Sudbury Indie Cinema, along with our founding partner Laurentian’s Outdoor Adventure Leadership Programme, is delighted to announce the 5th edition of SOAR Film Fest running Thursday, November 13 to Sunday, November 16, at our venue in Uptown Sudbury. This annual celebration of outdoor wilderness adventure film is possible due to the stellar support of keen Northern Ontario wilderness-lovers, adventure filmmakers from around the world, patrons, generous sponsors and government partners.
SOAR Film Fest brings Northeastern Ontario the best and latest in adventure film and wilderness travel. We select from multiple award-winners from top-tier festivals to discoveries enjoying their festival premiere in Northern Ontario. From local to international- from paddling to mountaineering – freeriding to wildlife preservation – SOAR is where adventure takes flight.
Festival screenings will be hosted at Sudbury Indie Cinema, 162 Mackenzie Street, Sudbury. Free parking.
Download the full SOAR schedule HERE
Thursday, November 13 at 6:30 PM
Moderated by Beth Mairs
Arctic survivalist. Wilderness guide. Storyteller of the North. Step into the wild with Kielyn Marrone, celebrated finalist of the History Channel’s hit series Alone (Season 7), who survived an astonishing 80 days solo in the Arctic. A lifelong adventurer and co-founder of Lure of the North, Marrone has dedicated her life to teaching traditional living skills, leading remote expeditions, and inspiring others to reconnect with nature’s raw power. Living entirely off-grid near Espanola, she embodies resilience, ingenuity, and the beauty of a life lived close to the land.
This opening night conversation, moderated by filmmaker and adventurer Beth Mairs, founder of Wild Women Expeditions, offers an intimate window into the mindset of one of Canada’s most authentic modern explorers. Interspersed with stunning video clips from wilderness journeys, this event promises to ignite your sense of adventure and lead you into a powerful exploration of what it means to truly thrive in nature’s harshest environments.
Kielyn is a graduate of Laurentian’s Outdoor Adventure Leadership Programme, and Beth is a former adjunct professor in the programme.
by Jon Glassberg
Thursday, November 13 at 7:30 PM
2025, USA, Action/Sports/Women | 1 hr 22 min
Northern Ontario Premiere, followed by a filmmaker Q&A.
Sponsored by ARC Climbing
Professional climber Emily Harrington has summited Everest, 8000-meter peaks, and dominated the competition circuit but, her greatest challenge extends beyond the physical. To cement her legacy in the male dominated world of elite rock climbing, she sets her sights on a career-defining 24-hour ascent of Yosemite’s El Capitan. Caught between professional ambition and personal life decisions, a near-fatal fall forces Emily to reckon with what she’s willing to risk. Equal parts gripping survival story and intimate portrait, Girl Climber isn’t just about breaking records, it’s about breaking barriers. The doc also features climber Alex Honnold (FREE SOLO) who acts as her mentor and foil in equal parts. Amongst Yosemite’s legendary boy’s club, Emily isn’t proving she is the best “Girl” Climber– she’s proving she is one of the best.
Notre programme francophone présente trois histoires, par coïncidence, chacune dérivée de la mer, du ciel et de la terre. Dans le premier film, un profil d’une entreprise collecte des données scientifiques dans des environnements extrêmes. Ensuite, nous montons et descendons San Lorenzo, l’un des plus hauts sommets de Patagonie. Enfin, nous nous reposons sur la terre ferme et nous avançons rapidement dans la nature pour avoir un aperçu de la beauté et des défis de la photographie animalière.
Our francophone programme features three stories, coincidentally one each from sea, sky, and land. In the first a profile of a company collecting scientific data in extreme environments. Then we climb and fly down San Lorenzo, one of the tallest peaks in Patagonia. Finally, we rest on land and quickly wade into nature for a glimpse of the beauty and challenges of wildlife photography.
This film programme contains 3 films and will run 75 min:
by Alex Eggermont and Jaron Pham
Belgium/English, French | 24 mins
FR.
Something In The Water suit une expédition scientifique audacieuse au cœur de la fonte de la calotte glaciaire du Groenland. Alors qu’ils luttent contre les conditions météorologiques extrêmes, l’isolement et l’horloge du changement climatique, l’équipe recueille des données rares qui pourraient aider à prédire l’avenir de notre planète. Combinant l’aventure humaine brute avec la science de pointe, le film capture à la fois la fragilité et la résilience de notre planète, et les personnes qui travaillent pour la comprendre avant qu’il ne soit trop tard.
