at the Emerson on Wednesday, September 30th at 7:30pm
It’s been a big year in climbing–from Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson’s epic saga on the Dawn Wall to the tragic loss of Dean Potter, one of the sport’s all-time greats.
In its 10th year, the REEL ROCK Film Tour will celebrate them all with an incredible lineup of films that go beyond the headlines to stories that are both intimate and awe-inspiring. The Film Tour will stop by the Emerson of Bozeman on Wednesday, September 30th at 7:30pm. The 2015 film lineup will include a number of exciting and earnest pieces. A Line Across the Sky: The Fitz Roy traverse is one of the most sought afterachievements in modern alpinism: a gnarly journey across sevenjagged summits and 13,000 vertical feet of climbing. Who knew it could be so much fun? Join Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold on the inspiring–and at times hilarious–quest that earned the Piolet d’Or, mountaineering’s highest prize. Runtime of 35 minutes. High and Mighty: High ball bouldering–where a fall could lead to serious injury–is not for the faint of heart. Add to the equation a level of difficulty at climbing’s cutting edge, and things can get downright out of control. Follow Daniel Woods’ epic battle to conquer fear and climb the high ball test piece The Process. Runtime of 20 minutes. Showdown at Horseshoe Hell: 24 Hours of Horseshoe Hell is the wildest event in the climbingworld; a mash-up of ultramarathon and Burning Man where eliteclimbers and gumbies alike go for broke in a sun-up to sun-down orgy of lactic acid and beer. But all fun aside, the competition is real: Can the team of Nik Berry and Mason Earle stand up against the all-powerful Alex Honnold? Runtime of 20 minutes. Dean Potter Tribute: Dean Potter was the most iconic vertical adventurer of a generation. He has been an integral part of the REEL ROCK family since year one, starring in such classics as “First Ascent,” “Fly or Die,” “Race for the Nose” and “Valley Uprising.” Following his tragic death in May, the tour will include a stirring tribute to our friend and collaborator. Runtime of 6 minutes. And finally, the Dawn Wall: First Look: Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson’s epic final push to free climb the Dawn Wall was a truly historic feat. It marked the greatest climbing achievement of a generation and captured the world’s imagination. As our team works on a major feature film about the event slated for next year, REEL ROCK 10 will include an exclusive first look at the drama playing out at the crux of the route. Runtime of 15 minutes. After a decade of REEL ROCK, it just keeps getting better and better. REEL ROCK started as a few filmmakers from Boulder and New York who had a knack for telling the stories behind the world’s greatest adventure athletes. Now, ten years later, it’s grown into one of the biggest adventure sport events in the world with: over 450 shows worldwide; shows on all 7 continents; over 100,000 theater viewers; over 1,000,000 TV viewers; and over 35% year-over-year revenue growth. The film featured in last year’s REEL ROCK Tour, “Valley Uprising,” became one of the most awarded adventure sports films of all time. Winning top awards at 18 international film festivals, Valley Uprising blazed its way to unprecedented success by telling the raucous narratives of the greatest generations of American climbers. continues to page 3D REEL ROCK films have garnered critical acclaim and legions of fans by forging a storydriven genre of climbing films that not only document the incredible feats but also delve into the personal narratives of the climbers themselves. In doing so, the filmmakers have made climbing not only relatable but fascinating to the mainstream. Many of the major stories and players in the headlines have roots in a REEL ROCK film. REEL ROCK has been a major catalyst of the climbing world’s explosion into the spotlight. It has discovered and launched personalities that are now known and loved by the general public. Alex Honnold was still a shy kid living at his mom’s house back in 2009. But he also happened to be one of the most impressive athletes the filmmakers had ever seen. After REEL ROCK’s “Alone on the Wall,” his story was picked up by 60 Minutes and he’s now a household name. Dean Potter was a friend and collaborator since the very beginning of REEL ROCK and was a cornerstone throughout the series. REEL ROCK films gave Ueli Steck (the “Swiss Machine”) and Andy Lewis (“Sketchy Andy”) the monikers by which they are now known worldwide. After being featured in REEL ROCK 6, Steck was profiled in The New Yorker magazine, and Lewis was asked to perform with Madonna for the Super Bowl halftime show. Tommy Caldwell (first appeared in REEL ROCK 1) and Kevin Jorgeson (first appeared in REEL ROCK 3), have vaulted to mainstream fame. REEL ROCK 6 brought to the forefront a 10 year-old climbing phenom named Ashima Shiraishi. Today she is a 14 year-old teenage climbing celebrity known for shattering records on the most technically challenging climbs around the world. Before it became a feature film that won the most prestigious award at Sundance, the first ascent of the Shark’s Fin on Meru Peak by Jimmy Chin, Conrad Anker and Renan Ozturk was featured in REEL ROCK 7. Climbing is one of the fastest growing sports in the United States. That fascination has been the subject of top articles in The New York Times and The New Yorker. There are currently over 400 climbing gyms in North America and countless climbing walls at rec centers and schools. Undoubtedly, the size of the next generation of climbers is going to dwarf all previous generations combined. That generation consistently turns to REEL ROCK to see what’s cool, what’s next and what will inspire them. Tickets to the Bozeman show are $17 plus fees and are available online or at the Emerson box office. Visit reelrocktour.com for more information. •
