Big Bike Film Night rolls into Sunshine Coast cinemas

Cycling enthusiasts across the region will have the chance to see a curated selection of international short films when the Big Bike Film Night returns to the Sunshine Coast this month.

The touring festival, now in its 12th year, will screen a 2.5-hour programme of ten short films celebrating cycling "in all its glorious shapes and forms."

It began in Taupō, New Zealand, in 2015 and has since grown into a global film festival, with this year's line-up selected by New Zealand curator Brett Cotter. Locally, the programme will screen at BCC Cinemas Noosa on Monday 24 August at 6.30pm, at Nambour Cinemas on Tuesday 25 August at 7pm, and at Strand Cinema Caloundra on Wednesday 26 August, with sessions at 6pm and 7pm.

A highlight of this year's collection is the Australian premiere of Queen of the Mountain, which follows Tasmanian adventure activist Annie Ford as she attempts to break the 24-hour Guinness World Record for downhill mountain biking in Queenstown, New Zealand, in an effort to raise funds for reforesting the surrounding foothills.

Mr Cotter said the film captured both Ford's endurance and her environmental advocacy, showing "how using adventure as a tool can inspire others."

The wider programme spans locations including Norway, Rwanda, Canada's west coast and southern France, with films covering everything from a family father-and-son bike ride to an underdog story set on the slopes of Mont Ventoux.

Other entries include an attempt at a newly mapped 1,000km gravel loop across New Zealand's South Island, and a documentary following a rider adapting to life after a serious injury. Mr Cotter said storytelling remained at the centre of the festival's appeal.

"It's a real privilege connecting communities with stories that captivate us, that uplift us, and most importantly of all, inspire us to get out and ride," he said.

The Sunshine Coast leg forms part of the festival's wider Australian tour, which runs from 29 July to 24 October and will visit 41 locations for 50 screenings nationally.

• Tickets and further details are available at www.bigbikefilmnight.nz.