ENG.
Something in the Water follows a daring scientific expedition deep into the heart of Greenland’s melting ice sheet. As they battle extreme weather, isolation, and the clock of climate change, the team gathers rare data that may help predict the future of our planet. Combining raw human adventure with cutting-edge science, the film captures both the fragility and the resilience of our planet, and the people working to understand it before it’s too late.
by Muriel Van Den Bempt
France/French | 26 mins
Icare du Cinema: Prix de la Presse & Prix du Jury
FR.
Dans les montagnes reculées de la Patagonie, deux femmes se sont lancées dans une expédition bivouac d’escalade et de vol, portant non seulement des ailes, mais aussi des années de silence, de résilience et une rage silencieuse.
Ce n’est pas une quête de performance, mais une recherche de liberté.
ENG.
In the remote mountains of Patagonia, two women set out on a climb & fly bivouac expedition, carrying not only wings, but years of silence, resilience, and a quiet rage.
This is not a quest for performance, but a search for freedom.
by Michel d’Oultremont and Julien Coquel
Belgium/French | 25 mins
Icare du Cinema: Prix de la Presse & Prix du Jury
FR.
Michel d’Outremont, photographe animalier, explore les marais, forêts et campagne autour de sa maison. Chacun de ces milieux révèle son propre monde unique : l’étendue fragile des marais, où prospère une faune discrète et insaisissable ; les profondeurs des forêts, où l’ombre et le silence abritent une faune attentive ; et l’ouverture de la campagne, où la faune prend vie avec les saisons changeantes et la lumière.
ENG.
Michel d’Outremont, wildlife photographer, explores the marshes, forests and countryside around his home. Each of these environments reveals its own unique world: the fragile expanse of the marshes, where a discreet and elusive birdlife thrives; the depths of the forests, where shadow and silence shelter an attentive fauna; and the openness of the countryside, where wildlife comes to life with the changing seasons and light.
by Kasimir Burgess
2025, Australia, Adventure/Indigenous/Culture, 1 hr 41 min
2 nominations from Camden International Film Festival and Visions du Réels
In Mongolia’s frigid Tsakhir Valley, where horses symbolise survival, the ancient tradition of winter herding faces its greatest challenge. Young Batbold, 18, is thrust into the spotlight as he and his friend Tsaaganna are entrusted with safeguarding a herd of 3,000 horses during the deadliest winter on record. With the future of their community at stake, Batbold must confront his fears and insecurities while grappling with the weight of tradition.
par Guillaume Mazille
2025, France, Nature/Ecology/Climate Change | 1 hr 26 min. French with English Subtitles
In-Competition Feature/ EN COMPÉTITION 2025
Dans une rivière paradisiaque du sud de la France, un cinéaste globe-trotter, bloqué par la Covid, tourne un film poétique et introspectif sur la vie animale de sa région. Mais bientôt, une sécheresse met en péril la source de la rivière, menaçant l’existence même des animaux qu’il a appris à aimer. La formidable puissance de la vie triomphera-t-elle?…
In a rural paradise in Southern France, a world-travelled cinematographer stranded by COVID turns his camera and his heart towards the wildlife thriving in the river system beside his home. Extreme weather impacts dramatically threaten the eco-system he has grown to love and feel a part of.
What can a mountain provide us? This programme explores how these behemoths of rock, ice, and snow can be places of healing and community, as well as trauma. It is where we experience the highest highs and the lowest lows.
This film programme contains 3 films and will run 81 min:
by Taylor Ramljak
Canada/English | 41 mins
This film explores emotional trauma after incidents in adventure sports through interviews with industry professionals.
by Liam Abbott
United States/English | 21 mins
What began as a personal challenge became something deeper: a journey of healing, reflection, and rediscovery. From California to Antarctica, Argentina to Alaska, Miles Clark skied through pain, joy, exhaustion, and awe. He found that the mountains weren’t just his playground, they were his sanctuary. And this wasn’t the first time they had saved him… 300 is the story of a man who refused to let grief define him. It’s about chasing a dream, not for accolades, but for meaning. And it’s about how skiing, day after day, turn after turn, can stitch a broken heart back together.
by Trixie Pacis
Canada/English, Tagalog | 20 mins
In Filipino, “ahon” means to rise, emerge, or break through a surface. Ahon recounts the rise of the K8 Mountaineering Club of Alberta, a non-profit organization that helps Filipino Canadians reach new heights in the Canadian Rockies by providing access to education, equipment, and community.
