The Dawn Wall | Trento Film Festival

COMPETITION

The Dawn Wall

Peter Mortimer, Josh Lowell

United States, Austria / 2017 / 100' / Italian premiere

In January 2015 the American climbers Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson captured the attention with their attempt to scale the Dawn Wall, an apparently impossible 3000 foot rock face in Yosemite National Park, California. The two lived on the rock face for weeks, provoking media frenzy at global level. However, for Tommy Caldwell, the Dawn Wall was more than just an ascent. At the age of 22, the climbing prodigy was taken hostage by rebels in Kyrgyzstan. When his marriage broke down, he escaped the pain by concentrating on his extraordinary objective to free climb the Dawn Wall. With the frontier between dedication and obsession blurring, Caldwell and his companion Jorgeson spent six years meticulously planning their route. During the final attempt, Caldwell found himself faced with a decisive choice. Should he abandon his partner to achieve his dream, or risk his own success for the sake of their friendship?

Language: English

Subtitles: Italian

Directors

Peter Mortimer

He lives in Colorado where he founded an adventure film production house, Sender Films. He produced and directed a range of documentaries on rock-climbing, winning more than fifty awards at international film festivals. With Valley Uprising he won the Golden Gentian "Città di Bolzano" and the UIAA Prize at the 63. Trento Film Festival.

Josh Lowell

An expert climbing director, he has made several films about mountaineering. With Big UP Productions he has made numerous films since 1997, including Honnold 3.0. Wiht Valley Uprising (2014) he won the Golden Gentian "Città di Bolzano" and the UIAA Prize at the 63. Trento Film Festival.

Awards

Italian Alpine Club Prize - Golden Gentian for the Best Film about Mountaineering

Ed. 2018

Impeccable storytelling, clever cinematography and use of archive, great pacing and skilful character development all contribute to making The Dawn Wall far more than a climbing film. A glimpse into a world many know little or nothing about, the film makes climbing accessible to non climbers. Tommy’s passion and determination for his project and the dramatic events he has had to overcome certainly inspire, but what really moves us is that he is human. Using climbing to recover from failure, we are allowed to see his weaknesses and we back him all the way as he inches towards his goal - with humility, humour and generosity. As the sun comes up on the Dawn Wall, we are left with a huge sense of achievement and optimism, and a far greater knowledge of what big wall climbing is all about.

Gallery

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