15 Films for adventure lovers
We’ve put together a list of some of our favourite outdoorsey films. If you are looking for a live event where you can watch the best adventure films in a theatre setting, check out the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour which happens all over the UK every year.
01. Free Solo
1hr 40Mins / Climbing / Watch on Disney+
A stunning, intimate and unflinching portrait of free solo climber Alex Honnold, as he prepares to achieve his lifelong dream:scaling the face of the world’s most famous rock — the 3,200-foot El Capitan in Yosemite National Park — without a rope.
A riveting chapter in the life of world-class athlete Diana Nyad. Three decades after giving up marathon swimming in exchange for a prominent career as a sports journalist, at the age of 60, Diana becomes obsessed with completing an epic swim that always eluded her: the 110 mile trek from Cuba to Florida, often referred to as the "Mount Everest" of swims. Determined to become the first person to finish the swim without a shark cage, Diana goes on a thrilling, four-year journey with her best friend and coach Bonnie Stoll and a dedicated sailing team.
03. The Dawn Wall
Climbing / Watch on Prime Video
In an unbelievable story of perseverance, free climber Tommy Caldwell and climbing partner Kevin Jorgeson attempt to scale the impossible 3000ft Dawn Wall of El Capitan.
Fearless alpine climbers Ueli Steck and Dani Arnold enter into a death-defying rivalry to set speed records on the Swiss Alps' great north faces.
Filmed in 2014, this riveting documentary tells the lesser-known story of Himalayan guides who risk everything to support climbers on Mount Everest.
06. The Merthyr Mermaid
30Mins / Swimming / Watch on iPlayer
The story of Cath Pendleton from Merthyr in south Wales. At the age of 47, she has decided to attempt to swim a mile in the icy waters of Antarctica. A health worker with no real money or support team behind her, her training regime involves sitting in a chest freezer in the garden shed.
Fearless Nepali mountaineer Nirmal Purja embarks on a seemingly impossible quest to summit all 14 of the world's 8,000-meter peaks in seven months.
From war-torn Syria to the 2016 Rio Olympics, two young sisters embark on a harrowing journey as refugees, putting both their hearts and champion swimming skills to heroic use.
Sisters Yusra and Sarah Mardini fled their home country of Syria in 2015 when their house was destroyed during the civil war. They journeyed to Lebanon and then onto Turkey where they arranged to be smuggled into Greece on a dinghy. However, the refugees were in the middle of the Aegean Sea when the engine of the overcrowded dinghy cut out and the pair, plus two others who could swim, were responsible for saving the lives of those on board. Just a year after their harrowing experience Yusra competed in two swimming events at the Rio Olympics as part of the Refugee Olympic team.
Survivors' firsthand accounts and actual footage fuel this emotional docuseries about the deadly 2015 earthquake that shook Nepal.
A champion and expert safety diver seemed destined for one another. Despite different paths taken, they meet at the pinnacle of the free-diving world, experiencing the thrilling rewards and inescapable risks of chasing dreams through the depths of the ocean.
This story of resilience follows kayaker Scott Lindgren's quest to become the first person to paddle the four great rivers of Tibet's Mt. Kailash. Through his struggles, Lindgren learns the only way to achieve his goals is to open his heart.
12. My Octopus Teacher
Diving / Watch on Netflix
A filmmaker forges an unusual friendship with an octopus living in a South African kelp forest, learning as the animal shares the mysteries of her world.
13. Meru
1hr 27Mins / Climbing / Watch on Prime Video
In the high-stakes game of big-wall climbing, Mount Meru may be the ultimate prize. When Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin and Renan Ozturk attempted the 21,000 ft climb they suffered set back after set back. Beaten back when the summit is in sight, heartbroken and totally defeated, they face up to some extraordinary challenges that makes Meru a unique story of friendship, sacrifice, hope and obsession.
14. Danny MacAskill: The Ridge
8mins / Mountain Biking / Watch on Youtube
The Ridge is the brand new film from Danny Macaskill... For the first time in one of his films Danny climbs aboard a mountain bike and returns to his native home of the Isle of Skye in Scotland to take on a death-defying ride along the notorious Cuillin Ridgeline.
15. Sunshine Superman
1hr 39Mins / Base Jumping / Watch on Youtube
"Sunshine Superman" is an exhilarating, high-adrenaline documentary that explores what it feels like to defy gravity...and live. Delve into the history of BASE jumping - the extreme sport that dates back to the 1970s - and examine its inventor, engineer-filmmaker Carl Boenish. This stunning film celebrates a sport that captures the essence of life, the experience of freedom and allows mankind to overcome artificial limitations.
