He has been to caves before. But never as deep underneth the earth. Niko Jäger, director of Cave Connection, experiences a whole new world, when joining Kieran Mckay, one of New Zealand’s most accomplished cavers, and his team of adventurers. Their almost impossible goal: to discover the deepest cave in the Southern Hemisphere by finding a connection between two daunting cave systems.
Total isolation sweeps over him, in a realm where even cellphones and radio devices don’t work. There is no sun. There are no clouds. There is no horizon. As such, there is no orientation. Everything is cold and wet. Jäger’s world is but a small spectrum of light directly in front of him. Every step counts. If he injures himself and can no longer get to the entrance to squeeze through on his own, no one can help him.
The 'Cave Connection” has only just been officially selected for Canada’s prestigious Banff Mountain Film Festival as well as Milanos Internationasl Ficsts Fest. The HelliVentures documentary will screen also at Austria’s Mountainfilm International Filmfestival Graz, the Trento Film Festival, Kendal Mountain Film Festival, the Washington West Film Festival and the Flagstaff Mountain Film Festival in the United States. Since its release early 2014 “The Cave Connection” has been honored with key awards at the NZ Mountain Film Festival, the Tyrolean Independent Film Festival as well as Switzerland’s Diablerets Film festival, where it won the top prize in the “Exploits and Adventures” category.