If you’ve ever imagined what it might be like to run in some of the world’s most extreme desert terrain, the documentary ‘Desert Runners’ will provide you with a glimpse.

The film is one of two award-winning documentaries to be screened as part of the Weekend Film Series, on Sunday at BUEI.

‘Desert Runners’ tells the story of four athletes who compete in the Four Deserts Ultra Marathon Series — through the Atacama Desert in Chile, the Gobi Desert in China, the Sahara Desert in Egypt, and the Antarctic.

Each race involves trekking over 250 kilometres of rough country terrain in a week with only a tent to sleep in, food to eat and water to keep hydrated.

The four amateur athletes featured are former British military man, Tremaine, Australian law student, Samantha, former American professional baseball player, Ricky, and middle-aged Irish businessman, Dave.

They show how the ultimate challenge pushes their bodies, hearts and spirits to its limits and changes them from the inside out.

The film, which won the Audience Awards at both the Vancouver and Hampton’s film festivals — will screen on Sunday at 5.15pm.

Also screening this weekend will be Herman’s House, the winner of the Best Documentary award at the Harlem International Film Festival. It will show on Sunday at 3pm.

The documentary tells the story of Herman Wallace, who was convicted of killing a prison guard, though there was no physical evidence linking him to the scene of the crime. His case was taken up by Amnesty International.

Mr Wallace died of cancer on October 4 — just three days after a federal judge ordered him free.

He had lived in solitary confinement at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola for 41 years.

While in prison Mr Wallace hears from art student Jackie Sumell, who posed a provocative question: ‘What kind of house does a man who has lived in a six-foot-by-nine-foot cell for over 30 years dream of?’

Their collaboration created a revelatory art installation and has brought thousands of gallery visitors from across the globe face-to-face with the harsh realities of the American prison system.

“This film explores the injustice of solitary confinement and the transformative power of art as an unlikely friendship develops between a New York-born artist and one of America’s most famous prison inmates,” said Duncan Hall, the organiser of the Weekend Film Series.

Trailers of the films can be viewed at www.bermudadocs.com.

Tickets are on sale now at the Oceans Gift Shop at the BUEI, or by calling 294-0204.

The ‘Weekend Film Series’, sponsored by Gosling’s, is a joint production of Bermuda Documentary Film Festival and the BUEI.