World Trails Film Festival Global Premiere
Description
The World Trails Film Festival comes to Perth/Boorloo, Australia, to make our first-ever global premiere from the Southern Hemisphere! We have FOUR public events before our Awards Showcase, an exclusive event for World Trails Conference attendees.
🎥 Festival Trailer below
🎬 Film Programs overviews below that
📽️ 🎞️ For our full Event and Film Guide, visit: https://trails.film/festivals/2026-global-premiere/
About the World Trails Film Festival
Started by volunteers from the World Trails Network, the Trails Film partners with trail organisations around the world to create events celebrating trails and the impact they have on our lives, communities, and planet.
Trails Film has curated a film library of over 100 films, representing 36 countries and including 18 languages. Seeking more than adrenaline-fueled epics, Trails Film weaves together stories of community, mental health, environmental issues, trail building, disability and adaptive recreation, trail cultures, and more.
As an advocacy film festival, Trails Film partners with trail organizations around the world to host events for fundraising and community building. Previous festivals include: Lebanon, Taiwan, The United Kingdom, Spain, Hungary, Canada, Greece, and the United States.
2026 Festival Trailer
Program Line Ups
Another Way Up: Two Film From Nepal w/Bob Henderson
Two films from Nepal that challenge dominant ways of expeditioning to the ‘roof of the world’ and, in doing so, aim to benefit local communities, the environment, and travelers alike. Filmmaker Q&A: BOB HENDERSON Bob Henderson is a Canadian academic, outdoor educator, and co-producer of The Anti-Expedition, and author of ‘Ways to Go: Reconsidering Travel as told through Two Himalayan Adventures 1971-2023.’ SUBTITLES: ENGLISH FILMS RUNTIME: 65 MIN LOCATION: Town Hall, Perth THE EXTRA MILE - Rafael Duarte While climbing Mount Everest, mountaineer Bernardo Fonseca confronts the environmental cost of adventure and searches for ways to protect the fragile world above the clouds. THE ANTI EXPEDITION - Elena Jean Travelers exploring a sacred Himalayan valley challenge modern adventure culture by searching for a deeper, more responsible way to experience the world.
Global Trail Mix (Shorts) w/ Zelzin Aketzalli
Journey to four continents in our mix of short films sharing stories of finding connection to home and identity, of personal challenges and the pursuit of dreams, and appreciation for nature. Filmmaker Q&A: ZELZIN AKETZALLI Zelzin Aketzalli is a Mexican adventure filmmaker, producer, and high-performance endurance athlete whose work explores resilience, identity, and community through long-distance expeditions. Zelzin made history as the first Mexican to complete the Triple Crown of Hiking, completing the Appalachian, Pacific Crest, and Continental Divide Trails. She is also leading the effort to create the Baja Sierra Trail, an estimated 1,300-mile trail that would become first long-distance National Trail of Mexico. THANK YOU: Sponsored by Adventure Smart WA SUBTITLES: ENGLISH FILMS RUNTIME: 90 MIN LOCATION: Town Hall, Perth TALK TO FRANK (5 min) - Matt Green After prison, depression, and isolation nearly consume him, a man and his loyal cocker spaniel begin running mountains together in search of healing and redemption. THE NOMAD WITH ELHOUSINE ELAZZAOUI (19 min) Rising from a nomadic childhood in the Moroccan desert, trail runner Elhousine Elazzaoui races across continents in pursuit of belonging, friendship, and greatness. THE NORDLAND TREKKING TRAIL (18 min) - Zdenek Dvorak Hikers crossing Arctic Scandinavia’s vast wilderness confront solitude, ancestry, and the enduring human need to reconnect with nature. TRAIL TO BAYANIHAN (22 min) - Cat Aeppel A cyclist searching for her Filipino roots discovers an unexpected family within the country’s vibrant biking community. ZELZIN, FOOTPRINTS THAT INSPIRE (24 min) - Zelzin Aketzalli Weeks, Adam Pawlikiewicz Returning to the volcano that shaped her life, Mexico’s first Triple Crown hiker confronts the sacrifices and loneliness that come with blazing a trail no one else believed possible.
Best Feature: Remaining Native
A Native American teenager chasing his dream of collegiate running discovers that his greatest race is learning how to carry the legacy of his great-grandfather’s escape from an Indian boarding school. SUBTITLES: ENGLISH FILM RUNTIME: 90 MIN LOCATION: Town Hall, Perth
More Than A Trail (Shorts)
Trails are much more than simple lines on the ground. They can be a path toward independence, healing, purpose, and connection. These four films celebrate journeys taken by people who find—and create—those paths in remarkable ways. SUBTITLES: ENGLISH RUN TIME: ~100 min LOCATION: State Library WA Theatre MOTHER RIVER (6 min) - Jeremiah Schuster Kayaker Devin Brown embarks on a historic solo descent of the Mississippi River to become the first Black woman known to complete the journey alone. CORTEZA (14 min) - Simon Acosta Colombia In Colombia’s threatened cloud forests, a young ranger risks her safety and future to defend endangered wildlife against hunters, ranchers, and her growing temptation to abandon the fight. CANTOS Y FLORES / SONGS AND FLOWERS (28 min) - Julen Elorza Seven years after her brother’s death, a climber returns to Bolivia’s highest peaks in a record-breaking attempt to transform grief into connection and closure. Best Day Ever (48 min) - Ben Knight and Berne Broudy Two adaptive mountain bikers in rural Vermont battle physical limitations and social barriers as they rebuild their independence through the power of trails and friendship.
Tickets for good, not greed Humanitix dedicates 100% of profits from booking fees to charity
