In its ninth year, the Big Bike Film Night will be celebrating cycling in all its glorious shapes and forms, returning to the Davis Lecture Theatre in Whanganui on Wednesday, February 22, with a programme proclaimed as “a feast of short films devised and designed for the two-wheel devotee”. With its humble beginnings back in 2015, the Big Bike Film Night is now a much-anticipated film festival that brings a love of cycling to cinemas, presenting an array of international and New Zealand movies specifically selected by Taupō based curator/“film pedlar” Brett Cotter.
“Each year I set out with just one goal — to bring together the best cycling short films from around the world for our audiences — celebrating the fun, the adventure, and inspiration that bikes enable,” says Mr Cotter. “Our stellar 2023 collection contains 10 mesmerising films that are as varied and diverse as you could hope for. This global programme contains a strong contingent of Kiwi films, including a world premiere, alongside an assortment of international films having their New Zealand premiere here as well.”
Return to Dillon Cone, set and shot in the rugged coastal Kaikōura ranges, will be making its world premiere at the festival, and is from talented Canterbury filmmakers Dylan Gerschwitz and Deane Parker. The film follows a team who have spent five years formulating a dream … an attempt to reach an unridden peak accessible only by river.
The expedition has only one option to get there, taking on the jagged gorges of the Clarence River (Waiau-toa awa) by packraft, and afterwards travelling by mountain bike, in their pursuit of summiting the steep shingle-laid slopes of the imposing Dillon Cone. “It’s adventure and above!” says Mr Cotter.
Also in the treasure chest of films is a visually commanding film set in postcard Tuscany following a 74-year-old bicicletta rider whose spirit personifies cycling; a delightful young Australian bikepacker shares lessons from her scenic trip to Hell; two schools offer insights into how they promote active transport within their school community; a tale of a rider with a searing thirst for adventure exploring interior Iceland; putting the “mountain” into mountain biking — the eyes of a Scottish highlander are opened to the healing power of the bicycle; an uplifting film that celebrates a humble volunteer whose community spirit is inspiring and so are the majestic winter views of the trail where he lives, in rural heartland Central Otago; a human-powered movie that follows a family that chooses to live life to the fullest in the face of adversity; and rounding out the night, find out what happens when you combine an ultra-distance 320km gravel race with parenting for 24 hours; all in the mix!