Gaston Rébuffat was one of an elite group of mountaineers who earned international fame. Through his many books, films and spectacular images, he portrayed the mountains and brought them to a wider audience; he stressed the beauty, poetry and greatness of the Earth’s highest points, debunking the myth that they are part of harsh, dangerous and deadly world. His feats, from the Calanques of Marseilles to Annapurna, are the stuff of legend. On the twentieth anniversary of his death, this film brings together archive footage, some previously unreleased, to portray the life of an extraordinary man who holds a place of honour in the collective imagination of the mountaineering world.
Directors
Gilles Chappaz
Born in 1953 in Chamoniard, France, Gilles Chappaz is a journalist, television consultant, ski instructor and member of the Higher Council of Mountain Sports. He is the film producer for Migoo Productions, which specialises in making mountain films. He works on the production of France 3’s programme Montagne Magazine. As a director, he has made a host of documentaries and films about skiing and the mountains, including Sur le fil des 4000, Lignes de Pente, Berhault, La Voie Terray and Extrement Votre. He has taken part in numerous editions of the Trento Film Festival.
Denis Steinberg
Denis Steinberg worked at France 3 for ten years, during which time he concentrated on the editing of television programme Montagne Magazine. After working at France 3, he went on to be head of post-production for the Albertville Winter Olympics. During his five years in the job, he worked on the making and editing of numerous films. Since 1998, he has worked in production at Médéo Productions, a company he founded.
Gallery
