Congo: The Grand Inga Project
Duration: 120mins
Bring together some of the best kayakers in the world. Follow their journey conquering some of the hardest white water in the world. Here you have Congo: The Grand Inga Project, one of the most impressive paddling films in the world.
Directed by kayaking legend Steve Fisher. The film is an entertaining documentation of the participants training, travel, problems and successes on the expedition to paddle the previously un-navigable Inga Rapids. I recommend this film to anyone due to its fantastic story and incredible visuals throughout. The crew has done a great job filming the paddlers from afar and not just relying on the POV cameras strapped to the paddlers and their boats, which many films are now doing too much of. All shot in HD this makes for some great slow-motion sequences that even my fellow climbing friend admitted make him want to try the sport. Much of the film is narrated by the paddlers with some low-level appropriate soundtrack. The interviews during the film have lead to some great quotes.
“This is make or break, either we’re going to come out of those rapids in our kayaks and it will be the greatest accomplishments of our lives, or those rapids will just end our lives, quickly.”
More closely the film follows kayakers Steve Fisher, Rush Sturges, Ben Marr, Evan Garcia and Tyler Bradt starting off training on the White Nile in Uganda three weeks before the first decent. Here the team test out new gear and develop their teamwork. Whilst showing some of the gear the team is using, it also goes through details about each of the paddlers and their specialties. Included in this is the introduction of Pete Meredith co-expedition leader and logistics manager who was highly responsible for the organization of the permits/permissions needed to paddle and travel around Africa. A short history and facts about the river is given about expeditions and descents attempted in the past, making the whole expedition seem insanity. It’s great to see these world-renowned paddlers actually show some fear and anxiety towards paddling the white water. The team then travels to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to acquaint themselves further with the large-scale white water the Congo offers. Here they continue training towards their final goal whilst Pete Meredith negotiates allowing a helicopter to enter the country to help scout the rapids and act as safety cover. It also allowed the crew to capture the spectacular visuals throughout. The remainder of the film is the intense descent of the rapids but I won’t reveal any further info.
Overall a great accomplishment for the people involved and another one you should add to your collection.
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