The first shot of this documentary is disorienting as well as jaw dropping. The top angle shot, with the camera floating out of the edge of a cliff capturing rock climber Alex Hannold astutely manoeuvring his way to the top of the cliff, gets you drawn to the screen.
The following shots clearly show how, with no life supports, Alex dexterously free climbs the most spectacular and arguably longest and hardest sandstone climb in the world. This (free solo - a form of rock climbing) is arguably one of the most dangerous, death defying sports as the climber or free soloist performs alone and without using any ropes, harnesses or any other protective equipment, relying entirely on their ability instead.
Combining the ideas of a daunting itch that pushes an individual's drive to the literal edge and that of the worth of attaining that itch, directors Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin...
The following shots clearly show how, with no life supports, Alex dexterously free climbs the most spectacular and arguably longest and hardest sandstone climb in the world. This (free solo - a form of rock climbing) is arguably one of the most dangerous, death defying sports as the climber or free soloist performs alone and without using any ropes, harnesses or any other protective equipment, relying entirely on their ability instead.
Combining the ideas of a daunting itch that pushes an individual's drive to the literal edge and that of the worth of attaining that itch, directors Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin...
- 4/12/2019
- GlamSham
Rock climbing rock star and Free Solo subject Alex Honnold said at TCA today he had “no intention of doing this film” and did not see it until it was finished, playing “no role in shaping the story” for the Oscar-nominated feature documentary.
The film follows Honnold as he prepares for an unprecedented climb of the 3,200-foot El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, without a rope.
Honnold recently climbed the Hollywood sign — which, one TV critic noted, is illegal. “Yes, it is,” Honnold smiled, adding that he had been given permission so it was “totally legit,” except he only was supposed to climb to a “certain height” but decided he had to touch the top. “There was no evidence,” he grinned.
As for his climbing date with Jason Momoa, Honnold explained approvingly that the actor has climbed “his whole life” and trains for movie roles that way, calling it his “mode of fitness.
The film follows Honnold as he prepares for an unprecedented climb of the 3,200-foot El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, without a rope.
Honnold recently climbed the Hollywood sign — which, one TV critic noted, is illegal. “Yes, it is,” Honnold smiled, adding that he had been given permission so it was “totally legit,” except he only was supposed to climb to a “certain height” but decided he had to touch the top. “There was no evidence,” he grinned.
As for his climbing date with Jason Momoa, Honnold explained approvingly that the actor has climbed “his whole life” and trains for movie roles that way, calling it his “mode of fitness.
- 2/8/2019
- by Lisa de Moraes
- Deadline Film + TV
Morgan Neville’s “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” has been named the best documentary of 2018 at the Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards, which were handed out on Saturday evening at Bric in Brooklyn, New York.
The film about “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” star Fred Rogers won in a category whose other nominees were “Crime + Punishment,” “Dark Money,” “Free Solo,” “Hal,” “Hitler’s Hollywood,” “Minding the Gap,” “Rbg,” “Three Identical Strangers,” “Wild Wild Country.”
Michael Moore received a lifetime achievement award from Robert De Niro, who called him “an American hero.” Moore new film, “Fahrenheit 11/9,” was not nominated in the Best Documentary category, instead receiving a mention only in Best Political Documentary, where it lost to “Rbg.”
Also Read: 'Minding the Gap' Leads All Films in Nominations for Cinema Eye Honors
“Quincy” won the award for best music documentary, while “Free Solo” won for best sports documentary and most innovative documentary.
The film about “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” star Fred Rogers won in a category whose other nominees were “Crime + Punishment,” “Dark Money,” “Free Solo,” “Hal,” “Hitler’s Hollywood,” “Minding the Gap,” “Rbg,” “Three Identical Strangers,” “Wild Wild Country.”
Michael Moore received a lifetime achievement award from Robert De Niro, who called him “an American hero.” Moore new film, “Fahrenheit 11/9,” was not nominated in the Best Documentary category, instead receiving a mention only in Best Political Documentary, where it lost to “Rbg.”
Also Read: 'Minding the Gap' Leads All Films in Nominations for Cinema Eye Honors
“Quincy” won the award for best music documentary, while “Free Solo” won for best sports documentary and most innovative documentary.
- 11/11/2018
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Free solo climber Alex Honnold on the rock face of Yosemite’s El Capitan, in National Geographic’s Free Solo. Photo courtesy of National Geographic Documentary Films (c)
Climbing a sheer mountain face is scary enough, but imagine doing it without even a rope. Free Solo follows just such a daring feat, as Alex Honnold scales Yosemite’s El Capitan…. without a rope. This National Geographic documentary offers breath-taking, dizzying views as the climber tackles the peak.
