Burnley-born filmmaker bringing renowned mountaineering film tour to Mechanics Theatre
Award-winning filmmaker Alastair Lee presents an evening of four films capturing the action and stunning locations of some of the most breathtaking climbs on the planet.
A Burnley-born filmmaker is bringing his acclaimed BritRock Film Tour to his hometown for the first time ever later this month.
Alastair Lee, an award-winning mountaineering film producer, will present an evening of four films capturing the action, wild character and stunning locations of some of the most breathtaking climbs on the planet, at the Burnley Mechanics Theatre.
Alastair, who grew up above his family’s bakery business in Brierfield, founded the BritRock Film Tour, billed as the biggest outdoor film tour in the UK, 12 years ago as an annual showcase of each year’s best climbing and adventure films.
This year’s 80-date international tour is no exception and includes two of Alastair’s films, Journey to the End of the Ego – described as some of his best ever work. It features livewire climber Franco Cookson, who gave up his job to conquer one of Scotland’s most remote mountains, Ben Loyal, in an extraordinary display of obsession and determination.
The other is Dreamrime, a stunning 20-minute study of four climbers encountering the unique rime and mushroom formations only found in the Cerro Torre towers in Patagonia.
“I’m really excited about bringing the tour to Burnley,” says Alastair. “The Mechanics is a cracking venue, and I don’t know why I haven’t thought about bringing the tour to Burnley before. It’s what we call a gala screening, where we have a Q and A with the audience, so it’s going to be very special for me.”
Alastair was first introduced to rock climbing when he was working at the Thompson Centre in Burnley.
“As soon as I tried rock climbing, I fell in love with it,” adds Alastair. “It not only became a passion but a career as I travelled the world capturing the spirit and atmosphere of some of the planet’s most stunning landscapes in rock-climbing films and mountain photography.”
This year’s tour also features the story of Olympian Molly Thompson-Smith and climbing legend Steve McClure as they attempt an extraordinary route inside Britain's deepest open cave shaft in a film called Inside the Mountain.
And completing the line-up is Beyond, in which people living with and beyond cancer discover strength, connection, and a new sense of possibility through climbing.
The BritRock Film Tour is coming to Burnley Mechanics on Wednesday, November 25. For ticket information visit the theatre’s website.