Climbing the Matterhorn

Touching the Void

The true story of Joe Simpson and Simon Yates' disastrous and nearly-fatal mountain climb of 6,344m Siula Grande in the Cordillera Huayhuash in the Peruvian Andes in 1985.

Cloudwalker

Cloudwalker, the 1985 Banff Mountain Film Festival award-winning mountaineering film, follows Mark Wilford and Jeff Lowe as they prepare to climb a new route on this wild and majestic spire of the Alaska Range's Bear's Tooth South Summit (the south summit of the Mose's Tooth Massif). Featuring inspiring footage of the two climbers at the top of their game honing their mental and physical abilities to prepare for this challenge, then climbing the classic Naked Edge route in Eldorado Canyon, and interviews revealing the inspiring philosophies of two of America's most prolific and talented climbers, Cloudwalker helps preserve and celebrate the culture and heritage of climbing.

The Man Who Returns from Above

What compels a man to push the limits of what is attainable ever higher? After thirty years of relentless struggle with the highest peaks on earth, Marc Batard has finally found the answers to these questions. He had to reach the summit of Everest twice, once shattering the record for fastest time in 24 hours without oxygen, and climb the most difficult faces of the Alps to glimpse the path to inner healing. It was through physical suffering that he was able to confront the pain of his soul. He was finally able to talk about the violence of his childhood, the shock he carried like a ball and chain for decades. Having completed his summit therapy, Marc Batard tells his story in this documentary by Gilles Perret.

The Race for Everest

The dramatic story of the British expedition that made the first ascent of Everest. Combining interviews with the surviving members of the 1953 British and 1952 Swiss attempt on Everest with rare archival material, this film tells the story of the race to climb Everest in the early 1950s and its climax in 1953.

Cerro Torre: A Snowball's Chance in Hell

Movie about David Lama climbing the Patagonian mountain Cerro Torre for the first time free, a mountain that has been dubbed the most difficult to climb in the world.

Lost in Karakorum

The epic 1500km bivouac flight of Damien Lacaze and Antoine Girard, two French paragliders and mountaineers, through the heart of the Himalayas and the Karakoram ranges. This journey is actually a prelude and acclimatization for their attempt to climb Spantik (7027m) from the nearest town in two days, using only paragliders. Is it truly feasible? What are the limitations of such an ascent? Can they earn a living from it?

Apö Karim, Ambassadeur de l'Himalaya

Dans la voie, Portrait d'un guide au travail

Little Karim

Jurek

This documentary follows the feats of high-altitude climber Jerzy Kukuczka and his ascent to higher heights before his death in 1989.

Art of Freedom

The documentary film Art of Freedom answers the most poignant questions on the phenomenon of Polish expeditions to the Himalayas. Poles have reigned the highest mountaintops of the world for more than 20 years. They not only set down new trails, but new rules of behavior. They set themselves apart with an original style of climbing, endurance, conscientiousness about the overall well-being of the team - and solidarity.

The Naked Mountain

The first winter ascent of Nanga Parbat was achieved in 2016 by Pakistani Muhammad Ali Sadpara and Spaniard Alex Txikón, accompanied by Simone Moro and Tamara Lunger. Alex Txikón made headlines again by attempting K2 in the winter of 2019, then Everest in the winter of 2020 (each time unsuccessfully); but also by participating in the search operations led by Tom Ballard and Daniele Nardi on Nanga Parbat in March 2019, even claiming to have spotted two figures on the face. Confined during the Himalayan season, the Basque climber took the opportunity to work on a film recounting his own adventure on Nanga Parbat four years earlier.

Storm Over Everest

As darkness fell on May 10, 1996, a fast moving storm of unimaginable ferocity trapped three climbing teams high on the slopes of Mount Everest. The climbers, exhausted from their summit climb, were soon lost in darkness, in a fierce blizzard, far from the safety of High Camp at 26,000 feet. World-renowned climber and filmmaker David Breashears, who aided the rescue efforts back in 1996, now returns to Everest to tell the fuller story of what really happened on that legendary climb. Through remarkably intimate interviews with the climbers and Sherpas many who have never spoken before on American television Breashears sheds new light on the worst climbing tragedy in Mount Everest s history.

Sentinel - The West Face

1967: Two of the world's best climbers, Yvon Chouinard and Royal Robbins, tackle the west face of Sentinel Rock, an iconic 2,100-meter granite peak located in Yosemite National Park, considered one of the most difficult in the world. The film's atmosphere is immersive, driven by a sober narrative that highlights the intimate relationship between man and the wall. The technical difficulty of the route, the prolonged physical effort, and the isolation reinforce the heroic dimension of this ascent. The documentary also reveals the essential solidarity between the climbers: each progression requires rigor, inventiveness, and total trust in both the equipment and the partner. This film is considered a benchmark in the history of mountain cinema. It testifies to the pioneering spirit of the era and the evolution of climbing techniques, perfectly illustrating the transition to a more athletic and thoughtful approach to large rock faces.

À l'Assaut de la Tour Eiffel

Four experienced mountaineers climb the three floors of the Eiffel Tower through the pillars of the building. A police officer, overwhelmed by the events, does not succeed in arresting the intrepid who reach the summit with agility under the stunned eyes of tourists. They then abseil and happily throw themselves into the Seine to celebrate the feat.

Cervin 1865, une première tragique

The first ascent of the Matterhorn was made on July 14, 1865 by Edward Whymper, Francis Douglas, Charles Hudson, Douglas Hadow, Michel Croz and two guides from Zermatt, Peter Taugwalder father and son. Douglas, Hudson, Hadow and Croz are killed on the descent after Hadow slips and drags the other three men down the north face. Whymper and the two Taugwalders, who survive, are later accused of having cut the rope that connected them to the rest of the group so as not to be dragged into the fall, but the ensuing investigation finds no evidence of their guilt and they are acquitted. The Matterhorn is the last great peak in the Alps to be conquered and its ascent marks the end of the golden age of mountaineering. One hundred and fifty years later, a team undertakes the same expedition in order to unravel the mystery.

Dhaulagiri - 1ère hivernale française 1987

Un Pic pour Lénine

Guides&Cie

Established in 1821, the Compagnie des Guides de Chamonix is the first and largest guides' company in the world. Wiser for its historical organisation, this diverse community of self-employed professionals operates according to two rock-solid pillars: an in-turn work distribution and an emergency fund to support guides injured from work. Who are these women and men who have sworn allegiance to their passion for the mountains? How do they cope with the hazards that are inherent to their occupation? In other words, what does "being a guide" mean in 21st century, and what makes it so remarkable? Thanks to its numerous moving accounts, this films draws a warm portrait of the guides and takes the audience deep into a very unordinary group of professionals. Undoubtedly a sensitive documentary served with stunning images!

Gary Hemming, le beatnik des cimes

The American mountaineer Gary Hemming marked the era of the 1960s. The story of this "exceptional" character is intimately linked to that of the rescue of the two German mountaineers on the west face of the Drus, in 1966, a rescue which he had took the initiative. While the official emergency services of the EHM try to reach them from above, a pirate rope made up of Gary Hemming, René Desmaison, Lothar Mauch, Gil Bodin, Mike Brurke, François Guillot, the filmmaker Gérard Bauer organizes to join them from below and succeeded after a fierce struggle the rescue. The press seizes the event and elevates Gary Hemming to the rank of national hero. All the newspapers feature this big guy with a cool attitude, mismatched clothes, jovial smile and long blond hair on the front page. From then on, he was nicknamed: "the beatnik of the peaks".