Sheffield Adventure Film Festival

I’m not long back from a weekend at the Sheffield Adventure Film Festival (ShAFF), who were celebrating 20 years of ShAFF. I arrived late on Friday, as our team had car-shared our way down from Glasgow after a day in the office. After visiting some family near Endcliffe Park on Saturday morning, I cycled through to The Showroom, a charity cinema/venue where the festival was based. The sun was out and spring was blooming in the hilly valley city. It was great to be in Sheffield again, a city I have become more familiar with over the past few years.

Arriving at ShAFF, I attended my first set of screenings under the ‘Reconnection Films’ category. This was a wonderful introduction to my weekend, with films that were gentle, diverse and inspiring, all exploring people and place. I was particularly moved by The Last Observers, a story of a couple who had spent decades of their lives as weather observers in Sweden. I also liked Le moulin des artistes – a home for free spirits, which told the story of an eccentric ski-maker and his mill-house home in the Chamonix Valley. Leaving the cinema room, I felt open and inspired.

My day was followed by conversations on filmmaking and festivals. I quickly met some wonderful people and understood why Jimmy (who I work with) had been telling me about the community atmosphere of ShAFF since I started. Some of my other favourite films from the weekend included Catching Pinecones and To The Sea.

On Sunday, I also attended a brilliant talk and discussion on Storytelling at the Intersections of Race, Disability and the Outdoors, led by Marie Uri and Alice Sainsbury. It was refreshing to discuss accessibility and representation in the outdoors and think about the role that film festivals play.

I came away from ShAFF completely inspired, with a full heart! I was also grateful to meet Frit Tam, co-director of the festival and an all-round brilliant person with a galvanising excitement and enthusiasm.

I also feel proud of our own tour, and it was brilliant to see the crossover and connection with another grassroots festival. We are currently in the middle of our 2026 SOAFT tour, having sold out 9 of 10 shows, reaching 1,228 people, with a further 16 screenings to go.

Attending ShAFF, I have come away full of inspiration and excitement to programme our 2027 tour (I know, I know, focus on your current tour!) and can’t wait to formalise some of what we’ve learnt.

Images by Callum Howard