Formed in October 2012, the New Zealand Mountain Film Festival Charitable Trust aims to raise money for a variety of causes that align with the festival's philosophies, festival director Mark Sedon said.
The trust's grant scheme will help disabled people buy specialist sporting equipment, fund school leavers and youth in adventure skills training and film-making projects, and financially support local environmental projects like river clean-ups and native tree replanting initiatives.
''[Becoming a charitable trust] was sort of the natural progression and it also future-proofs the festival,'' Mr Sedon said.
He and wife Jo established the festival in 2002.
''If we get tired of running it, the board of trustees can appoint someone else to run it, and it keeps it Wanaka's festival, or Otago's festival.''
The festival had developed an ''almost cult-like following'' and 50% of the 3000 attendees travelled to Wanaka from throughout New Zealand each year.
As well as speakers and screenings of award-winning adventure films, the festival also features the popular two-day Adventure Film School, the world's only adventure film-editing competition, and a ''dyno'' (short for dynamic) competition - where climbers leap or spring upwards, catch and hold on to a rock face.
The headline speaker this year is US professional mountaineer and National Geographic's 2011 Adventurer of the Year, Cory Richards, who made a name for himself as the first American to climb an 8000m mountain in Pakistan.
The resulting film, Cold, won the grand prize in Wanaka (2011), Banff (Canada) and several other film festivals around the world.
Also speaking in Wanaka are Australian explorers James Castrission and Justin Jones, known as Cas and Jonesy, who recently made history by completing the longest unsupported polar expedition, and in 2007-08 paddled 3318km, also unassisted, across the Tasman Sea.
Their film Crossed the Ditch featured at the 2011 festival.
New Zealanders Blair Smith and Dave Johns will speak on their epic ski adventure that started in Beijing and travelled west across China and central Asia and to Europe. Ngai Tahu kaumatua, Sir Tipene O'Regan, will present a talk on the Maori history associated with the high country of the Central Otago-Queenstown Lakes region.
The festival runs in Wanaka from this Friday until July 9, and in Queenstown on July 13 and 14. After it ends, a selection of the best films will visit audiences around the country as part of a national tour.
