Trio For One

Daulagiri (8167m), Naga Parbat (8125m) and Broad Peak (8051m) are among the 14 peaks in the world. Jean-Christophe Lafaille has set himself the goal of reaching these 3 peaks in the space of two months. This film takes us on a surprising journey that begins in Nepal and ends in Pakistan, while exploring the soul of this committed mountaineer… Ed Viesturs and Katia Lafaille accompanied Lafaille on his adventure.

Shishapangma, Un Solo En Hiver

Jean-Christophe Lafaille is the first mountaineer to attempt the solo ascent of the steep Himalayan face of "Shishapangma". As one of the 14 highest peaks in the world, Shishapangma peak rises over 8000 meters. Jean-Christophe defies the merciless conditions of the Himalayan winter. Without oxygen and exposed to extreme cold, Jean-Christophe, aware of the objective danger, is determined to achieve this long-held dream by reaching the summit by the magnificent British South West face course of 1982, with a new course on the first 1000 meters. He will reach the summit on December 11, some, like the Pole Krzysztof Wielicki, challenge him for the first. Jean-Christophe will be very upset and some of his relatives will be worried to see him then lock himself into an increasingly obstinate quest, some of whom were already guessing the outcome.

A Matter Of Doubt

The Conqueror Of The Useless

Biography of ski instructor, mountain guide, mountaineer and filmmaker-lecturer Lionel Terray. Film-portrait of an emblematic figure of French mountaineering in the 1950s and 1960s, reconstructing the life, the great races and the expeditions of the "conqueror" of the most difficult walls and summits of Europe, the Himalayas, the Andes and North America. Marcel Ichac produced in 1966, the day after the Gerbier accident, this illustrated tribute by bringing together personal archive documents, unpublished animated sequences or extracts from expedition images as well as comments taken from the autobiographical texts of Lionel Terray " The Conquerors of the Useless" and "Battle for Jannu". This film, presented at the Cannes Film Festival, has won numerous awards at specialized film festivals, including the Trente Festival and the Banff Festival.

Jim Bridwell, The Yosemite Living Legend

Jim Bridwell was one of the best climbers in the world in the 70s, 80s. The documentary chronicles Bridwell's career from those early days to his final ascents in 2001. The film traces Jim Bridwell's journey through numerous interviews with other legendary free climbing personalities such as Leo Houlding and Ron Kauk. See him climb some of Yosemite's historic routes with today's young climbers paying homage to this true legend of free climbing. In an unpublished document from 1981, he is seen in one of his famous Zodiac ascents in El Capitan with and Fred East.

Cervino 1901

In 1953, in an old cabinet of a former photographer from Zermatt, a first mountaineering film was found. It was a silent film from the first era showing the ascent of the Matterhorn by a group of guides across the Hornli ridge. The film is attributed to the American Frederick Burlingham and dated 1901 and is therefore the first mountaineering film in history. The story of the discovery was also dressed in a certain aura of legend and mystery as it was told that the original copy of the film had been lost forever in a shipwreck in the Atlantic and was the only copy printed that remained. The film was renamed Cervin 1901 or Cervino 1901, and in 2014, after being restored again. But the truth is that this whole story, which has somehow held together throughout this period, is full of inaccuracies...

One More Piton

Georges Livanos. A name that hardly evokes anything, or not much, even in the heart of Chamonix, the Mecca of mountaineering. And yet, the one nicknamed “the Greek” in the 1950s, because of his paternal ancestry, was undoubtedly one of the most important French mountaineers of his time. High mountain guide, Yann Borgnet, is also passionate about the history of mountaineering. “The Greek” is one of the “old ones” who particularly marked him. Yann wants to follow in Georges’ footsteps. So the young guide imagines an alpine journey, designed to visit the great routes opened by Livanos. A dive into the heart of an immense vertical heritage, to meet a great, almost forgotten, figure of mountaineering and his heritage.

Don't Look Down

Urban free climbers are a new breed of daredevils, young men and women who illegally climb cranes and buildings without any safety equipment, then hang from them, hundreds of metres above the ground, one slip from certain death... Free climbing originated in Eastern Europe, but has recently spread to Britain. James Kingston is a 23-year-old who lives with his mother near Southampton. In his spare time James scales the local 100m cranes and 200m radio towers. Now James embarks on a journey to the spiritual home of urban free climbing, Ukraine, where he teams up with the infamous Mustang Wanted, the craziest climber of them all. As Mustang and James explore Kiev, the pair push themselves to new extremes, climbing derelict buildings and tightrope-walking hundreds of metres above the city, before finally heading to the iconic Moscow bridge to attempt Mustang's latest death defying stunt. Don't Look Down is fascinating, revealing and nerve-wracking.

