Best Of E.O.F.T. No. 8

The best films of the European Outdoor Film Tour 11/12.

Velorama

Documentary looking at a century of cycling. Commissioned to mark the arrival of the 2014 Tour de France in Yorkshire, the film makes full use of stunning British Film Institute footage to transport the audience on a journey from the invention of the modern bike, through the rise of recreational cycling, to gruelling competitive races. Award-winning director Daisy Asquith artfully combines the richly-diverse archive with a hypnotic soundtrack from cult composer Bill Nelson in a joyful, absorbing watch for both cycling and archive fans.

Not Bad

This is a tale of epic adventure. A tale of seven brave riders who set out from the four corners of the globe to gather together under one roof in a town located at the ends of the earth. A tale with no beginning and no end but where a few things happen inbetween. Things like eel fights. Yeah that’s right…f’n eel fights. So watch this movie. Why? Because its ‘Not Bad…30 days of bicycle tomfoolery in New Zealand’.

Stop at Nothing: The Lance Armstrong Story

A portrait of the man behind the greatest fraud in sporting history. Lance Armstrong enriched himself by cheating his fans, his sport and the truth. But the former friends whose lives and careers he destroyed would finally bring him down.

Won't Back Down

From his humble beginnings in his hometown of Sheffield, England, Steve Peat has established himself as one of the worlds most iconic cyclists. Peaty has been competing at the top level in his chosen sport of downhill mountain bike racing for the past 23 years, longer than the lifetime of many of his current competitors. Through 20 years of archival footage and photos and intimate interviews with Steve, his family, close friends and competitors, Won’t Back Down takes viewers on a captivating tour of the history of the sport of downhill mountain bike racing and offers a never-before-seen view into the life and legacy of this enduring icon.

Blood Road

Blood Road follows the journey of ultra-endurance mountain bike athlete Rebecca Rusch and her Vietnamese riding partner, Huyen Nguyen, as they pedal 1,200 miles along the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail through the dense jungles of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Their goal: to reach the site where Rebecca’s father, a U.S. Air Force pilot, was shot down in Laos more than 40 years earlier.

Hugo Koblet - The Charming Cyclist

Zurich-born Hugo Koblet was the first international cycling star of the post-war period. He was a stylist on the bicycle and in life, and a huge heartthrob. Koblet had a meteoric rise and won the Giro d'Italia in 1950. Once he had reached the zenith of his career, Koblet was put under pressure by overly ambitious officials and ended up ruining his health with drugs. In 1954, he married a well-known model and they became a celebrity dream couple. After his athletic career ended, Koblet began to lose his footing. Threatened by bankruptcy, he crashed his Alfa into a tree.

Go Further

"Go Further" explores the idea that the single individual is the key to large-scale transformational change. The film follows actor Woody Harrelson as he takes a small group of friends on a bio-fueled bus-ride down the Pacific Coast Highway. Their goal? To show the people they encounter that there are viable alternatives.

Bikes vs Cars

Bikes vs Cars depicts a global crisis that we all deep down know we need to talk about: Climate, earth's resources, cities where the entire surface is consumed by the car. An ever-growing, dirty, noisy traffic chaos. The bike is a great tool for change, but the powerful interests who gain from the private car invest billions each year on lobbying and advertising to protect their business. In the film we meet activists and thinkers who are fighting for better cities, who refuse to stop riding despite the increasing number killed in traffic.

Follow Me

Deep in the coast mountains of BC, a small crew of filmmakers has spent the last eleven months huddled together, planning, scheming and brain-storming to come up with a concept for a new company and mountain bike film. The hard work has paid off and Anthill Films is stoked to announce the release of their premier film FOLLOW ME...

A Sunday in Hell

A chronology of the 1976 Paris-Roubaix bicycle race from the perspective of participants, organizers and spectators.

Lance

A personal examination of the rise and fall of Lance Armstrong.

Look at Life: Scrambling for It

A brief look at scrambling, bikes and cars in the United Kingdom in the 1960s.

The Unrideables

The 1980s were a high point of factory involvement in Grand Prix motorcycle racing. Suzuki, Honda and Yamaha battled for technological dominance in the high-powered world of 500cc two-stroke racers - and to ride these beasts they employed the very best riders in the world. The likes of Rainey, Schwantz, Lawson and Mamola struggled to tame the raw power and brutal handling of bikes built without constraints and without any of the modern rider aids which make today's MotoGP four-stroke machines seem bland in comparison. The riders might have been paid handsomely for their efforts but, as this film shows, they paid a heavy price for their fame and stardom. With loads of great action shots from the archives and revealing, frank interviews with many of the top riders this incredible documentary looks at the men who had to ride the unrideables.

The Unrideables 2

The eagerly awaited follow-up to the hugely popular Unrideables profiling the amazing career of Wayne Rainey. Doohan, Lawson, Mamola, Schwantz and Gardner made their marks on racing but even amongst these giants of the sport Rainey stood proud. Week-in-week-out, the riders engaged in high pressure wheel-to-wheel battles at some of the most iconic race circuits across the globe. Rewards for success were huge but the price to be paid for getting things wrong was severe – Schwantz broke both wrists, Doohan shattered his leg and Wayne Rainey, who tasted success more than most, now has to use a wheelchair following a horrific crash at Misano. This is the story of Rainey's adrenaline fuelled career with input from friends, rivals, managers, journalists and the man himself.

The Search for Freedom

THE SEARCH FOR FREEDOM is the story of a cultural revolution fueled by the human desire to live in the moment and do what makes you feel the most alive. We discover how an electrifying new world came about through pure energy and imagination and the infinite possibilities of self-expression available to anyone willing to drop in. This documentary, written and directed by Jon Long (IMAX® Extreme), is a visceral, visual experience told through the eyes some of the brightest pioneers, legends, visionaries and champions of surfing, snowboarding, skiing, skateboarding, mountain biking and more.

Inspired to Ride

On June 7, 2014, forty-five cyclists from around the world set out on the inaugural Trans Am Bike Race, following the famed TransAmerica Trail. Their mission is to cover 4,233 miles in one enormous stage race, traversing through ten states in a transcontinental adventure of epic proportions. Inspired To Ride follows closely the journey of a handful of these cyclists as they prepare, compete and experience what riding 300 miles a day feels like with only a few hours sleep. They will rely solely on their fitness, meticulously chosen gear and mental fortitude to get them to the finish. And to make it even more interesting, they’ll be self-supported – no crew, no follow vehicles and no prize money waiting at the end.

Enter the Slipstream

Follows the Education First (EF) Cycling Team as they navigate a turbulent 2020 season through the Tour de France, telling the individual stories of the riders, from Colombian star Rigo Urán to rising up-and-comers and veteran teammates.

unReal

unReal is for those of us who escape. A film that celebrates breaking free from the confines of reality and venturing into a boundless world. This place isn’t remote or hard to find, and yet many never see it. Here, glacial walls transform into mountain bike trails, rain and snow aren't the only elements to fall from the sky and thousand pound mammals become riding partners. Breathtaking visuals conjure feelings of awe and pure joy; feelings that only those of us who venture outside can truly understand. This film is dedicated to you — the dreamers, the rule-breakers, the ones who never grow up, the ones who know the secret — the ones who know the way into the unReal world.

Dictionnaire amoureux du Tour de France