Séo!
The film shows Catherine Destivelle's trip to Dogon Country, in Mali, where she will make spectacular free solo rock climbing ascents in the sun-warmed cliffs of Bandiagara. Destivelle is accompanied on this trip by a friend climber, Lucien Abbet. A film by Pierre-Antoine Hiroz produced in 1987 by Paradoxe and also featuring Tidjani Koné, Ibrahim Dolo, and the Dogon inhabitants of the Bandiagara Escarpment. The film won the Genziana D'argento for best free climbing film at the Trento Film Festival in 1987.
Wild One
In 1977, Philippe Ribiere is born in Martinique with the Rubinstein-Taybi Syndrome. Abandoned by his parents, he is left to the hospital, where he is bound to spend the first four years of his life and undergo a series of arm and leg operations. He is alone and different. At the age of 4, he is taken to France to be adopted by a French family. In 1994, Philippe discovers climbing, which is much more of a challenge to him than it is to others. However, he also discovers how to turn his handicap into an advantage trough climbing and so make his way into the society. The story of Philippe Ribiere is a story of loneliness, searching for the answers, discovering of being different, it is a story of courage, will, fearlessness, freedom, seeking for love and overcoming the impossible.
Because The Mountain Was There
On May 23, 1971, a French expedition led by Robert Paragot successfully climbed Makalu via its west pillar. Makalu is one of the five highest peaks in the world, located in the Himalayas on the Nepalese-Tibetan border. Jean-Pierre Janssen and Lucien Bérardini filmed this expedition, where Robert Paragot spoke about the expedition conditions, life at altitude, and his state of mind as expedition leader. On the return to base camp, Jean-Pierre Janssen interviewed Lucien Berardini, Georges Payot, Jean-Claude Mosca, François Guillot, and Jean-Paul Paris, all of whom played a key role in bringing Bernard Mellet and Yannick Seigneur to the summit. Expedition members: Robert Paragot (expedition leader), Georges Payot, Yannick Seigneur, Claude Jager, Jean-Claude Mosca, François Guillot, Bernard Mellet, Lucien Bérardini, Jean-Paul Paris, Robert Jacob, Jacques Marchal (surgeon).
The Measure of the Feat
A film about the preparation of the "Trilogy For a Single Man," about the medical and nutritional monitoring of French mountaineer Christophe Profit during his climbing "trilogy" and the period of intensive training that preceded one of the most fabulous "chains" ever made by a mountaineer. On March 12 and 13, 1987, Christophe Profit, then 26, successfully climbed the three largest north faces of the Alps in winter in 40 hours: Grandes Jorasses, Eiger, Matterhorn. But beyond this coverage of the event, it is the behind-the-scenes that is revealed, the story of this project, the ups and downs of its preparations and the personality of its author, a dancer of the verticals, who concentrates at his fingertips the energy and reflexes of life itself.
Makalu 8481m - West Pillar
The French Alpine Club's film about the French expedition to conquer Makalu (8481m) via the west pillar in Nepal, which began on February 24, 1971. Composed of 11 mountaineers, Robert Paragot (expedition leader), Georges Payot, Lucien Berardini, Yannick Seigneur, Claude Jager, Jean-Paul Paris, Jean-Claude Mosca, François Guillot, Bernard Mellet, Robert Jacob and Jacques Marchal (surgeon), it took twenty-five days of walking on the Himalayan trails with 460 porters and 18 Sherpas to transport 14 tons of equipment to reach the base camp. Finally, it was Mellet and Seigneur who managed to reach the summit on May 23, 1971: 8481 m, temperature - 30°, oxygen 30%, no wind.
Jean Claude Droyer, Unconditional Freedom
Portrait of Jean-Claude Droyer, a famous French climber and mountain guide. He is known for having participated in the rise of free climbing in France in the late 1970s. Trained at the climbing schools of Fontainebleau and Saussois, he distinguished himself in 1965 by solo climbing the Pentecôte route at Glandasse. He also made first ascents in the Verdon Gorges, winter ascents in the Prealps and the Mont Blanc massif, notably in 1971 the first solo ascent of the Directe Américaine on the west face of the Drus. The film was selected for the "Les Écrans Documentaires" festival in 2004.
