23 Years Strong: NZ Mountain Film Festival Breaks Records And Celebrates Adventure

Lake Wānaka, New Zealand (20 May 2025) – The NZ Mountain Film and Book Festival has launched its 2025 programme and tickets go on sale today. The annual international film competition saw a record-breaking 294 entries—50 more than any previous year since the festival started in 2002. The final lineup features 64 award-winning and finalist films, including 18 by New Zealand filmmakers. Most will be making their New Zealand premiere while 15 are world premieres.

The festival is on in Wānaka from 20 – 24 June and Queenstown from 26 – 27 June and the festival films will also be available to watch online in New Zealand and Australia from 1 - 31 July. Check out the full programmes here: https://mountainfilm.nz/programme/

Festival founder and head judge Mark Sedon sees the record-breaking number of film competition entries as confirmation that, after 23 years, the festival’s reputation continues to grow in New Zealand and around the globe. As New Zealand's only adventure film competition, the NZMFF is also proud to provide a platform for Kiwi creatives to showcase their talents.

Whitney Oliver, who has taken over as Festival Director this year, says, "It's fantastic to see returning filmmakers who consistently raise the bar year after year. We're also stoked to welcome new (to us) talent who have wowed us with fresh narratives and creative style.

“The NZ-made films showcase a wide variety of outdoor stories, from epic backyard missions to environmental causes, and each left a distinct impression. The filmmakers crafted their stories in such a way as to make me want to be a part of the adventure (Spirit of the West), feel like I was enduring the adventure (All in or Nothing), or be inspired to create my own adventure (Waiatoto). We can't wait to share these with audiences soon." 

Many of the New Zealand filmmakers will be at the festival to introduce their films during the Pure NZ sessions on Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 June in Wānaka and Friday 28 June in Queenstown.

Josh Morgan and Jasper Gibson are the winners of the prestigious Hiddleston/ MacQueen Award and $2500 prizemoney for the Best NZ-made Film for their entry, Waiatoto.  

The film tells the story of a traverse across the Southern Alps through packraft, skis and tramping. Starting at the Matukituki, the route went via Tititea, the Volta Glacier, and the Waiatoto, to the Tasman Sea. Nick Pascoe, one of the three adventurers involved in the journey with Gibson and Charlie Murray, will also be a keynote speaker at this year’s festival. 

"We're honoured if not a bit surprised to win this award,” says Pascoe. “We didn't set out to make a film, the focus was on a creative adventure through an incredible corner of the country simply for the sake of it. During the expedition it was one step at a time problem solving, with no setups for filming. It's testament to the creative photo, film, and editing skills of Jasper and Josh that this film has come to life and been received so well." 

Charlie Murray adds, “I love watching this film back, a view into a trip where we found inspiration from each other and Aotearoa’s magical Southern Alps.

“Stemming from an idea that Pascoe had been scheming and once shared with me became my burden too. Just enough ‘what ifs’ to make it scary and challenging. With enough ‘wow we’re lucky’ to make it special. Throwing in a GoPro for good measure and Jasper with his camera, the three of us managed to accidentally document what is a proud accomplishment for us.” 

The film competition Grand Prize was awarded to US director Leo Hoorn for his film, Trango. After a two-year attempt, a team of ski mountaineers, including previous NZMFF guest speaker Christina Lustenberger (USA), ski the first descent of the Great Trango Glacier in Pakistan. They navigate risk, grapple with grief, and face physical danger as they push the limits of human experience. Unspoken trust and support within their expedition team allows them to face the unimaginable together. 

The Trango film team say they are “incredibly honoured to be selected for NZ Mountain Film Festival’s Grand Prize Award this year. This film, much like the festival itself, embodies the spirit of pushing boundaries and overcoming the seemingly impossible. We are profoundly grateful to be among such an esteemed list of remarkable films in accepting this award."   

The full list of award winners is as follows:  

Grand Prize  

Trango, Director: Leo Hoorn, USA 

Best Short Film Award  

Body of a Line, Director: Henna Taylor, USA. A cleverly animated short film that morphs into real life as Madaleine undertakes an intimate and creative journey to climb a difficult rock route. Featuring original music and poetry.     

Best Mountain Culture Award    

Everest Dark, Director: Jereme Watt, USA. As the death toll on the world's highest peak rises, one of Nepal’s most legendary climbers leads an elite team of Sherpas on a life-threatening mission to retrieve fallen climbers from Everest’s Death Zone. 

