Freetown, population 400,000 and the capital of Sierra Leone, has just one hospital and four gynecologists. The country has the highest infant and maternal death rates in the world. But despite the bleakness of the situation, there is hope, as photographer and filmmaker Ami Vitale, good friend of The Adventure Life, reports in “Where Every Pregnancy Is A Gamble”. Following Fatimata Konte through her pregnancy and shadowing the overburdened and underfunded hospital staff, Vitale paints a powerful portrait of the high risks of childbirth in a war-torn country, telling a story that we’re unlikely to see no matter how deep our “adventure travel.”

Vitale and her producing partner, Lauren Malkani, entered the short film in LinkTV’s ViewChange contest, which centers around the theme of progress in meeting United Nations development goals in sustainability, empowerment, overcoming conflict, innovation, leadership & governance, and local/global partnerships. The grand prize winner gets $20,000 and $5,000 goes to the top choice in each of the six categories. (If they win, Vitali and Makani will donate the money to the subjects of their film.) Judges include UN Ambassador Danny Glove, filmmaker Wim Wenders, and others.

Today is the deadline for entries, and voting begins tomorrow. To see the full slate of films, navigate here.

To see more of Ami Vitale’s photography on The Adventure Life, go here.

By any measure, the Red Bull Illume Image Quest brought together an extraordinary collection of sports images, with extraordinary efforts on the part of both photographers and athletes. Winners were announced yesterday in the dining hall of Trinity College in Dublin, which you know better as the dining hall in the Harry Potter movies. The top prize, image of the year, was awarded to California surf photographer Chris Burkard for his stunning image of dramatic waves and one lone rider off the coast of Chile.

“I’m overjoyed, it’s hard to put into words being able to be nominated and to win this award in front of all your peers and people I respect, I’m truly blessed,” said Burkard. The 24-year-old also won a $23,000 Leica S2 and complement of lenses. “I would never have imagined owning a camera like this. It’s worth more than the house I live in.”

Pictured here are Burkard’s winning shot, along with sick shots from Ricky Adam and Sterling Lorence and another ultra-rad surf shot from Stuart Gibson.

What you really want to do, however, is check out the mega-collection of 22 images in The Adventure Life galleries. Stop reading and go here…you won’t be disappointed: LINK.

Ben Knight is my hero. Not only is he a gifted storyteller and filmmaker, he’s wryly put the perfect punctuation on this gorgeous time lapse of a moonrise. Time lapses have become the mixtapes of 2010: They require just a little bit of effort, can leave you looking brilliant, and everybody’s making them. But you know, they might be starting to get a wee bit played out. Anyway, Ben is probably being self-deprecating, but perhaps he’s speaking of the genre itself. Whichever, it’s funny. Watch to the end and see what I mean.

Andrea Dorfman paints a love letter to cycling…a time lapse, a video, a film…an inspiring bit of creativity that must be watched. Why ride your bike? Says Dorfman, “If feeling alive isn’t enough, I’ll tell you right now — you’ll also receive a gift that will unfurrow your brow. It’s the answer to your puzzle that keeps you up all night long, the ending to your story, the words to your song.”

Click play and watch as Andy paints a wonderful little tableaux that goes dark, then leaves you with hope…then go play…outside…on your bike.

In May 2003, Aron Ralston was canyoneering alone in Blue John Canyon in Robbers Roost, Utah, when a boulder shifted and pinned his right arm to the wall. Deep in a slot canyon and unable to call for help, and not having told anyone where he’d be, Ralston spent five days with almost no food and water before finally cutting off his arm to escape. This you probably know. You also might know that the Danny Boyle, the Academy Award-winning director of Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire, and Shallow Grave, has been filming Ralston’s story for the big screen. Well, 127 Hours is done, and the trailer was just released a few hours ago.

Here it is, and in my opinion it’s rad. In the interest of full disclosure, I worked in a very small role on the film, but my work redefines the small in “very small”. Or maybe the very. I helped with what they call electronic press kit stuff–behind the scenes, interviews, story behind the story storytelling. Microscopic. But I was around the production enough to be completely impressed with Danny, his directing style, and everyone in the cast and crew. I haven’t seen the full feature yet, but everyone I know who has seen it has been completely blown away. I. Cannot. Wait.

127 Hours–the title refers to the length of time Ralston was awake, from the time he woke up that fateful morning until slipping into unconsciousness on an operating table in Moab–will be in theaters nationwide beginning November 5. Learn more at 127HoursMovie.com.