Karl
Karl
Valeria Allievi
Italy / 2009 / 56'
Karl
Valeria Allievi
Italy / 2009 / 56'

“Karl was a climber who had something to say - and he was saying it.” The tragic passing of Karl Unterkircher in the July 2008, during the expedition to the virgin wall Rakhiot of the Nanga Parbat, looks like a prepared cinema plot: the extreme climber, the risk, the tragedy. A well-known sequence of events, behind which was a unique personality in the world of mountaineering: simple, self-confident and admired by the greatest people of our time for succeeding in writing the story of mountaineering in just a few year. This movie aims to be a portrait of Karl not just as a climber, but also as a man. It traces his life, starting from the big expedition to Everest and K2 in 2004, during which he managed to climb both mountains without oxygen and in only sixty-three days. That moment was a turning point for him and a unique chance to stand out and put into practice his ideas of a new kind of explorative mountaineering, but with an impeccable style, not only in his home rock walls, but also at very high altitudes.

Director

Valeria Allievi

She was born in Milan and studied Architecture at the city’s polytechnic. She started her career as a fashion-film producer and a fashion-show director. She became the director of Italy’s Fashion TV until her love for the mountains, climbing and mountaineering led her to move to Valle d’Aosta. As a professional director, she works with the Cervino CineMountain Festival; she is also a lecturer at the European Institute of Design. Her films include "Un Menestrel" (2010), "Karl" (2009).