Extreme Rock

In 1984 Ron Fawcett, is one of the most athletic climbers, he takes pleasure in taking up the challenge of climbing "free" without artificial aids, the equipment and rope being used only for safety, a revolution at the time. The documentary is part of "Pushing The Limits", a 10-episode series by Leo Dickinson documenting sporting adventures that push the limits of human endurance. Each episode focused on an extreme sport, ranging from rock climbing to hot air ballooning.

La Cordée de Rêve

La Cordée de Rêve traces the great alpine journey made from August 2000 to February 2001 by Patrick Berhault. His great crossing of the Alps, here told to his daughter, will be done sometimes alone, sometimes surrounded by friends: Patrick Gabarrou, Patrick Edlinger, Ottavio Fassini, Gaël Bouquet des Chaux, Valérie Aumage, Philippe Magnin. During this alpine trip he will find his brother-in-arms Patrick Edlinger for the dolimitic part and will also see the genesis of the "Cordée Magique Berhault/Magnin". For 167 days, in sneakers in the fall, on touring skis in the winter, Patrick Berhault chained 2 to 3 stages of an average hiker daily, swallowing 1,500 to 2,000 meters of vertical drop and up to 45 kilometers per day. , and climbed 22 peaks. It's called that: "La Grande Cordée" but behind this title lies an exceptional human and sporting performance.

Everest Unmasked

Record of the first ascent of Everest made without the use of oxygen equipment, made in May 1978 by Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler. Could it be done? Would their blood vessels burst? Would they suffer brain damage leading to madness? Nobody was sure. Messner: 'I would never come here for trying Everest with oxygen. That is not a challenge for me.' A fascinating piece of history, well filmed by Leo Dickinson and Eric Jones (above the South Col Messner used a cine camera to continue the filming), featuring Messner and Habeler's thoughts. The film follows the usual sequence from Namche to Base Camp, through the Icefall, to Camps I, II and III. It also shows historical footage of the pioneering Mallory and Shipton expeditions.

My Next Challenge

Introducing the famous French Spider-Man, Alain Robert, in his home in Bali to reminisce over his past feats, mapping the mind of a world-class daredevil. In our interview with Alain, we touch on both the high points and the low points of his career, including the numerous incidents he's had over the years and what it takes for him to return to a sport that has nearly taken his life so many times.

Le Grec - Georges Livanos

Georges Livanos, nicknamed the Greek but pure child of Marseille, amateur mountaineer, opened more than 500 routes in the Calanques, 40 in the Dolomites, and repeated many of the greatest routes in the Alps in the company of the best climbers of his time, d friends, and especially his wife Sonia. He is also the author of the classic "Beyond the vertical". This report follows for a day the legend, still 71 years old, of his apartment in the Marseille city in the Calanques. As a true Provençal, he speaks without filter of the exploits that made him famous, gives his opinion on modern climbing and on life in general: the portrait of a great climber and above all of a fascinating character with a sense of humor sharp.

Everest: The Summit of the Gods

Makoto Fukamachi is a Japanese cameraman. He finds an old camera on a backstreet of Nepal. The camera might possibly solve the mystery of whether George Mallory became the first person to successfully climb Mount Everest on June 8, 1924 or not. Pursuing the old camera's past, Makoto Fukamachi meets legendary Alpinist Joji Habu. Joji Habu is isolated from other people because of his reckless and thoughtless personality.

La Voie Terray

Terray. This name sounds like a challenge and evokes deep respect in the memory of every mountaineer. For all, Lionel Terray remains forever the "Conqueror of the useless", the example of a generous and mature mountaineer, far from any egocentrism and any ambition. Not only a pioneer and witness to the history of mountaineering, Terray is also remembered as a man and a master more than an athlete. Forty years after the tragic death of this extraordinary mountaineer and guide, who liked to think of himself as a "simple mountaineer", his former friends and the youngest generation of mountaineers come together in this film to celebrate and remember his legacy.

Climbing Everest with a Mountain on My Back: The Sherpa's Story

Every year, over a thousand climbers try to reach the summit of Mount Everest, with the annual record for successful attempts currently standing at 633. But of that number, nearly half were Sherpas - the mountain's unsung heroes. Yet the Sherpa community has remained secretive about their nation, culture and experiences living in the shadow of the world's highest mountain. Now, for the first time, they open the door into their world. Without the expertise of the Sherpas, only the hardiest and most skilful climbers would succeed. Every day they risk their lives for the safety of others, yet they seek neither glory nor reward, preferring to stay in the background. Following the stories of four such Sherpas - Phurba, Ngima, Ngima Tenji and Gelu - this film reveals the reality of their daily lives, not just up the mountain, but with their families after they return home.