lifetime. Viewers see fights with tarpon in Florida, halibut in Alaska, 300-pound marlin in Baja, stripers in Chesapeake Bay and muskie in Canada.
Director: Will Richardson
Producer: Ken Whiting
Website: www.helipress.com

BEST ENVIRONMENTAL PADDLING FILM
Meramec River: Miracles & Milestones
Duration: 26 min
Year Produced: 2008
Year Released: 2008
Ten journalists, outdoor writers, videographers, conservationists and citizens depart from MeraMec State Park in Sullivan, Missouri, on a sticky day in mid-July. Their objective: a six-day, 108-mile canoe trip to document 40 years of river restoration work in the Meramec Basin by countless individuals and organizations.
Director: Jim Karpwicz and John Baker
Producer: Jim Karpwicz, John Baker and The Open Space Council
Website: openspacecouncilstl.org

BEST WHITEWATER FILM
Pulse
Duration: 36 min [Festival Version 17 min]
Year Produced: 2008
Year Released: 2008
The latest action whitewater kayaking film starring Tao Berman, from the creator of the renowned TWITCH films. Pulse follows Berman and friends around Chile, Lake Superior, Mexico and Washington and includes stunning footage, interviews and three unique action segments.
Director: Tao Berman
Producer: Eric Link
Website: www.taoberman.com/videos

BEST SHORT FILM
The Snowy River—Reflections of a River Lost
Duration: 8 min
Year Produced: 2007/2008
Year Released: 2008
The Snowy River—Reflections of a River Lost centres on community concerns about the state of Australia’s Snowy River and the mismanagement by various governments in providing a sustainable solution.
Director and Producer: Les Herstik
Website: www.les.herstik.com

BEST ADVENTURE/TRAVEL PADDLING FILM
This is the Sea 4: New Zealand Circumnavigation
Duration: 48 min
Year Produced: 2008
Year Released: 2008
A gritty edge-of-your-seat portrayal of a couple's battle against the elements while kayaking 2400 kilometres around the South Island of New Zealand. Justine Curgenven and Barry Shaw struggle into 40-knot headwinds, get thrown around in crashing surf and cope with illness and a helicopter evacuation in remote Fiordland. Close encounters with albatrosses, dolphins and whales and the kindness of strangers keep them going for 67 days on one of the world’s toughest kayak journeys.
Director and Producer: Justine Curgenven
Website: www.cackletv.com

BEST DOCUMENTARY PADDLING FILM
Ausable Marathon Canoe Race
Duration: 20 min
Year Produced: 2008
Year Released: 2008
This film explores the intensity and passion that drives the men and women who endure 15 hours of non-stop paddling in one of the most grueling paddlesport races in North America. It reveals both the allure and agony of the physical and mental challenges that face elite canoe racers in their quest to surpass their dreams.
Director and Producer: Dan Bertalan
Website: www.greatoutdoorsmultimedia.com


2008 RPFF Winners

Click here for a list of 2008 category winners, as well as a list of all the films shortlisted for the 2008 World Tour.

2007 RPFF Winners

Click here for a list of 2007 category winners, as well as a list of all the films shortlisted for the 2007 World Tour.
 

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