'These are just good human stories': Sheffield Adventure Film Festival celebrates 20th anniversary
When the Snowdonia National Park is your childhood home, an outdoors lifestyle is somewhat inevitable. Throw a mountain instructor for a father and a mother who worked at an adventure centre into the mix and it’s hardly surprising Mathew Heason developed an interest in geography, climbing, and the breath-taking landscapes the world has to offer.
In 1996, Heason settled in Sheffield, The Outdoor City, drawn in by the lure of the Peak District on his doorstep. Thirty years on, the 53-year-old is still as taken as he was back then. "You have this easy, ready access to places to go walking, biking, running, climbing, swimming, caving, that you don’t get in any other cities really,” he says.
Two decades ago, after a visit to Kendal Mountain Festival, Heason set about bringing adventure films to Sheffield, where he was met by an enthusiastic audience. What started as a series of film nights at the city’s Showroom Cinema grew into the Sheffield Adventure Film Festival (ShAFF) – and when it returns later this month, the festival will be celebrating its 20th anniversary.
"It’s a little bit surreal,” muses Heason, who runs an events company, focused on speakers, films and events “for adventurous minds”. “It does make me proud. People seem to really value it and get a lot from it and it’s nice to be doing a job that makes people happy and inspired.”
From March 20 to 22, the festival brings over a hundred films, conversations and free events to the Showroom Cinema with stories of endurance, sustainability and connection with the natural world. “ShAFF has always been about telling the stories that bring us together through the outdoors, through challenge and through people,” says Heason. “It is about grit and beauty, but also humour, activism and community. That has always been Sheffield’s story too.”
A defining thread of this year’s programme is water, with films exploring the question of who controls access to the water that sustains us. This year also marks the first time ShAFF has programmed such a number of films featuring older adventurers aged sixty and above, asking what it means to keep moving as the world and our bodies change. Beyond the cinema screen, ShAFF also includes free panels, talks and creative events, including an exhibition of adventure photography and there will also be a 20th anniversary party on the Saturday night.
"I’ve always said that I reckon I could meet anybody on the street in Sheffield, chat to them for a couple of minutes then suggest a film or session for them to go and watch and they’ll come out having enjoyed it,” Heason says. “These are just good human stories.”
Heason also marks a personal milestone this year with the publication of his second book, Wild Rock, a guide to 100 easy scrambles across the UK. Like ShAFF, the book aims to make the great outdoors accessible and inspiring for all and will be published in time for the festival.
- Visit shaff.co.uk