Here's why Ottawa is the ideal city for an adventure film festival

The organizer of Ottawa's second-annual adventure film festival says the five-day event will feed the city's voracious appetite for the great outdoors.

The festival, which kicked off Saturday, will showcase more than 25 movies at the Mayfair Theatre and the University of Ottawa.

This year's lineup features "a broad range of filmmaking styles, from action to documentary to cinematic to fun pieces," festival founder Mike McKay told CBC Radio's In Town and Out.

"We really hope [people from] all different kinds of cultures and all kinds of different backgrounds go to the film festival and have a film they really love," McKay said.

Some of the films include The Adventure Itinerary by director Caroline Côté, Wadi Rum by Kori Price and the Shangku Shelter by Yana Kehrlein.

'A really unique city'

The festival received more submissions than last year, McKay said, including a higher volume of films made by female filmmakers.

McKay said he believes that's because adventure filmmakers are realizing Ottawa is the perfect city for their genre, given the number of opportunities nearby for outdoors action.

For instance, just 20 minutes from the downtown, people can hike up Gatineau Park's Wolf Trail and take in its spectacular views of the Ottawa Valley. As well, "some of the best" white water rapids in the world are only an hour away, McKay said.

"It's a really unique city," McKay said. "To have the ability to do adventurous sports and get outside and really feel detached … I can't think of a lot of places in the world that have that."

Screenings are taking place until Wednesday at the Mayfair Theatre, with the final screening Thursday at the University of Ottawa.