The film showcases Filipino food, culture, games, and even backcountry karaoke before culminating with K8’s attempts to push their capabilities and summit Howse Peak, an iconic objective in Banff National Park. Using climbing into a metaphor for the hurdles immigrants must overcome, the film explores themes of identity, community, and Filipino representation in the outdoors.
by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady
2025, USA/Norway, Coming of Age | 1 hr 45 min. In English and Norwegian, with English Subtitles
Exhausted by loneliness, social anxiety, and all the crushing barrage of pressures felt by their generation, three teenagers leave the comforts of home to enroll in a traditional “folk high school” in the wilds of northernmost Norway. Dropped in the arctic wilderness for one year, Hege, Romain, and Bjørn Tore must rely only on themselves and a pack of loyal sled dogs as they take the daunting step from childhood to adulthood. Freed from technology, social media, and the noise of modern life, this brave trio learns to face themselves for the first time and experience an unexpected transformation. Through intimate verité storytelling and exhilarating cinematography, Filmmaking duo Ewing and Grady (JESUS CAMP) examine humans on the cusp of adulthood, finding themselves at the edge of the world.
by Matty Hannon
2024, Australia, Adventure/Travel | 1 hr 30 min.
5 wins/noms including Best Feature Documentary, Film Critics Circle
The Road to Patagonia is a stunning, intimate and unflinching series of love letters within a documentary – firstly, a love between two people, and secondly between humanity and the Earth. Ecologist Matty Hannon begins an incredible solo adventure, to surf the west coast of the Americas by motorbike, from the top of Alaska to the tip of Patagonia. But deep in the wilderness – alone with the wolves and the bears – the journeyer’s plans unexpectedly fall to pieces. After losing everything, and on the cusp of quitting he meets the girl of his dreams, a permaculture farmer named Heather. Shot over 16 years, the result is an adventurous exposé on the more-than-human-world, offering a physical and spiritual odyssey to better understand our place in nature.
This programme features 2 films with a total running time of 94 min.
by Kim Logan
2025, Canada, Mountain Biking/Disability | 27 min.
After a life-altering accident shatters his world, elite athlete Matt Hadley faces the ultimate test of resilience. With his career and identity on the line, he embarks on an extraordinary journey to rebuild his life as an amputee and continue chasing adventure against all odds
2024, USA, Mountain Biking | 67 min.
Anytime follows the collective ambitions of sixteen of the world’s best male and female freeride mountain bikers across forests, deserts, cities and high-alpine peaks, as they attempt to redefine the frontiers of their sport.
Featuring: Patricia Druwen, Lucy Van Eesteren, Vinny Armstrong, Harriet Burbidge-Smith, Brage Vestavik, Kade Edwards, Brett Rheeder, Jackson Goldstone, Thomas Genon, Hannah Bergemann, Robin Goomes, Vaea Verbeeck, Cami Nogueira, Emil Johansson, Carson Storch, and Casey Brown.
Creativity, passion, curiosity, what drives us out into the wild? These seven shorts dig into disparate worlds like falconry, canoe building, cancer research, even Bigfoot hunting, to understand our desire for adventure and challenge.
This film programme contains 7 films and will run 83 min:
by Emily Lecky, Amelia Poole and Jess Iles
Australia/English | 8 mins
Emily Lecky, Amelia Poole and Jessica Iles, recipients of The North Face Adventure Grant 2023, explore the banks of the Murchison River and work with the landscape to co-create vertical dance. In this unique artform, the rock becomes not just a canvas for the art, but an active participant in the dance.
by Heimir fReyr Hlöðversson and Petur Thor Ragnarsson
United States/English | 14 mins
A team of 15 multiple myeloma survivors, care partners, and world-renowned physicians, embarks on the Iceland Cycling Expedition (ICE).
