I am really delighted that this year the Adventure Travel Film Festival has asked me to curate a session of films showcasing the spirit of microadventures.

So, if you have not climbed Everest but have climbed your local hill and slept on the summit, this is for you. If you have not cycled round the world at supersonic speed, but you have cycled from your front door to the beach and jumped into the sea just for the hell of it, then this is for you.

This is an opportunity for normal people -like you and me- to showcase our short escapes from the real world, our brief bursts of challenging ourselves to do something new and different, and taking a moment to pause and savour the beauty and adventure that is all around, if only we make the effort to seek it out.

Microadventures are about removing excuses. No time? No money? No skills? Don’t live somewhere picturesque? None of those are valid excuses not to pack a bivvy bag and sleep under the stars for the first time! Stop being a wimp and sheltering behind your lame excuses!

Similarly, there is no excuse not to make an effort to film your story and submit it for selection for the film festival: the deadline is July 1. You’ve got ages!

You don’t need to climb Mount Everest. You don’t need to be a superhero. You don’t need to be Steven Spielberg or have an amazing camera.

NO EXCUSES, NO PROCRASTINATION!

You just need to do a cool trip and share it cleverly, with passion and enthusiasm. Try to make the film under 4 minutes, but I don’t care if it’s a bit more or less. All I care about is that it makes other people think, “Wow! My life is too boring – I want to try this for myself…”

Stick them up on YouTube or Vimeo and email me the link when you are done.

I hope that even if your film does not make it to the festival that you will have relished the microadventure and the film-making experience.

Good luck!

Here are a couple of microadventures for inspiration: