Royal Geographical Society Summer Film Night of Exploration and Travel
The Royal Geographical Society hosted its first film night themed “exploration and travel”. A showing of 5 short films, all focused on a different part of the world and a different story.
Royal Geographical Society, or RGS, was founded in 1830 with the aim of advancing geographical science which is still at the heart of all they do today. Working with schools, professors, researchers and the public, they help educate people on the world around us. Hosted by the film director and photographer Matt Pycroft, this event was the first of its kind at RGS and showed six short films from all over the world. Each film showcased a new version of exploration and storytelling, a different angle but all with the important theme of sustainability and deep observation of your surroundings.
The Pine Hunters
by Ted Simpson.
The short film follows Jane and James, two ecologists who are on a journey to find the last of Highland’s ancient Caledonian Forests. The Scots pines are a direct descendent of the ancient forest and hold a great importance not only for the eco-system but also the culture. These pines have been growing in Scotland since the last ice age and are a refuge for the country's rarest wildlife, however just 84 individual trees have been officially recognised. The Wild Pine Project was created to track and document areas with the ancient pines, for the journey of restoration to begin.
TASBAQA
by Saxon Bosworth.
The Ustyurt Plateau located in Central Asia, is an ancient geological formation. Over 200,000km2, it has no permanent freshwater lakes nor rivers, and this arid area experiences both extreme summers and winters. With a range of -40C and +50C weather, it’s impossible to imagine any life persisting here, but it is home to many mammals, reptiles and birds. One of the residents is a Central Asian tortoise, hibernating for 10 months out of the year, it is an endemic and threatened species.
The short-film was created with the help of Tasbaqa Fund, the only environmental fund in Kazakhstan that is working hard to preserve the Central Asian tortoise. The species is in danger of becoming extinct, through poaching but also through getting stuck in ditches that have been dug out for farmlands. The film exhibits the desert landscapes and the resilience of the Central Asian tortoise.
To Know a Mountain
by Michelle Sanders and Emily Baker
The film follows the journey of nine women journeying in the footsteps of Nan Shepherd, a Scottish writer and poet. The author of The Living Mountain, Nan documented her experiences of walking through the Cairngorms. People often overlook the landscapes and their surroundings when hiking and walking, with their main goal being to get to the top as quickly as possible, however, in this film the point is to slow down, observe and become a part of their environment. A group of women from all walks of life, seemingly with nothing in common, come together to experience the journey of slowing down.
Photography by Ameena Rojee
This microexpedition inspired the group to start Following Nan Shepherd, and to bring more people together to explore and empower them to follow in the footsteps of Nan Shepherd.
Melting Giants
by Sebastian Copeland
Sebastian Copeland is an environmental advocate and fine-art photographer, known for his hauntingly beautiful imagery of the polar regions and icebergs. This short film follows his time in Qaanaaq, Greenland, his process of photography and the importance of acting against global warming to protect the region. "The biggest threat to climate change is this idea that it will be solved by someone else. We are all actors in this play, and change is collective — or not at all. As Marshall McLuhan used to say: 'there are no passengers on spaceship Earth; we are all crew'." Sebastian doesn’t just film and photograph polar regions for their beauty, but to evoke an emotion in the public to make a stand and help fight global warming.
A Mountain Movement
by Charlie Key.
Following a Kilimanjaro porter, Esther Ryoba, the film depicts a story of a woman defying tradition and her ambitions to support her family. Kilimanjaro is a bucket-list climb for many adventurers, working on the mountain is very sought after. With over 98% of porters and guides being male, Earth’s Edge is looking to change that. In September 2022, Earth’s Edge collaborated with Galz Gone Wild to run an all-female expedition to Kilimanjaro and promote women empowerment and employment in the country.
This expedition was Esther Ryoba’s second climb up the mountain, her goal was to save enough money to complete her course and become a guide. The expeditions group was able to raise money altogether and gift it to Esther to complete her course and now works as a guide.
During the event's ending speech by Matt Pycroft, his words opened my eyes and mind to what exploration is. Exploration doesn’t mean packing gear and catching a flight to a faraway land, just as The Pine Hunters shows, exploration can be on your doorstep. TASBAQA is an exploration of an animal's journey to survival; To Know A Mountain isn’t about climbing to the top of a mountain and high-fiving for reaching it in record time, it’s about stopping and literally smelling the flowers, to enjoy your surroundings. And yes, exploration can be about going to faraway places that not many have ventured to before, but it’s so much more than that. Exploration can and should be accessible, it’s what you make it to be.
I work in the travel industry and already love exploring, but this evening gave me a new appreciation for exploration through so many different lenses. Sometimes after a not-so-great day at work, you just need to meet a friend and go to an inspiring film night.