Travailen set for North American Premiere “In a day and age where we’re constantly bombarded with imagery and words about people who rarely seem to fail or be at least scared shitless about some of the stuff they are doing, it’s refreshing and honest to have a man look at the camera and say, “If things went wrong, I didn’t think I was capable of looking after myself.” – Meghan Hicks irunfar FOR RELEASE TUESDAY OCTOBER 28 2014 CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA “Running across the Drakensberg Mountains earlier this year with Ryno Griesel was the biggest challenge I have ever faced, but at the same time made me feel so alive” – Ryan Sandes Leading independent production company The African Attachment travel to Alberta Canada this week to attend one of the world’s most prestigious mountain festivals – The Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival - with their documentary “Travailen”. Returning to the competition in the small mountain town for the second time in a row, Film Director Dean Leslie says of Banff, “After the wonderful response we received at the World Premiere of Travailen in Cape Town earlier this year, I am excited and humbled to be able present the film at Banff. Banff is the most renowned gathering of adventure filmmakers, and it is exhilarating to be a part of such an inspiring community of people”. “Travailen” follows the story of Ryan Sandes and Ryno Griesel’s 2014 attempt of the Drakensberg Grand Traverse (DGT) – a 200km+ self-supporting, self-navigating, unmarked route that summits some of the highest African peaks south of Kilimanjaro. Following the 6 months of preparation and the attempt itself; the film showcases the remote and beautiful Drakensberg Mountains of Southern Africa, paying homage to our irrational curiosity and our innate desire to explore and discover. It is a return to adventure in its most authentic form. The project started over a year ago when Ryan approached childhood friend Dean Leslie from The African Attachment to chat about a possible attempt of the infamous Drakensberg Grand Traverse. Just like all intrepid feats previously pitched by Ryan, it did not take long to convince Dean; and with the complete support of Red Bull Media House the audacious attempt of documenting this gruelling challenge became a reality. Ryan says, “To have our experience and adventure documented by a really good friend was a dream come true. Dean is a world class film maker, who pours his heart and soul into any project he works on”. The filming kicked off with The African Attachment sending Cinematographer Kelvin Trautman to the Drakensberg with Ryan, Ryno and Cobus van Zyl (Current record Holder of the DGT alongside Ryno Griesel) on their first recce of the route, and the true challenges of the undertaking become apparent straight away. “This trip made me realise that we were going to have our work cut out putting into perspective the sheer enormity and emptiness of the landscape whilst also doing justice to the athletic prowess and mental solidarity needed to break the record. It was a creative challenge that didnt fail to disappoint and one I revelled being a part of”, says Kelvin. After the recce, pre-production and planning escalated to a whole new level and would ultimately last 6 months. As Producer Hannah Slezacek puts it - “The remote nature of the Drakensberg Escarpment literally meant the only option was flying constantly between Lesotho and South Africa and that ultimately meant there had to be a contingency plan for the contingency plan”. The team then made two trips out from Cape Town to Kwa-Zulu Natal in early 2014. One further Recce and a preliminary shoot for 1 week and then 2 weeks of Principle Photography as well as a weather window for the attempt itself. “Adventures like this are often overly romanticised on screen and on paper but the reality of it, of the attempt, specifically for Ryan and Ryno was very different. The only certainty was struggle. I wanted to try and play with this, juxtaposing these two “realities” against each other. To be part of something like this and to have the privilege of documenting adventures and pursuits in wild places is incredibly rewarding. I hope films like this inspire people to get out there and experience, as well as preserve, the wild lands and spaces that we have left.” – Dean Leslie “Travailen” premiers this week at the 39th BANFF Mountain Film Festival. The BANFF Mountain Film festival International Tour comes to Cape Town from 24 – 31st October 2014. For more info on BANFF go to banffcentre.ca. You can see the trailer for “Travailen” here: https://youtube/watch?v=ZyIQHgDRTcg
Posted on: Wed, 29 Oct 2014 07:37:20 +0000
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