THE Australian Adventure Travel Film Festival in Bright has been running for more than10 years, showing films of ordinary people on intrepid journeys, but this February is the final festival before the projectors are put away for good.
Why? Because the organisers want adventures of their own.
"I've noticed that I haven't been traveling as much in the last few years, and it's nice to be able to have a bit more flexibility around your timetable," festival organiser Rupert Shaw said.
"The curators and myself want to focus on other things."
So this year's festival is going out with a bang.
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Starting at midday on Friday, February 10 are films showing over three days at three locations – the Bright Community Centre, the Senior Citizens Centre and the Bright Art Gallery.
Special starlight screenings are showing at Howitt Park on Friday and Saturday 9pm.
The festival will also feature three speakers, including Wandiligong local Leonie Katekar, who travelled through South America on a 12,000 kilometre bikepacking journey.
"You've got to pick and choose, look at the schedule, read the descriptions," Mr Shaw said.
"Pick what speakers, what films you want to be able to see and try and weave it all together.
"If you wanted you could be sitting watching films at 12:30 on a Friday all the way through 'til three o'clock on a Sunday."
The films are curated to encourage the audience to seek their own adventures, so many document ordinary people doing extraordinary trips in often less–than–ideal conditions.
"We've got one about two buskers travelling across the state doing gigs," Mr Shaw said.
"We've got one called '972 Breakdowns' – a group of German artists buy some really decrepit motorcycles and try and ride them all the way to New York."
The festival was initially inspired by inauthentic, drama–ridden travel documentaries that discouraged travelling, Mr Shaw said.
"When you watched TV, adventures were hard to do, expensive and logistically complex," he said.
"You don't have to have support cars, a doctor, a fixer and office back in London, to go and travel and have a good time."
"You can actually enjoy each day, have a really nice time and have no dramas.
"That philosophy's reflected in the speakers and the films we have every year."
But even though his film festival is designed to inspire adventure, Mr Shaw didn't say what adventure he's planning now this one is ending.
"We're quite happy to call it a day and go off and do something else," he said.
"I may do another film festival, I might not."
For more information visit the Australian Adventure Travel Film Festival website at https://www.adventuretravelfilmfestival.com/.