Yosemite’s daunting 3,000 foot high El Capitan rock face had never been climbed free solo when Alex Honnold set his sights on it. The documentary follows Honnold as he becomes the first person to climb it with no ropes or other safety gear, perhaps the greatest accomplishment in rock climbing history.
Free Solo follows Alex Honnold over about two years as he prepares for this never-before feat. The documentary was the winner at...
Climbing a sheer mountain face is scary enough, but imagine doing it without even a rope. Free Solo follows just such a daring feat, as Alex Honnold scales Yosemite’s El Capitan…. without a rope. This National Geographic documentary offers breath-taking, dizzying views as the climber tackles the peak.
Yosemite’s daunting 3,000 foot high El Capitan rock face had never been climbed free solo when Alex Honnold set his sights on it. The documentary follows Honnold as he becomes the first person to climb it with no ropes or other safety gear, perhaps the greatest accomplishment in rock climbing history.
Free Solo follows Alex Honnold over about two years as he prepares for this never-before feat. The documentary was the winner at...
- 10/12/2018
- by Cate Marquis
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
If mountain-climbing documentaries make you puke-dizzy, Free Solo is probably not a good idea. This National Geographic head-spinner from husband-and-wife co-directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin is extreme in the extreme. The focus is on Alex Honnold, a free climber who gives the finger to gravity every time he suits up. Honnold, 33, climbs alone, sees no need for such niceties as rope, harness and pitons and rejects the odds against surviving that come with the job. Free Solo even includes a morbid collage of dead climbers. No matter. Honnold...
- 9/27/2018
- by Peter Travers
- Rollingstone.com
If you’re afraid of heights, “Free Solo” is not the film for you. It’s a nerve-racking, vertigo-inducing portrait of a man who scales cliffs with none of the usual safety gear — no ropes, no harness, just a bag of chalk and his bare hands — and it’s made all the more intimidating by the use of relatively new camera technology — including drones, remote-operated rigs, and super-long zoom lenses — that effectively strap audiences right in there with Alex Honnold as he claws his way up a 3,000-foot wall with nothing to protect his fall.
Now, for those who love the thrill of high-adrenaline adventure docs, National Geographic’s “Free Solo” will be a hard experience to top. And yet, as a follow-up to “Meru” — a mountain-climbing doc that was, quite literally, awesome to behold — co-directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin outdo themselves with this daredevil project, which demanded...
Now, for those who love the thrill of high-adrenaline adventure docs, National Geographic’s “Free Solo” will be a hard experience to top. And yet, as a follow-up to “Meru” — a mountain-climbing doc that was, quite literally, awesome to behold — co-directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin outdo themselves with this daredevil project, which demanded...
- 9/1/2018
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Benjamin Oberman, CEO of Film Festival Flix announces the lineup for its maiden voyage of the Online Mountain and Adventure Film Festival. Oberman, along with Joni Cooper, (former Director, Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival), James Edward Mills (Journalist / The Joy Trip Project), and Nasa Koski (Adventure Film School), will host the first annual Film Festival Flix Mountain & Adventure Film Festival over an unprecedented 28 days during the month of February.
The online festival, which will celebrate world class athletes, explorers, filmmakers, adventures and awe-inspiring locations from the most remote corners of the planet, boasts a series of interactive Athlete & Filmmaker Q&A’s, Expert Panels, and Twitter Chats; all online.
Seven competition categories will be awarded a total of $12,000 in cash prizes with additional recognition through sponsored awards. Winners will receive distribution on Film Festival Flix, affiliate networks and branded distribution channels.
In its mission to celebrate great mountain and adventure films and cultures from around the world, the festival will provide greater opportunity for films and audiences to connect through the internet. Oberman’s experience as an avid climber, kayaker, skier, and hang-glide pilot, attracted him to the adventure genre of film. With the success of his distribution company, Film Festival Flix, he is able to provide a landscape to combine both worlds. “Mountain and adventure films embody the Film Festival Flix ‘Think Independently’ mantra,” says Oberman. “They smash traditional molds and push common boundaries revealing living life on one’s own terms, and capturing moments few of us will ever experience.”
Watch and interact online with filmmakers and journey to the most remote locations on planet Earth ... all on your Smart TV, computer or mobile device. All prizes are determined completely by audience vote. Winners will be announced March 10, 2015 and presented theatrically in select Us cities.
