Matti and Niila, growing up in the mid-sixties in the harsh and conservative environment of a Finnish-speaking part of Tornedalen in Swedish Laponia, close to the Finnish border. Their big dream is to become rock stars. In the present the now grown-up Matti feels guilt for the death of his drug-addicted rock star friend Niila.
Every spring, tens of thousands of men, women and children leave their villages for a dangerous trek to the high Himalaya to collect Yarsagumbu, a mysterious transmutation between plant and insect. Used in Chinese medicine, it is worth up to 60 000 USD a kilo, more than gold.
Less than two years after his serious road accident, Eric Escoffier brought together the "Turbo" team (Frédéric Ancey, Michel Fauquet, Christine Janin and Stéphane Schaffter) with whom he will attempt to climb Everest without oxygen and without prior acclimatization in the Himalayas, the project being to complete the Paris-Everest-Paris loop in two weeks. It is also a medical experiment: the athletes spend a week at Mont Blanc, at the Vallot observatory between 4000 and 4800m, then a week in a hypobaric chamber in Grenoble. Doctors (Dr. Richalet, Herry and Bittel) perform tests throughout this training, which will learn about how the body acclimatizes to altitude and allow applications in the management of mountain-related illnesses . On September 2, 1989, they arrived at Everest base camp in China. They attempted the ascent via the North Col but could not carry out their project, prevented by bad weather.
The highest mountain range in the world, the Himalayan range is far reaching, spanning thousands of miles, and holds within it an exceptionally diverse ecology. Coniferous and subtropical forests, wetlands, and montane grasslands are as much a part of this world as the inhospitable, frozen mountaintops that tower above. The word Himalaya is Sanskrit for abode of snow, fitting for a stretch of land that houses the world’s largest non polar ice masses. Extensive glacial networks feed Asia's major rivers including the Ganges, Indus, and Brahmaputra. More than a billion people rely on these glacier-fed water sources for drinking water and agriculture. The Himalayas are not only a remarkable expanse of natural beauty. They're also crucial for our survival.
Directed by Marianne Chaud
Satyajit Ray's poetic documentary was commissioned by the Chogyal (King) of Sikkim at a time when he felt the sovereignty of Sikkim was under threat from both China and India. Ray's documentary is about the sovereignty of Sikkim. The film was banned by the government of India when Sikkim merged with India in 1975. The ban was finally lifted by the Ministry of External Affairs in September 2010. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2007.
A scenic documentary record of a climb up to Mount Assiniboine, the 'American Matterhorn' in the Canadian Rockies.
A short documentary about freestyle skiing made for the New Zealand Tourist and Publicity Department.
Reinhold Messner - The Fifteenth 8000er
The Great North Faces of the Alps: Matterhorn
Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer journeys to the Himalayas without his family to head an expedition in 1939. But when World War II breaks out, the arrogant Harrer falls into Allied forces' hands as a prisoner of war. He escapes with a fellow detainee and makes his way to Lhasa, Tibet, where he meets the 14-year-old Dalai Lama, whose friendship ultimately transforms his outlook on life.
National Geographic sull'Everest
On September 11, 2001, the unimaginable transpired when devastating attacks on the World Trade Center forced the shutdown of the entire U.S. airspace. Thousands of kilometres away in Gander, Newfoundland, a group of Nav Canada air traffic controllers suddenly had the lives of 33,000 people in their hands and had to think fast to find a place for them to go. Discovery uncovers how these unsung heroes managed to safely land 224 planes in four hours, without incident.
Voleurz’ Look on the Bright Side is arguably the feel good action-sports movie of the year. With their usual blend of happy go lucky snowboarding, skiing and an extensive and technical skateboarding segment, Voleurz’ once again has conquered their quest to do their part in helping break down barriers between action sports with their most unique and entertaining film yet. Highlights include action-packed segments from snowboarders Barry Hartman, Braden Dean, Justin VDP and Shayne Zwickel; a trip to Sweden with Canada’s top freeskiers TJ Schiller, Ian Cosco, and Justin Dorey; skateboard segments from Vancouvers rising talent Tyler Holm and Corey Klim; and a mid-summer heli shoot at the Camp of Champions on the Blackcomb glacier.
Voleurz' That’s Fine documents the antics and exploits of the infamous Voleurz Family, comprised of skiers, snowboarders and skateboarders, making the multi-sport offering one of the most well-rounded and diverse films in the action sports world. Highlights include snowboarder Justin VDP slaying pillow lines in the Whistler backcountry, freeskier KC Deane's jaw-dropping big mountain segment, a raucous urban trip to Ontario with Scott Sych & Matt Brindisi, the unique style of one of skiing's most imaginative individuals, Max Hill (along with the highly entertaining return of Max Hill vs The Intern), skateboarding the streets of Vancouver with Tyler Holm, and of course, the hilarious and not-to-be-missed Winter Volympics. As voted by fans, That’s Fine won Best Web Video of 2011 on ESPN.
Voleurz' eighth feature-length film showcases the antics and exploits of the Voleurz family, and features snowboarders and skiers forced against each other in an all out bloodbath. Who will take the throne? Kill Your Boredom highlights include riding from newly appointed Voleurz snowboarder Geoff Brown jumping unique road gaps and adding a double cork in the backcountry to his already heavy bag of tricks; skier Rob Heule shows us what it takes to be skiing’s up-and-coming urban slayer, proving that the infamous 5-kink elbow rail in Calgary is actually possible; and of course, the hilarious and not-to-be-missed Winter Volympics will once again leave your mom asking, “who are these morons?”
Avid for steep slopes, Marco Siffredi (1979-2002) obeys only one rule: not to fall. This gifted kid with hair sometimes blond peroxidized, green or blue clashed in his valley: Chamonix, mecca of mountaineering. His thing was to go up and down on a snowboard. . 90 minutes September 8, 2002, altitude 8848 meters, rare oxygen, his head already brushing the sky and his snowboard running, Marco Siffredi, 23, rushes from the summit of Everest in the Horbein corridor and its slopes at 50 degrees . A year earlier, he had already made the first descent of the mountain on a snowboard. But there remains another corridor… more direct. It's not a challenge, just a reason to be... However, that day, at the top of the roof of the world, his trace is lost...
Alexandra David-Néel : Du Sikkim au Tibet Interdit
Fachiri Echi Verticali - Una Storia su Enzo Cozzolino
Kids and bikes; wherever you are in the world, they go together. The chaotic streets of Kathmandu may not seem like a typical breeding ground for world-class mountain bikers, but then again nothing is typical about Rajesh (RJ) Magar. Since learning to ride on a beat-up clunker, to becoming the four-time National Champion at age 21, RJ’s story is one of boundless childhood dreaming and unstoppable determination, forged from junkyard scraps and tested on the rugged trails of the mighty Himalaya.