Win tickets: Big Bike Film Night’s celebration of cycling returns to Northland

A scene from Return to Dillon Cone, a movie shot in the rugged Kaikōura Ranges which will premiere at the Big Bike Film Night in Whangārei and Kerikeri next month. Photo / supplied

The power of the humble bicycle to inspire and uplift is the theme of a one-night film festival screening in Whangārei and Kerikeri next month.

The Big Bike Film Night, now in its ninth year, features 10 short films from New Zealand and around the world.

Curator Brett Cotter, of Taupō, said he set out each year to find the best short films that celebrated the fun, adventure and inspiration of cycling.

This year’s selection included the world premiere of Return to Dillon Cone, shot in the rugged Kaikōura Ranges by Canterbury filmmakers Dylan Gerschwitz and Deane Parker.

Their movie follows a team of avid mountainbikers pursuing their dream to reach an unridden peak — the catch is, the only way to get there is by river.

They eventually conquer the cone by taking their bikes by packraft down the wild Clarence River, then summiting its steep shingle slopes by bike.

Other films focus on a 74-year-old bicicletta rider in picture-postcard Tuscany whose spirit personifies cycling; a young Australian bikepacker sharing lessons from her scenic trip to Hell; two schools offering insights into how they promote active transport; a two-wheeled adventurer exploring Iceland’s interior; and a volunteer whose community spirit is as inspiring as the winter views of the trail where he lives in Central Otago.

“The power of storytelling is at the forefront of what we offer, and the belief that the humble bicycle can improve our health, inspire and uplift people with where it can take us,” Cotter said.

The Big Bike Film Night will screen at Forum North in Whangārei on Monday, May 1, from 7pm, and at Cathay Cinemas in Kerikeri on Tuesday, May 2, from 7.30pm. Go to www.bigbikefilmnight.nz for tickets or more information. Door sales available.

■ If you want to win a double pass to the Whangārei or Kerikeri screening, all you have to do is email baynews@northernadvocate.co.nz with your name, address and contact phone number by midday Friday, April 21. Don’t forget to tell us which screening you want to go to! By emailing to enter this competition, you agree to the NZME standard promotion or competition terms and conditions and NZME privacy policy, which you check out at www.nzme.co.nz/about-nzme/terms-conditions.

In Return to Dillon Cone, filmed in the rugged Kaikoura Ranges, a team of two-wheel adventurers conquer an unridden peak accessible only by packrafting down the Clarence River. Photo / supplied