Sheffield Adventure Film Festival (ShAFF) returns from 20 to 22 March 2026 to mark its 20th anniversary with its most ambitious programme yet. Across one packed weekend, the Showroom Cinema hosts a wide-ranging celebration of adventure storytelling spanning climbing, mountain sports, sustainability and outdoor culture. Within that broader line-up sits a standout strand of climbing and mountain films, reflecting Sheffield’s long-standing roots in the sport and its global reputation as a climbing destination.
Set on the edge of the Peak District, Sheffield has helped shape British climbing culture for generations. The gritstone edges of Stanage, Burbage and Froggatt forged the bold, ground-up ethics that define British trad climbing, while the city’s modern scene, anchored by The Climbing Works, continues to influence the global stage. Local climbers including crack specialists Tom Randall and Pete Whittaker, known as the Wideboys, honed their skills on Peak grit before taking them to some of the hardest routes on the planet.
Two decades in, ShAFF continues to honour that heritage by bringing stories from sea cliffs, mountain crags and legendary boulders to the big screen just minutes from the crags themselves. Crucially, ShAFF’s climbing strand is independently curated. These films are rarely featured on the big screen, making this a unique opportunity to see them at ShAFF.
This year’s programme spans elite performance, resilience and life shaped by rock. Lexicon follows Adam Ondra’s attempt to flash Neil Gresham’s E11 trad route, while The Bells sees 74-year-old Rob Matheson revisit a serious North Wales sea cliff testpiece. Girl Climber tracks Emily Harrington’s push on El Capitan, Anna charts mountaineer Anna Pfaff’s recovery after frostbite, and Old Man Lightning captures John “Verm” Sherman’s humorous Yosemite comeback. Elsewhere, Catching Pinecones and Going Coastal explore lives built around climbing, while mountain sessions expand the scale with films including Parallel Lines, Alpha and I Skied Down Everest.
ShAFF’s 20th edition once again coincides with the Climbing Works International Festival (CWIF), one of the world’s premier bouldering competitions. With live streaming from CWIF shown during the festival, audiences can watch world-class competition climbing before stepping into the cinema to explore the deeper culture and human stories behind the sport.
Festival organiser Matt Heason said:
“Reaching 20 years is a proud moment for ShAFF. Sheffield has climbing in its DNA. From Stanage Edge to The Climbing Works, this is a city where the sport shapes lives. Bringing these films here, in front of an audience that truly understands them, makes the experience special.”
Climbing & Mountain Film Screenings at ShAFF 2026
All climbing and mountain films at ShAFF will not screen at other UK climbing film festivals.
Climb Films 1 (12A)
Friday 20 March 2026 | 6:45pm | Screen 1
Featuring The Bells and Girl Climber.
Tickets: https://showroomcinema.org.uk/film/shaff-climb-films-1
Climb Films 2 (15)
Saturday 21 March 2026 | 6:45pm | Screen 1
Featuring Anna, B.I.G. – A World First and IAN.
Tickets: https://showroomcinema.org.uk/film/shaff-climb-films-2
Climb Films 3 (12A)
Sunday 22 March 2026 | 4:30pm | Screen 2
Featuring Lexicon, Old Man Lightning and Life After Plastic.
Tickets: https://showroomcinema.org.uk/film/shaff-climb-films-3
Climb Films 4 – #climbinglife (12A)
Saturday 21 March 2026 | 8:30pm | Screen 1
Featuring Catching Pinecones and Going Coastal.
Tickets: https://showroomcinema.org.uk/film/climb-films-4-climbinglife-shaff-26
Mountain Films 1 – Everest (PG)
Sunday 22 March 2026 | 2:30pm | Screen 2
Featuring A Thousand Words, Forward to Mt. Everest Summit and I Skied Down Everest.
Tickets: https://showroomcinema.org.uk/film/shaff-mountain-films-1-everest
Mountain Films 2
Saturday 21 March 2026 | 3:45pm | Screen 2
Featuring Parallel Lines, Alpha, One Step Ahead and Earthside.
Tickets: https://showroomcinema.org.uk/film/shaff-mountain-films-2
