Light and action: (left to right) Stills from Glacier Paradise, Thumbnail and Pororoca

Jon Muir may be no Sven Hedin, but he fares no less well. An accomplished mountaineer and explorer ?he?s made it to the Everest summit and set foot on uncharted grounds in the Arctic ? Muir was suddenly taken by the urge to traverse mainland Australia on foot in 2001. He promptly hit the road, starting at Port Augusta in the south, with 2,500 km of the great outback and the elements ahead of him. What followed was a gruelling journey of 128 days for Muir, accompanied by none other than his dog Seraphine. Of course, Muir had his camera with him, and it rolled all the way.

The traveller ended the great crossing in the northern settlement of Burketown in the Gulf of Carpentria. Later, aided by Ian Darling, he decided to make a documentary film from all the footage he had acquired during his trip. Alone Across Australia, produced by Shark Island Films, is now showing at a theatre near you.

The 16th International Adventure Film Festival, organised by Giridoot, a Chandernagore-based adventure sports-lovers? forum, begins at Gorky Sadan today. Fourteen films from various countries ? selected from a total of 78 entries ? are scheduled to be shown over two days and will be screened from 3.30 pm to 6.30 pm.

For those who think the festival is nothing more than sights and sounds from different lands, sample these. In Search of the Giant Squid, by Fernando Gonzalez of Spain, is a first-time attempt to film the evasive creature lurking in its natural habitat deep in the recesses of ocean trenches. Mustang Winds by Josep McCanyameras is a journey along the famed Silk Route into the ancient kingdom of Lo Manthang (or Mustang), nestled high on the Tibetan plateau. The film documents this medieval empire ? ruled by a feudal administration and beyond modern amenities such as electricity ? in all its barren beauty. Pororoca (Great Roaring Noise) by Bill Heath of Germany captures the bizarre journey of three surfers into the heart of the Amazon, in order to ride the biggest and longest inland tidal wave in the world.

No ordinary stuff, this. And festival director Kalyan Chakrabortty says the films could be the right inspiration for tamer city-dwellers to develop a taste for adventure. They are also educative, he adds, and aspirants can glean valuable pieces of information regarding expeditions from them. Several films being shown in the festival have evolved through time, says Chakrabortty. ?There were no scripts, or planning in advance. They just materialised during expeditions. If Indians took the cue from them and began filming their own expeditions in a technically sound way, we could have such wonderful films to show off too.?

It?s not that the festival hasn?t seen any Indian entries in the past. ?But most entries have been from the Indian Army or the Border Security Force. We are yet to receive civilian entries. It seems Indians lack the daring attitude required to come up with such productions,? he says. Incidentally, all of this year?s entries are from abroad.

After the screenings in Calcutta, the festival is scheduled to move on to Delhi, Manali, Jammu, Mumbai and places in Rajasthan and Tripura. A village tour spanning 20 gram panchayats, and institutional shows in 15 schools and colleges are also on the cards. ?This is the only festival that gives rural India a chance to see the world at large,? says Chakrabortty.

Despite a financial crunch ? all the expenses are borne by Giridoot itself ? a cash prize of $150 and a memento are given to all the filmmakers whose films make it to this non-profit festival. It isn?t much of a reward for all the labour, though, but Chakra- bortty says ?it?s the honour of attending the festival that matters more?.

So if you?ve survived a hectic week and are game for more action over the weekend, here?s your chance to get it. If you wish to avail of passes (there are no tickets) to the show, drop in at 152, S.P. Mukherjee Road or call 98313 30846. And if you?re justifying your laziness by saying it?s nothing more than what they show 24x7 on Discovery, you don?t deserve to go!