by Bob Dolgan
United States/English | 20 mins
A portrait exploring the enduring craft of wood canvas canoe building, and the quiet philosophy it inspires. The Shape of Cedar is both a celebration of craftsmanship, and a guide to a more intentional way of moving through the world.
by Miles Gordon
Canada/English | 9 mins
The Magic Stump tells the story of an Illinois tree stump that’s attracted a phenomenal variety of wintering raptors through the years, including two rare Prairie Falcons.
by Ryan Ward
Canada/English | 6 mins
As grassland bird populations continue to decline, one conservationist’s act of devotion represents hope in a world where natural habitats are disappearing every day.
by Jared Carney
Canada/English | 12 mins
The New Brunswick Bigfoot Organization gathers for a group expedition into the deep New Brunswick wilderness to explore a hotspot of sightings and strange happenings. They share their stories, theories, and beliefs.
by Liz McGregor
United States/English, Spanish | 15mins
While working as a raft guide in southern Chile, Alex found his love of fly fishing by way of whitewater, and simultaneously deepened his appreciation and understanding of all the spaces-and species-that a river holds.
Travel down the scenic roads and rivers Canada has to offer in the programme. See a simple weekend trip turn grueling trek, a canoe voyage in the sub-arctic, and a portrait of an Indigenous landscape Artist.
This film programme contains 3 films and will run 93 min:
by Isaac Oxley
Canada/English | 22 mins
This east coast bike-packing documentary tells the story of two Saint John cyclists, Cody Cooper and Ethan Crowley, as they attempt to bike over 700km around the Bay of Fundy.
by Miles Gordon
Canada/English | 27 mins
Navigating the wilderness of subarctic Quebec, a motley crew discovers an ineffable force.
by Matt Steeves
Canada/English | 15 mins
Two decades after the expedition that launched his art career, Indigenous artist Alfred Villeneuve returns by canoe to paint on his ancestral land, where nature is both subject and guide.
by Sonam Choekyi Lama, Ben Ayers, and Andrew Lynch
Sunday, November 16 at 4:30 PM | Northern Ontario Premiere
2025, Nepal, Wildlife Conservation/Women’s Issues/Indigenous | 95 min.
In Nepal’s remote Dolpo region, two Indigenous women form an unlikely friendship to save one of the planet’s most mysterious and vulnerable wild cats: the snow leopard. Tshiring Lahmu Lama is a snow leopard conservationist living in a remote region of Nepal, fighting to save the endangered cats from retaliatory killings by local villagers.Snow Leopard Sisters follows Tshiring’s story as she mentors 17-year-old Tenzin Bhuti Gurung, a young woman caught between an arranged marriage and her passion for education and wildlife conservation.
Snow Leopard Sisters is both a nature documentary capturing the harsh beauty of the Himalayas and an inspiring story of Indigenous women’s voices in wildlife conservation, working to secure the future of the snow leopards.
We need a logo!! Our festival has rebranded from “Sudbury Outdoor Adventure Reels” to simply “SOAR film festival”. We are looking for a design that captures the outdoor and wilderness aspects of our event. The logo should look unique amongst the other Indie-associated logos, which can be found HERE.
We will choose one winning submission which will be the festival’s logo going forward into future years. All assets created by chosen submission will be property of Sudbury Indie Cinema until the design is no longer used. Attribution for the logo will be featured on the festival webpage. The winning artist will receive a prize of $300, a pass to the festival, and lifetime membership at Sudbury Indie Cinema. The winning entry will be selected ahead of and announced at the festival.
Colour:
– Green must be the primary colour in the design. Feel free to experiment with the shades of green as well as add them as a secondary or tertiary colour to the scheme.
– Text: ‘SOAR’ & ‘Film Festival
– NO GENERATIVE AI in whole or part of the design
Specs:
– Format: JPEG or PNG | Transparent background
– Resolution: At least 300 dpi
– Size: Mini: 500×500 px & Max: 2000×2000 px | Max: 10mb
– Please include: A simple PDF format visual guide for the logo. (for example, logo usages
on different backgrounds, primary and secondary color, typography, etc.)
85 Ste Anne Rd, Sudbury (8 minute walk)
$119night + tax
117 Elm St, Sudbury (10 minute walk)
$119night + tax
Call to Book:
(705) 674-7517