Hi I'm Jacob, the award-winning director behind Inflatable People (2016) and Earning a River (2021) and many other short films about packrafting. Unfortunately, making movies takes time and cost money, so I really need your support. I have a lot of footage for more movies and with your help I would be able to make them.

My two next projects are a film from my unsupported packrafting trip down the Grand Canyon and another from Sweden’s most beautiful mountain Valley the Vista valley. All the footage is ready, I just need your support for editing and post productions. Beside that I have a idea for a longer documentary about the packrafting scene and how it evolved.

The support will go to pay for color grading, sound design, video hosting, submission fee for festivals etc. But more important to get me some time off my every day work that I can dedicate to making films.

A little more about me: My full name is Jacob Kastrup Haagensen, born in 1980 in Copenhagen, Denmark. In 2016 I've moved to Sweden and now live in an old railway station from 1903 in Western Sweden. Yes, the train still stops at our house!

I am a pioneer of packrafting in Scandinavia and a founding member of the Swedish Packrafting Association. After buying a cheap action camera on sales I started making documentaries about my packrafting trips. Equipment has been upgraded since but my work is all about telling a good story and a genuine interest of my fellow humans. My debutant film Inflatable People about the first ever international Swedish packrafting roundup won the debutant prize of Nordic Adventure Film Festival and was screened at several other film festivals. My latest film is a 40 minutes long award-winning feature documentary called Earning a River. 

What is a packraft? A packraft is a small and light portable dinghy. Packrafts make it possible to combine hiking with river traveling, access remote rivers or lakes. It is a great tool for exploring, adventures and travel flatwater as well as whitewater.

Why Urban Packrafter? The name dates back from when I lived in central Copenhagen and wanted a name for my instagram account and film production. I realize that I used my packraft much more in the harbor and lakes inside Copenhagen that I used it in the wilderness. I use to bring my packraft when visiting other cities and have paddled in Venice, Stockholm and Amsterdam.

After I moved to Sweden I got much easier access to nature and wilderness and even though I briefly considered changing to Rural Packrafter, the name stuck. Besides I still make my daily living as an urban planner so I guess it make sanse.