Film Festival Flix offers the film-loving community quality movies from around the world through programming of international film festival gems, online film festivals, theatrical openings and a monthly theatrical premiere series.
Film Lineup
(Note: some films may be in competition in multiple categories)
Feature
An American Ascent (Director, Andrew Adkins & George Potter)
The Asgard Project (Director, Alastair Lee)
Damnation (Director, Ben Knight)
Grit Flick (Director, Alastair Lee)
The Holy Land of Tyrol (Director, Philipp J Pamer)
Into the Mind (Director, Eric Crosland & Dave Mossop)
Psyche (Director, Alastair Lee)
Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago (Director, Lydia Smith)
Short
14.c (Director, George Knowles)
35 (Director, Nasa Koski)
The American Prairie Reserve (Director, Erik Goldstein)
Brave Little Toaster (Director, Andrew Beam)
Boy (Director, Alastair Lee)
Delta Dawn (Director, Pete McBride)
Education (Director, Fitz Cahall)
Force (Director, Fitz Cahall & Aiden Haley)
Fuse (Director, Dave Whortley)
The Gimp Monkeys (Director, Fitz Cahall & Mikey Schaefer)
In Search of Grande (Director, Adam Feuerman)
iPaddle (Director, Alastair Lee)
Joy of Air (Director, Bryan Smith)
Legacy of Intent: Protecting the Arctic Refuge (Director, Micah Baird)
Love in the Tetons (Director, Amy Marquis)
Prevail (Director, Kevin Ziechmann)
Project Mina (Director, Jen Randall)
Silence (Director, Austin Siadak)
Strong (Director, Fitz Cahall)
Sport (Non-Climbing)
Brave Little Toaster (Director, Andrew Beam)
All My Own Stunts (Director, Alastair Lee)
iPaddle (Director, Alastair Lee)
Wainwright Record Attempt (Director, Alastair Lee)
Fuse (Director, Alastair Lee)
Joy of Air (Director, Bryan Smith)
Silence (Director, Austin Siadak)
Strong (Director, Fitz Cahall)
Climbing (Rock, Ice, Mountaineering, Alpine)
14.c (Director, George Knowles)
35 (Director, Nasa Koski)
An American Ascent (Director, Andrew Adkins & George Potter)
The Asgard Proejct (Director, Alastair Lee)
The Disciples of Gill (Director, Pat Ament)
The Gimp Monkeys (Director, Fitz Cahall & Mikey Schaefer)
Grit Flick (Director, Alastair Lee)
John Gill Across Time (Director, Pat Ament)
Moonflower (Director, Alastair Lee)
Moving Over Stone: 25th Anniversary (Director, Doug Robinson)
On Sight (Director, Alastair Lee)
Prevail (Director, Kevin Ziechmann)
Project Mina (Director, Jen Randall)
The Prophet (Psyche (Director, Alastair Lee)
Set in Stone (Director, Alastair Lee & David Halsted)
Stone Free (Director, Alastair Lee)
Strong (Director, Fitz Cahall)
Sufferfest 2 (Director, Cedar Wright)
Environment
Damnation (Director, Ben Knight)
The American Prairie Reserve (Director, Erik Goldstein)
Notes on Ice (Director, Mark Whatmore)
Legacy of Intent: Protecting the Arctic Refuge (Director, Micah Baird)
Adventure
Autana (Director, Alastair Lee)
Delta Dawn (Director, Pete McBride)
Drawn (Director, Jeremy Collins)
Education (Director, Fitz Cahall)
Go Wild: Outside Las Vegas (Director, Doug Robinson)
In Search of Grande (Director, Adam Feuerman)
Into the Mind (Director, Eric Crosland & Dave Mossop)
North of the Sun (Director, Inge Wegge & Jorn Ranum)
Road From Karakol (Director, Fitz Cahall)
Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago (Director, Lydia Smith)...
The online festival, which will celebrate world class athletes, explorers, filmmakers, adventures and awe-inspiring locations from the most remote corners of the planet, boasts a series of interactive Athlete & Filmmaker Q&A’s, Expert Panels, and Twitter Chats; all online.
Seven competition categories will be awarded a total of $12,000 in cash prizes with additional recognition through sponsored awards. Winners will receive distribution on Film Festival Flix, affiliate networks and branded distribution channels.
