NZ Mountain Film & Book Festival announced Deep Rising as the winner of Best Film on the Environment. The film is directed by Matthieu Rytz (USA) and follows a mining start-up as it pursues permission to mine the Pacific Ocean floor. The film illuminates the vital relationship between the ocean and sustaining life on Earth.

This year’s film competition attracted a record 241 entries.

Festival director Mark Sedon said, “We’ve fitted more than ever into our programme, with 17 speakers and 64 films, including 14 world premieres and mostly New Zealand premiers.”

Sedon has also announced the Mountain Book of the Year winners.

Antarctic adventurer Colin Monteath has won the Nankervis/Bamford NZ Mountain Book of the Year with Erebus: The ice dragon. A portrait of an Antarctic volcano.

Monteath has spent 32 seasons in Antarctica, and made the first descent into the inner crater of Erebus. 

According to head judge Laura Williamson, his book is “a sprawling, multifaceted contemplation of a mountain that looms large in the national psyche of Aotearoa”. 

Wilderness contributor Victoria Bruce took out the Narrative Award for Adventures with Emilie: Taking on Te Araroa Trail in 138 life-changing days. Bruce walked the trail with her seven-year-old daughter. Her book is a personal account of complex post-traumatic stress disorder, and how outdoor challenges helped her forge a new life path.

“I hope that my book can inspire others to reconnect with their natural world as a source of healing and a place of peace, joy, and adventure,” Bruce said.

The Heritage Award went to Desmond Bovey for Tongariro National Park: An artist’s field guide. Prompted by a chance encounter with a kārearea, Bovey wrote and illustrated the book   as a way to reconnect with the landscapes of his youth.

Monteath and Bruce will be appearing at the festival, which runs in Wānaka from June 21–25 and in Queenstown from June 27–28. Films are also available to watch online. For passes and the programme, visit mountainfilm.nz

The 2024 finalists are:

Mountain & Adventure Narrative Award 

Everest Mountain Guide by Guy Cotter

A Fine Line by Graham Zimmerman

Adventures with Emilie by Victoria Bruce (Won the Narrative Award)

Mountain & Adventure Heritage Award 

Tongariro National Park: An artist’s field guide by Desmond Bovey

Erebus: The Ice Dragon by Colin MonteathTakahē by Alison Ballance  

Highly Commended

Finding Frank by Louise Maich

Unsinkable by Alan Corcoran