Shakhaur 7116m, Face Nord
This film - without commentary and simply accompanied by local music - relates the 1969 ascent of the north face of Kohe Shakhawr, a Himalayan peak located on the border with Afghanistan, by mountaineers Benoît Mathieu, Jacques Soubis, René Thomas, Jean-Paul Paris, Isabelle Agresti, Henri Agresti, Roger Dietz, Jean-Pierre Frésafond, Paul Gendre, Claude Jager and Félix Magnin. As is often the case in Henri Agresti's films, there is an encounter with other peoples, other cultures, documented at length in the introduction. Then, after the interminable approach, the ascent begins: distribution of camps, successive assaults on the mountain, walking on steep scree and snowy slopes, climbing on icy walls... The arrival at the summit, without the aid of oxygen devices, seems to take place in slow motion: exhaustion mixes with the joy of the victorious mountaineers who will celebrate their success on their return to base camp on August 24, 1969.
Aconcagua
History of the first ascent of Aconcagua by the south face in February 1954 by the French shock team led by René Ferlet and composed of Lucien Bérardini, Adrien Dagory, Edmond Denis, Pierre Lesueur, Robert Paragot and Guy Poulet. In seven days of combat, they extricate themselves from the mountain in a pitiful state; all except Robert Paragot will be victims of severe frostbite which earned them amputations, some important as for “Lulu” Bérardini who lost part of his left hand.
The Gate of Heaven
A legendary film in the history of rock climbing in the Verdon Gorges, shot in 16mm between the autumn of 1978 and the spring of 1979 by Henri Agresti, a high mountain guide. For the first time, acrobatic shots were taken on the walls of the Verdon. We rediscover a whole generation of pioneers on routes like Dingomaniaque, Triomphe d'Eros, Péril rouge, Luna Bong, Pichenibule or Necronomicon, routes which, like Dingomanique or Triomphe d'Eros, had just been opened. We witnessed a major turning point in the style and possibilities of rock climbing at the end of the 1970s: anchors sealed by drilling used as belaying and no longer as aids, new equipment: climbing shoes and chalk, harnesses and figure eights. Henri Agresti's unfinished and silent film, lasting around fifty minutes, was presented in the form of a nine-minute fragment at the Trento Film Festival in 1981.
Passion Extrême
K2 Chasing Shadows
K2 Chasing Shadows chronicles Benjamin Védrines' record-breaking 2024 ascent of K2 (8,611m) in 10 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds, without supplemental oxygen: a story that unfolds as much in the mind as on the mountain. In human exploration, each boundary pushed awakens a new thirst. Each feat paves the way for a deeper quest. It is this tension between extreme performance and inner aspiration that drives K2 Chasing Shadows. For Benjamin Védrines, it is a journey of humility, resilience, and a search for meaning amidst the raw beauty of the Pakistani Karakoram. The film exposes the physical demands of a formidable summit, while also exploring fear, loss, and the perilous nature of dreams that demand total commitment. Between unforeseen obstacles, forced retreats and new attempts, Védrines faces the most trying and exhilarating aspects of mountaineering, constantly questioning where true accomplishment lies.
Il Était Une Voie Edlinger
Fifteen years have passed since the spectacular images of Jean-Paul Janssen's "Life at Your Fingertips" introduced the general public to free climbing and its embodiment: Patrick Edlinger. We witnessed the birth of a sporting phenomenon that would leave a lasting mark on generations of climbers. But fifteen years later, in 1997, beyond the myth, where is Patrick Edlinger? Gilles Chappaz found him on some of the most beautiful walls of the Verdon Gorge and other cliffs during the filming of Maurice Rebeix's documentary "Roc'n Wall 97," where he shares his climbing practice and philosophy with the younger generation, including Liv Sansoz and Arnaud Petit.
Dhaulagiri, Mountain of Winds
In October 1984, Pierre Béghin, an engineer from Grenoble, and Jean-Noël Roche, a high-mountain guide, completed the Himalayan ascent of Dhaulagiri (8,172 m). The expedition's context: seven people crossed Nepal to Muri, collected accounts from trekkers—including that of the author Robert Rieffel—and attended Sherpa prayers at base camp. Then, the two of them embarked on a rocky and snowy route without supplemental oxygen. At over 5,000 meters, on the mountain of winds, Jean-Noël Roche made a paragliding flight. The climbers brought back footage with their Super 8 camera from 6,500 meters, but only photographs have been able to confirm their presence on the summit ridge of the seventh highest peak in the world.