In its mission to celebrate great mountain and adventure films and cultures from around the world, the festival will provide greater opportunity for films and audiences to connect through the internet. Oberman’s experience as an avid climber, kayaker, skier, and hang-glide pilot, attracted him to the adventure genre of film. With the success of his distribution company, Film Festival Flix, he is able to provide a landscape to combine both worlds. “Mountain and adventure films embody the Film Festival Flix ‘Think Independently’ mantra,” says Oberman. “They smash traditional molds and push common boundaries revealing living life on one’s own terms, and capturing moments few of us will ever experience.”
Watch and interact online with filmmakers and journey to the most remote locations on planet Earth ... all on your Smart TV, computer or mobile device. All prizes are determined completely by audience vote. Winners will be announced March 10, 2015 and presented theatrically in select Us cities.
Film Festival Flix offers the film-loving community quality movies from around the world through programming of international film festival gems, online film festivals, theatrical openings and a monthly theatrical premiere series.
Film Lineup
(Note: some films may be in competition in multiple categories)
Feature
An American Ascent (Director, Andrew Adkins & George Potter)
The Asgard Project (Director, Alastair Lee)
Damnation (Director, Ben Knight)
Grit Flick (Director, Alastair Lee)
The Holy Land of Tyrol (Director, Philipp J Pamer)
Into the Mind (Director, Eric Crosland & Dave Mossop)
Psyche (Director, Alastair Lee)
Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago (Director, Lydia Smith)
Short
14.c (Director, George Knowles)
35 (Director, Nasa Koski)
The American Prairie Reserve (Director, Erik Goldstein)
Brave Little Toaster (Director, Andrew Beam)
Boy (Director, Alastair Lee)
Delta Dawn (Director, Pete McBride)
Education (Director, Fitz Cahall)
Force (Director, Fitz Cahall & Aiden Haley)
Fuse (Director, Dave Whortley)
The Gimp Monkeys (Director, Fitz Cahall & Mikey Schaefer)
In Search of Grande (Director, Adam Feuerman)
iPaddle (Director, Alastair Lee)
Joy of Air (Director, Bryan Smith)
Legacy of Intent: Protecting the Arctic Refuge (Director, Micah Baird)
Love in the Tetons (Director, Amy Marquis)
Prevail (Director, Kevin Ziechmann)
Project Mina (Director, Jen Randall)
Silence (Director, Austin Siadak)
Strong (Director, Fitz Cahall)
Sport (Non-Climbing)
Brave Little Toaster (Director, Andrew Beam)
All My Own Stunts (Director, Alastair Lee)
iPaddle (Director, Alastair Lee)
Wainwright Record Attempt (Director, Alastair Lee)
Fuse (Director, Alastair Lee)
Joy of Air (Director, Bryan Smith)
Silence (Director, Austin Siadak)
Strong (Director, Fitz Cahall)
Climbing (Rock, Ice, Mountaineering, Alpine)
14.c (Director, George Knowles)
35 (Director, Nasa Koski)
An American Ascent (Director, Andrew Adkins & George Potter)
The Asgard Proejct (Director, Alastair Lee)
The Disciples of Gill (Director, Pat Ament)
The Gimp Monkeys (Director, Fitz Cahall & Mikey Schaefer)
Grit Flick (Director, Alastair Lee)
John Gill Across Time (Director, Pat Ament)
Moonflower (Director, Alastair Lee)
Moving Over Stone: 25th Anniversary (Director, Doug Robinson)
On Sight (Director, Alastair Lee)
Prevail (Director, Kevin Ziechmann)
Project Mina (Director, Jen Randall)
The Prophet (Psyche (Director, Alastair Lee)
Set in Stone (Director, Alastair Lee & David Halsted)
Stone Free (Director, Alastair Lee)
Strong (Director, Fitz Cahall)
Sufferfest 2 (Director, Cedar Wright)
Environment
Damnation (Director, Ben Knight)
The American Prairie Reserve (Director, Erik Goldstein)
Notes on Ice (Director, Mark Whatmore)
Legacy of Intent: Protecting the Arctic Refuge (Director, Micah Baird)
Adventure
Autana (Director, Alastair Lee)
Delta Dawn (Director, Pete McBride)
Drawn (Director, Jeremy Collins)
Education (Director, Fitz Cahall)
Go Wild: Outside Las Vegas (Director, Doug Robinson)
In Search of Grande (Director, Adam Feuerman)
Into the Mind (Director, Eric Crosland & Dave Mossop)
North of the Sun (Director, Inge Wegge & Jorn Ranum)
Road From Karakol (Director, Fitz Cahall)
Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago (Director, Lydia Smith)...
- 1/29/2015
- by Erin Grover
- Sydney's Buzz
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