Skip to main content
The Art of Adventure film image; person talking to someone leaning out of a dusty bus window

The Art of Adventure

This event has passed

World Premiere

Between 1957 and 1958, Robert Bateman and Bristol Foster undertook the adventure of a lifetime — driving a Land Rover dubbed “the Grizzly Torque” 30,000 kilometres across Africa, India, Southeast Asia, and Australia. More than just an adrenaline-pumping adventure story of two young men crossing half the planet, The Art of Adventure maps out how Bateman and Foster’s trip inspired a love of nature that would last a lifetime. The film interweaves an account of their travels with a look their lives through the decades that followed: Bateman became a beloved Canadian wildlife painter and Foster a prominent biologist and the first director of BC’s Ecological Reserves program.

Through in-depth interviews with friends and family and the original 16mm film footage of their incredible journey, director Alison Reid shows how the trip expanded the pair’s knowledge of the physical world while deepening their spiritual and emotional connection to it. A heartwarming, inspirational love letter to the adventure of life itself.

 


The October 12 screening is a Relaxed Screening. Relaxed Screenings are open to anyone who could benefit from a more casual, supportive and laid-back experience. Learn More

 


 

Oct 5 & 7: Q&A

 

Presented by

Media Partner

Community Partner

    

Director
Credits
Country of Origin

Canada

Year

2025

Language

English

Film Contact
Content Warning

Nudity

PG

Open to youth

90 min
Art, Music & Photography Documentary

Book Tickets

This event has passed.

Credits & Director

Executive Producer

Anne Innis Dagg, Mary Dagg

Producer

Alison Reid

Cinematography

Dale Hildebrand

Editor

Dave Kazala

Original Music

Tom Third

Alison Reid headshot

Alison Reid

Alison Reid is an award-winning filmmaker with a passion for adventure. She began her career as a stunt performer and stunt coordinator, accumulating over 350 film and television stunt credits. Her zeal for storytelling led her to found Free Spirit Films, under which she directed and produced the award-winning LGBTQ2+ comedy The Baby Formula (2008) and the critically acclaimed documentary The Woman Who Loves Giraffes (2018), the latter of which screened worldwide, winning multiple Best Film awards and receiving widespread acclaim. Her episodic directing credits include Beyond Black Beauty, Hudson & Rex, and Murdoch Mysteries, among others.

Filmography: The Baby Formula (2008); The Woman Who Loves Giraffes (2018)

Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre

Clubfoot
Clubfoot film image; three people at the end of an aisle in a library

Clubfoot

Dir. Nathan Donovan
70 min

An adopted teen and his friend coerce a younger adoptee to go for a drive out to the countryside — but things turn violent. With a fragmented structure and unresolved questions, Clubfoot reflects the uncertainty and isolation that often follow adoption.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema
Smudge the Blades
Smudge the Blades headshot; hockey players in a faceoff

Smudge the Blades

Dir. Cody Lightning
96 min

This rousing hockey drama centres on the Treaty 6 Blades, a team of Indigenous youth on a quest for redemption. Blessed with a terrific cast, this is a crowd-pleaser in which victory is about much more than winning the game.

International Village 9

Congo Boy

Dir. Rafiki Fariala
91 min

Congo Boy is a deeply moving coming-of-age drama about Robert, a 17-year-old Congolese refugee in the Central African Republic balancing school, odd jobs, and the care of his four younger siblings — while dreaming of success as a musician.

Image: © 2026 MAKONGO FILMS UNITÉ KIRIPIFILMS KARTA FILM CANAL

Lindsay Family Stage at Granville Island

Sweet Milk Lake

Dir. Harvey Zielinski
94 min

In Sweet Milk Lake, a trans man is mistaken for his cisgender twin in a darkly comic thriller about deception, gender, and dangerous wish fulfilment.

Fifth Avenue Cinema - 19+ only International Village 9

Ba's Book

Dir. Ashley Duong
102 min

A TIFF Docs world premiere and Cannes Docs award winner, Ba’s Book follows Vietnamese-Canadian filmmaker Ashley Duong as she brings her father’s memoir to Vietnam and recreates it with her family, blending documentary and staged scenes.

International Village 8

Family Fears Another Night of Terror

Dir. Cristian Ponce
83 min

Night after night, a family of four is tormented by an unseen presence inside their home — or so it seems. Family Fears Another Night of Terror transforms the aesthetics of a late-night television special into an analogue nightmare.

International Village 10