Victory over Annapurna
In 1950, a French expedition led by Maurice Herzog went to central Nepal to conquer the highest peak (8,091 meters): Annapurna. The film is not only made of what we see, but even more of what we don't see. Its imperfections are the negative imprint of the adventure. Memory is the most faithful of films.
K2 Mon Amour
In July 2024, Liv Sansoz and Bertrand Roche (aka Zébulon) made history in Himalayan mountaineering by climbing K2 (8,611m) without supplemental oxygen, then paragliding from the summit. The couple achieved a highly coveted first, and for Zébulon, the feat was all the more impressive as he had already completed the first tandem paragliding flight from Everest in 2001. More than just a climb, this film is a love story where Liv and Zeb share their doubts, emotions, and determination, carrying a shared dream where every step is taken together, united to the very end.
Lyon Premier 8000, Au Gasherbrum II - 8035m
The "Lyon Premier 8000-Gasherbrum II 8035m" expedition, organized and led by Jean-Pierre Frésafond in 1975, was sponsored by the Lyon section of the Club Alpin Français and by Louis Pradel, Mayor of Lyon. The film traces the departure from Lyon of Berliet heavy trucks loaded with equipment, daily life in Pakistan, preparation for the expedition and the approach march with the porters, daily life at the base camp and in the camps. altitude of the members of the expedition: L. Audoubert, Marc Batard, F. Bourbousson, A. Chariglione, J. Dupraz, J.J. Forrat, H. and JP. Frésafond, B. Macho, Doctor A. Raymond, Y. Seigneur, J. Soubis, F. Valençot, B. Villaret de Chauvignypuis. Finally On June 18, 1975, Yannick Seigneur and Marc Batard reached the summit by opening a route along the south ridge. Bernard Villaret de Chauvigny, who was killed during the second assault, was the first victim of the Gasherbrum.
Patagonie Force 10
A team of 12 men, 5 sailors, a doctor, a writer, a film crew, and 3 mountaineers, Jean-Marc Boivin, Thierry Leroy, and Dominique Marchal, set off by sailboat from Mar del Plata in Argentina to reach Riso Patron in Chile, via the Strait of Magellan, the Patagonian Channels, and Falcon Fjord. Their goal is to climb Riso Patron and then make the first crossing of the Campo de Hielo Sur glacier, or Hielo Continental Patagónico, to meet up with the sailors in Puerto Williams on Navarino Island in Chile, a village at the end of the world. After three attempts and an accident for Leroy, who was repatriated, they gave up, crossed the glacier and rejoined the boat, to set off for Cape Horn to climb the South face, knowing that the weather was good one day a month... On January 20, 1983, Jean-Marc Boivin and Dominique Marchal succeeded in making the first ascent of the South face of Cape Horn.
The Verdon Gorge, The Origin Of Sport Climbing
Released in 2016, the short film by Keith Ladzinski, Josh Povec and Andy Mann traces the origins of sport climbing in the legendary Verdon Gorges, which Americans inevitably compare to the US Grand Canyon. The Verdon is where climbing flourished in the 1970s. Through the eyes and experiences of Bruno Clément, Alan Carne, Emily Harrington, François Guillot, Matt Segal and Jonathan Siegrist, we take a look back in (very beautiful) images at the different routes of the Verdon Gorges.
K2 La Montagne Inachevée
Ascent to Nanga Parbat
A film about the 1979 expedition to Nanga Parbat in Pakistan, led by Lyon native Jean-Pierre Frésafond. After a city tour, they set off by bus and then on foot with Sherpas to base camp. Having set out to attempt the Rupal Pillar, the expedition was unable to reach its objective in time (torrential rain, blocked roads, scree, etc.) and lost precious time before choosing to attempt the Mazeno Ridge by default. The team theoretically had the means to do so, since it brought together no fewer than 21 strong climbers, with a large core from Lyon—a concentration of talent rarely seen. But the resulting group dynamic worked contrary to expectations, and they had to settle for the most modest of consolation prizes: the ascent of the First Peak (6,880 meters). Frésafond recounted this in a book-testimony "The Revenge of the Himalayas - The Human Adventure at Nanga-Parbat".