5 Races 5 Continents

Directed by: Dean Leslie, 2011, South Africa, 26 minutes
Showing: Thursday February 16th 2012 - Trail Running
Location: Pacific Cinemateque
Tickets $18 online / $20 doors   Buy Tickets Here

5 Races, 5 Continents follows Kilian Jornet and a team of trail runners through the 2011 running season. Arguably the best trail runner in the world, Kilian provides unique insight into why he runs and how he is able to compete at such a high level as he takes on some of the world's most demanding races.

At the beginning of the 2011 trail running season Kilian set out to win five races on five continents.  The lengths varied in distance, climate and altitude - from a 100 miles in the scorching heat of the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the vertical accent of South East Asia's highest mountain in Malaysian Borneo, Mount Kinabalu.

Through his experience over the year, the pressures of high-end competition, sponsorship and media demands, and his unprecedented performance and success; The story was not about what he achieved, but rather what he has learnt from the experience. The film immerses itself into trail communities around the world as Kilian tries to understand the desire he has for mountains and running.

Through his continued success he is forced to question his motives for running competitively. He returns to his roots and his love for the simplicity of being in the mountains and the game that is competition.

5 Races, 5 Continents is an ode to the beautiful sport of trail running, a sport that is inherently good, simple and pure

Director bio:

Dean Leslie is young South African Filmmaker and Co-Owner of Cape Town based independent film production company, The African Attachment. He has experience on a wide range of local and international productions and has worked as a producer, director, cinematographer, photographer and editor. 

He was the cinematographer for ‘Interviews Unit’ in the Academy Award nominated feature film, ’District 9’. He edited the International short film, ‘Pumzi’, for Focus Features (USA) and Inspired Minority Pictures, which was won Best International Short at Cannes Independent Film Festival and was a favourite at the 2010 Sundance International Film Festival.

He produced, directed and edited the critically acclaimed South African documentary,’12 Mile Stone’, alongside Greg Fell, and has directed a string of music videos for some of South Africa’s top bands including  Die Heuwels Fantasties, The Parlotones, The Dirty Skirts, aKING and Ashtray Electric. 

He is currently in post-production on his debut documentary feature film 'Wandering Fever', a film that has seen him shoot on all 7 Continents over 4 years  as he explores the idea of why we run through the story of South African elite ultra runner Ryan Sandes. 

Dean  has a distinctive visual style and his projects have a strong narrative element layered with underlying themes and tones. His work has been widely praised for its cinematography, style and underlying mood – all testaments to Dean’s continued growth and progress as a Director.