Cannibals and Crampons

Stone Love

What has four legs, five arms and three heads? The Gimp Monkeys. Craig DeMartino lost his leg after a 100-foot climbing fall. Pete Davis with born without an arm. Bone cancer claimed Jarem Frye's left leg at the age of 14. While the three are linked by what they are missing, it is their shared passion for climbing that pushed them towards an improbable goal - the first all-disabled ascent of Yosemite's iconic El Capitan.

March 12, 1987. The young French mountaineer Eric Escoffier prepares his equipment, very reduced in material and food. He leaves the next day and intends to chain three north faces in the Alps: Eiger, Matterhorn and Grandes Jorasses. The ascent of the first summit, the Eiger is slow, difficult and full of pitfalls. It takes 17 hours to reach it. Without recognizing the terrain -he prefers to improvise- the mountaineer continues through the Matterhorn. When night falls, anxiety is felt on Zermatt's side. Help is organized to pick him up. Despite his refusal to return, Escoffier is finally hoisted. Christophe Profit, a few hours earlier, managed the chain of three summits.

In the 1980s, Patrick Edlinger, nicknamed "Le Blond", painted with the grace of a poet the first chapter in the world history of free climbing. In his hands, marginal exercise has become a real lifestyle, carrying a message of freedom. His famous solos, beyond the proven feat they represent, bear witness to this. Life at Your Fingertips, the first internationally known climbing film, touched and inspired by generations of climbers; Edlinger was one of the meteors that shone light on the cliffs of the world by following the trajectory of a single idea: to be free to live only by "climbing". Yet the man capable of concessions in the face of the necessities of life (competitions, advertisements) and pressure from the media, his public and the desires he aroused.

Riccardo Cassin, 100 Anni - Un secolo di alpinismo passato alla storia

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.

One of the most mysterious animals to inhabit the jungle is the pygmy hippopotamus - up to 300 kg in weight, just 2 meters long, and 80 cm tall, and a true loner. Since its discovery in 1844, generations of researchers have attempted to study it in the wild - but in vain. Although it proved possible to catch a few specimens for zoos, no one ever got to see them before they were already inside the trap. They eluded the gaze of the researchers like phantoms under the protection of the enchanted forest. These are the first ever pictures of pygmy hippopotami in their natural surroundings - the rain forest of West Africa. Set amid stories about their habitat, the film allows a first impression of this timid creature's life. While their ten-times heavier relatives are loud and gregarious and live in open stretches of water, the pygmy hippopotamus moves furtively through the thick undergrowth.

Vivian Bruchez explores his backyard on several steep adventures in a winter of exceptional snow, in the company of a few talented friends. Previously impassable and unthinkable routes become a tangible reality when skill, experience and conditions align.

Scotland in winter is an arena where mountaineers pit their skills against exacting climbs often in ferocious conditions. It is respected by climbers around the world. Distilled examines what makes the climbing here so potent. Andy Cave first climbed in Scotland as a teenager. This was the start of a lifelong journey for Andy, which took him from the depths of a Yorkshire coal mine to the peaks of the Himalayas. As the story unfolds we see dramatic footage of Andy climbing some of Scotland’s classic and most challenging winter routes in the full spectrum of conditions that Scotland’s mountains can conjure. Distilled is a celebration of Scottish winter climbing and a poignant profile of a life spent in the mountains.

Short documentary.

A documentary on funk and P-funk and the bands and artists that made it all happen: James Brown, Sly Stone, George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Maurice White and his Earth Wind & Fire, Average White Band, Kool & The Gang and lots more. It tells the story of black American music and how it evolved from funk to more main stream to disco to hiphop to contemporary R 'n B and its impact on society. Music and live footage from the bands, interviews with artists and band members of Kool & The Gang, Earth Wind & Fire, George Clinton and lots more.

Documentary about the inhabitants, both human and animal, of the Belgian Congo. Released in 1958.

Andrzej Bargiel and Jędrek Baranowski roam through Karakoram to create history. This movie is a journey full of passion and love for big mountain skiing told by two friends across 6,000m of descent.

Antoine, le danseur de la falaise

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.

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.

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.

The classic film that inspired the National Geographic Series. Join a global quest with world-class climbers in pursuit of the ultimate goal: the first ascent. Featuring Dean Potter, Timmy O'Neill, Sonnie Trotter, and the amazing Didier Berthod on his quest for the first ascent of the Cobra Crack.

In this retrospective tribute, acclaimed filmmaker Jean Walkinshaw hails the 100th anniversary of Mount Rainier National Park in Washington by talking to those who know it best: the scientists, naturalists, mountain climbers and artists whose lives have been touched by the peak's far-reaching shadow. The result is a harmonious blend of archival material and high-definition footage celebrating an icon of the Pacific Northwest.

The guide Gaston Rébuffat, shares with us his view of his job and the nature that surrounds him by showing us some beautiful climbs made with friends, noting the importance of the friendship of the rope party. Born near the Calanques, he could have been a sailor, like him linked to storms and the stars. We follow him with Edwin Mattews (USA) in their ascent of the Barre des Ecrins, then in La Meije. Accompanied by Jean Juge (Switzerland), in the Mont Blanc Massif, for a crossing of the Aiguilles de Chamonix. With his Italian friend Lino Donvito, he climbs the Torre de Vijolet in the Dolomites. Then with Massulu Suzuki (Japan) in the Mont Blanc massif (Rochefort ridges, Dent du Géant via the south face). Christian Ringeval (France) accompanies him for an ascent of Vignemale. And finally return to the Mont Blanc massif, to the Grand Capucin (Bonatti route) with Konrad Krirch.