That is the strapline for the first Adventure Uncovered Film Festival taking place on 29 and 30 November.

The event is the only adventure film festival entirely dedicated to screening films with a social awareness and/or environmental impact.

We’re taking two days to celebrate the best, most purpose-driven adventures, big and small, shining the spotlight on a diverse array of pressing, neglected and little-known issues facing humanity and our environment right now.

The festival will feature 16 films from independent filmmakers who have travelled near and far to capture a unique collection of stories, both personal and big-picture, about the world and our fragile relationship with it. From mental health to conservation and gender equality to plastic pollution, the AUFF line-up is diverse, yet united by the common thread of adventure and its potential to inspire and catalyse change.

Highlights include Hunting Giants, a story about big-tree climbers seeking out the tallest trees to scale in the forests of British Columbia, Canada. The forests are facing imminent destruction from logging activity, and the film documents how the forest’s communities are grappling with the tensions between short-term profit and the long-term sustainability of their precious resource.

Striking a more personal note, the writer Joe Minihane’s film Waterlog documents how he found an antidote to acute anxiety through wild swimming. Retracing the footsteps of the author and environmentalist Roger Deakin in his classic eponymous book, Joe’s film captures some of this journey and how he eventually found relief, not just in the cold water he swam in, but by being open and honest about his own mental health.

Meanwhile, snowboard world champions Anne-Flore Marxer and Aline Block head north to Iceland to explore the country in a van through the adventure sports they are passionate about: snowboarding and surfing. Along the way they meet inspirational Icelandic women to understand their mindset living in a country with a rich history of gender equality.

The film festival will begin on Thursday 29 November with an evening fundraiser at a very special location – the Cinema Museum in the former Lambeth Workhouse in Kennington, south London, where the legendary Charlie Chaplin spent time as a child. The museum is under threat from redevelopment, and proceeds from the fundraiser will go towards helping the museum’s fight for its future. We’ll be screening six films over the evening, all addressing different issues, yet linked by their commitment to inspiring social or environmental change. Help the Cinema Museum reach 50,000 signatories by signing their petition here.

On the 30th, the event will be held at the Rich Mix in Shoreditch, kicking off with two hours of expert-led workshops discussing everything you need to know about making your own films. Learn about the best gear for filming your adventures, how to tell a compelling story through film and the best techniques for capturing powerful footage.

The main screenings will subsequently follow, after which you’ll be able to vote to decide which film should receive the coveted ‘People’s Choice’ award.

Places to both evenings are limited, to guarantee your place for one or both of the evenings, register using the links below:

Evening Fundraiser: The Cinema Museum, 29th November
Main Event: Rich Mix, 30th November

Picture Credit: Eleonora Raggi