PALMER RAPIDS, ON, FEBRUARY 12, 2010 – The 5^th annual Reel Paddling Film Festival premiered last night at the Bloor Cinema downtown Toronto, hosted by The Complete Paddler. The largest premiere audience in festival history was treated to the first screening of this year’s award winning films. The winners are:

1. Best Sea Kayaking Film: In Paddle to Seattle, J.J. Kelly and Josh Thomas use their homemade wooden boats to kayak the 1,300-mile Inside Passage from Alaska to Seattle.
2. Best Canoeing Film: This is Canoeing is a celebration of canoeing, showcasing some of the single blade’s most talented paddlers, wilderness explorers and whitewater adventures.
3. Best Whitewater Film: In Into Perpetual Ice five kayakers visit Greenland to explore the whitewater of this remote island.
4. Best Kayak Fishing Film: Kayak Fishing: Game On 2 follows big game kayaker Jim Sammons on a three-hour battle with a 120-pound tuna.
5. Best Adventure Travel Film: Finding Farley, in which Karsten Heuer and Leanne Allison, along with their two-year old son, set out on a 5,000-kilometre trip from the Prairies to the Maritimes to retrace the literary footsteps of legendary author Farley Mowat.
6. Best Environmental Paddling Film: Facing East is the final descent of the mighty Yangtze River before it is completely underwater and transformed into massive reservoirs.
7. Best Paddling Documentary: Kent Ford’s Call of the River traces whitewater’s history with as many twists and turns as the canyons its pioneers explored.
8. Best Amateur/Short Paddling Film: Falling is a thrill ride and a poetic meditation about harmonizing with the awesome forces of nature featuring the waterfalls of Agua Azul in Chiapas, Mexico.
9. Best Instructional Paddling Film: Sea Kayak with Gordon Brown offers exciting, practical instruction while on a four-day expedition around the Isle of Skye.

“Never before has the Festival seen so many amazing films,” said Scott MacGregor, RPFF producer and last night’s red carpet emcee. “There is truly something for everyone in this year’s World Tour.”

The premiere kicks off the Reel Paddling Film Festival World Tour, an international paddling film tour with 37 short-listed films screening in 75 cities hosted by paddling shops, clubs and events. For a list of all World Tour films, the World Tour schedule, and hosting information visit, www.reelpaddlingfilmfestival.com.