Award for the Best Film on the Environment

Footprints on Katmai, Director: Max Romey, USA. Following his grandmother's footsteps to one of the most remote and bear-strewn beaches in Alaska, painter Max Romey discovers that an ocean of problems is closer to home than he could have imagined.

Best Climbing Film

Nose Job, Director: Alastair Lee, UK. Two young, retired comp climbers with little trad or multi-pitch experience attempt a bold feat: becoming the first Britons to free climb The Nose on El Cap. First done by Lynn Hill in 1993, it’s had only eight free ascents since. The odds? As massive as the wall itself.  

Best Snow Sports Film

Painting The Mountains, Director: Pierre Cadot, France. Follow a photographer’s love affair with El Chaltén, a remote Patagonian village beneath Fitz Roy. There, a tight-knit ski community embraces the mountains’ raw beauty and danger. When three French skiers arrive to pioneer new lines, he documents their daring descents—where climbing ropes give way to ski tracks. Blending photography, journalism, and extreme skiing, the film captures a rare culture shaped by weather, granite, and passion. 

Best Film on Adventurous Sports & Lifestyles

Alone Across Gola, Director: Jude Kriwald, UK. Stranded in Liberia’s Gola rainforest, filmmaker Jude Kriwald faces hunger, isolation, robbery and disappearing trails. A raw tale of one man’s solo, self-filmed journey chasing a childhood dream. With only a bike and a tent, Jude pushes the limits of survival and self-discovery. 

Solo Award

Far Enough, Director: Julien Carot, France. A 22-year-old Frenchman gets on his bike in Chamonix to ride to Nepal’s Khumbu Valley to climb Ama Dablam. That’s 11,500 kilometres on a bike and 80,000m of elevation gain. The real adventure isn’t just about reaching the summit— but everything it takes to get there. 

Special Jury Awards

Girl Climber, Director:  Jon Glassberg, USA. Emily Harrington, pro climber and Everest summiteer, takes on her boldest goal yet: a 24-hour free climbing ascent of El Cap. In a male-dominated sport, she battles ambition, risk, and time. Girl Climber is a gripping survival story and powerful portrait of breaking barriers—and proving she’s one of the best. 

The Headless Horseman, Director: Andy Collet, France. In the shadow of Gyachung Kang, far from the fame of 8,000-metre peaks, two climbers confront hardship, separation, and doubt. Through illness and storms, they rediscover the true spirit of alpinism—friendship, resilience, and beauty in the unexpected. A poetic ascent into the heart of what truly matters. 

NZ Award Winners:  

Hiddleston/MacQueen Award for Best NZ-Made Film 

Waiatoto, Directors: Josh Morgan & Jasper Gibson. This film tells the story of a traverse across the Southern Alps through packraft, skis and tramping. Starting at the Matukituki, the route went via Tititea, the Volta Glacier, and the Waiatoto, to the Tasman Sea.   

Community Spirit Award

Spirit of the West, Director: Pedro Pimentel. Set against New Zealand’s wild West Coast, this film captures the spirit of the Old Ghost Ultra—where community, resilience, and grit collide in a transformative celebration of people and place. 

Grassroots Award  

The Long Way Round, Director: Mitchell Radford. A massive 16-day solo adventure through Fiordland from Glenorchy to Milford Sound, the long way. This film showcases exploration and endurance in some of New Zealand's most incredible and diverse landscapes.  

Best Documentary Award 

All in or Nothing, Director: Gordon Duff. Up against 120 riders with full support crews, young athlete Matthew Fairbrother only has himself to rely on. Follow his gruelling six days as he attempts to win the overall title at the NZ MTB Rally. 

Festival Spirit Award

Riverbound - The Storybook Has Just Begun, Directors: Dylan Gerschwitz & Deane Parker. Yak, a former pro kayaker now paraplegic, takes on Class 3 rapids in the Upper Buller Gorge. Can packrafting restore his freedom—and redefine who gets to run wild rivers? 

Find the full list of this year’s films here: https://mountainfilm.nz/films-speakers/#item_tag-a-films

Programmes will also be available at Paper Plus in Wanaka or The North Face Store at 38 Shotover Street in Queenstown. The NZ Mountain Film and Book Festival will run in Wānaka from 20 – 24 June and in Queenstown from 26 – 27 June. The festival films will also be available to watch online in New Zealand and Australia from 1 - 31 July.

© Scoop Media