Caught on reel, the rush of real life adventure

Movie buffs in Delhi experienced an adrenaline rush with a breathtaking melange of sports and adventure films combined with documentaries on music and dance groups, at the four-day ‘#WaitForIt Film Festival’.

Hosted by Red Bull, the fest explored uncharted and hostile regions, taking the audience kayaking  through the raging waters of the Congo to climbing Brazil’s Mount Roraima, and then cycling in China’s Gobi Desert, and more. The best part, all of it took place sitting right here in PVR Cinemas, Delhi.

An annual event, the ‘#WaitForIt Film Festival’ takes place simultaneously across Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi and Bangalore. Every time, it brings to the theatres and adventure lovers, fresh films from the Red Bull Media House.

 This time it featured four spectacular films woven around real stories and real places with real heroes.

First in the line-up, Congo – The Grand Inga Project documented the expedition of a master kayaking team to the most dreaded river in the world, Congo. Congo has the world’s biggest rapids, 1.6 million cubic feet of water per second.

They are twice as steep and 100 times the average volume of those found on the Colorado in the Grand Canyon. After several failed and fatal attempts by various kayakers, Tyler Bradt, Benny Marr, Rush Sturges and Steve Fisher decided to do mission impossible. They came out successful but “more humbled than proud.”

Roraima, on the other hand, filmed the journey of three legendary mountaineers Stefan Glowacz, Holger Heuber and Kurt Albert on their way to conquer South American’s Roraima Mountain.

With its perilous overhanging walls, impenetrable fog, rushing waterfalls and a route yet to be discovered, Roraima was daunting. But before the three could even reach its feet, they had to cross the mystic ‘Lost World’ jungle.  

Where the Trail Ends... followed the world’s top free-ride mountain bikers in their search for un-ridden terrains around the globe, ultimately covering the forbidding Cafayate of Argentina, Gobi Desert in China, Mustang in Nepal and Virgin of Utah. This unparalleled story documents man’s challenge of Mother Nature and himself, showcased through a cast of colourful characters. 

Lastly, Bouncing Cats explored the craze of Hip-hop dance in Uganda – a place one least expects a dance form to thrive in.

The film tries to answer the question of how Hip-hop can help someone who has to live in unbelievably difficult conditions, where dancing is not a leisure activity but a survival strategy. Shot in the most breathtaking locales, coupled with the most advanced technology in film production, the festival left viewers awestruck and inspired.