2015 ICF World Championships Slalom
 
1
2
3
K1M
CZ J. PRSKAVEC
PL M. POLACZYK
US M. SMOLEN
K1W
CZ K. KUDEJOVA
DE R. FUNK
DE M. PFEIFER
C1M
GB D. FLORENCE
SI B. SAVSEK
GB R. WESTLEY
C1W
AU J. FOX
CZ K. HOSKOVA
ES N. VILARRUBLA
C2
DE ANTON/BENZIEN
FR PICCO/BISO
FR KLAUSS/PECHE

Touring & Expedition

Congo: The Grand Inga Project (2012)

Sportscene kicks back and enjoys extreme paddler Steve Fisher's latest film.

Genre: Documentary, Adventure, Travel, Action
Running Time: 80mins
Cast: Tyler Bradt, Steve Fisher, Ben Marr, Rush Sturges
Directed by: Steve Fisher
Written by: Mark Anders

Review by: Nick Harding | @nickhdg | Sportscene - London

Plot
Steve and a trio of the bravest elite white water paddlers undertake an expedition to become the first to successfully navigate the Inga Rapids, considered the sacred heart of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the most perilous descent in Africa, if not the world.

Review
Hooked from beginning to end, this docu-venture film is a masterpiece showing how far canoe cinematography has come over the last few years. Narrated by Steve himself, the essence of this film is its 'down-to-Earthness', it is not trying to be fast-edited, guns-blazing, testosterone-fuelled middle finger at the world. It rather is a humble, nostalgic account of an incredible achievement that pays homage to those traders who tried before them as well as celebrating the lives of the members of the 1985 French expedition who vanished inexplicably mid-decent.

congo river inga extreme whitewater film review adventure canoe kayak expedition africa 2012 steve fisher ben marr rush sturges tyler bradt red bull icf sportscene tribe  The everyday sofa-canoeist can easily follow each descent grasping the scale and severity of the obstacles they face. Aerial helicopter shots, bank-side panoramic wides and animated location maps really give a clear spatial and situational awareness. A nice touch; a football field-sized square is placed over the Inga Rapids on the map bringing its sheer size home.

Often in such films, the planning stages of the expedition can be too prolonged to build tension. Yet Fisher genuinely captures the level of detail that went into this exploration with real dexterity without tiring the audience; equipment, logistics, visas, safety and so on. 

Characteristic to Steve's previous film The Halo Effect, he also focuses on the 'halos' (unforeseen problems encountered) in Congo which complement the action sequences well; the lengths it took to get the helicopter into the country from Kenya, the lifevests not inflating during their test run, last minute negotiations with local officials to get permission to paddle that could have jeopardised the whole mission and unexpectedly when Evan Garcia got injured on a practice run in Uganda ending his chance to accompany the others.

Congo does not shy away from more traumatising content either; the graphic image of Evan's foot-hole and when Steve's core is swallowed by the first whirlpool we see, he is held beneath washing machine torrents as he gasps for air. The underwater camera-shots exhibit this horrifying experience that shook him and indeed the team up. Saving himself, he ends up swimming in hellish conditions before being towed to safety.

The action sequences themselves; undeniably mesmerising capturing the ferocity of 1.6 million cubic feet of water per second. The audience is the fifth man in the expedition, never have I seen an extreme sports film where the audience feels so involved with the action. You share the immediacy of each stage of the descent with Steve and his entourage, you are placed right in the midst of the action; eavesdropping to conversations, helmet cameras, stern-mounted rigs, and fish-eye lenses.

The only element that appeared absent; common place to many extreme sports films are moments of brotherly 'love' and hugs with wives before individuals potentially set out to their deaths, Steve does give a provoking last-day speech addressing jinxes though. Perhaps this was deliberate as it did not suit the tone of optimism running through the whole documentary.

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Verdict
The image of bankside Steve stood composed, onlooking at one of the largest river waves ever seen is metaphoric for an incredible achievement, breaking frontiers of unpaddled territory.  Congo: The Grand Inga Project is a proud, honest film with a beautiful score (moments of violin dubstep!) and many action scenes of high-geared, edge-of-your-seat, performance paddling. Thanks to some spell-binding technology, the clarity of the natural environment shot is breath-taking. Website: www.ingaproject.com

 

Rating

congo river inga extreme whitewater film review adventure canoe kayak expedition africa 2012 steve fisher ben marr rush sturges tyler bradt red bull icf sportscene tribe

 

NEXT - Interview with Steve Fisher about Congo, is there anything he would have done differently, any other projects or challenges in the pipeline and... Stay tuned!