Astral is proud to support the award-winning short film The Smoke That Thunders by Caleb Roberts.The film documents Benny Marr’s highest known descent of the Zambezi River’s Minus Rapids, which are located at the base of Mosi-oa-Tunya, also known as Victoria Falls. Running the Minus Rapids at the highest known water level is one thing. Accessing them is another. Filmmaker Caleb Roberts shares some insight into the making of the film.
ASTRAL // Incredible film! This is a pretty unique one. What inspired the style?
Caleb Roberts (CB) // I ended up taking tons of inspiration from alpine climbing films. Especially ‘Meru’. The film starts with the team in a portaledge, freezing in the middle of a winter storm. Though the climate is drastically different at the base of falls in the Minus Rapids, the never ended onslaught made every moment feel like an alpine expedition.
ASTRAL // Mosi-oa-Tunya, also known as Victoria Falls, is said to be one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. In the whitewater world, we’ve seen footage from the Minus Rapids for decades, but never at this high of water. What did that feel like?
CB // When I first started talking with Ben about filming in the Minus’s. He described the portage to the top as “armageddon”, turns out that was completely accurate. After the first day, all of our eyes were bloodshot from the never ending wind and mist. We then had many shooting days after that. It was by far one of the most amazing experiences I’ve ever had.
ASTRAL // The film exudes spirituality. How would you describe the spirit of one Nature’s most powerful places?
CB // It certainly is one of the most powerful places I’ve been. I am not sure how to describe its spirit, but for me… It brought me to a place of flow, similar to when I am actually paddling. It makes you fully present and focus on your movements and actions in there.
ASTRAL // As a filmmaker, that much wind and water looks like an absolute nightmare to film in. How did you protect your gear and keep the cameras steady?
CB // The filming was an exciting for sure. Both Dan and I had waterproof housings for our cameras, but because of the never ending misty wind. You could hardly see what was happening on your screen. We tried dive goggles which gave your eyes a break but it was the same, you couldn’t see out of them because of the water. I ended up using a shorty dry top where I would stick my camera out the neck hole and have my head inside it. It gave me enough separation that I was able to focus and actually see what my camera was capturing.
ASTRAL // The film’s done well on tour. What festivals has it been in and what awards has it won?
CB // I was pretty unsure how well it would be received by festivals. The choice to have no music or voiceover separated it from a classic festival film. I was fired up when it got accepted into the Banff Mountain Film Festival and blown away when they gave it an award for Creative Excellence. After that, it got accepted into a fair number of festivals and won Best Short Film at Sheffield Adventure Film Festival and Ladek Mountain Festival.
ASTRAL // One of the great parts of showing a film like this at a film festival are the connections you make with other filmmakers. Any experiences or people you met stick out?
CB // Attending film festivals makes you want to improve and create. There are so many different stories that are getting told and people are telling them in such amazing ways. Being surrounded by that atmosphere is just inspiring.