Par monts et par maux

Always Alive

Living in Chamonix means observing Mont Blanc all the time. It's such an iconic summit." For several years, athlete Hillary Gerardi has shone on the podiums of the biggest trail races, but her gaze is set on high altitude. Victim of a terrible accident a few years earlier, she questions her legitimacy as a mountaineer to measure herself against the most prestigious mountain running record. The round trip starting from the church of Chamonix, the capital of mountaineering, to the summit of Mont Blanc. Secretly, Hillary has dedicated her last three years to this meticulous preparation, but that was without counting on climatic hazards that are much less controllable than her own determination... On the eve of the International Year of Glacier Preservation in 2025 (UNESCO), this inspiring film harmoniously combines the sporting performance of Hillary's record and the awareness of the importance of glaciers through the speech of glaciologist Heidi Selvestre.

Chamonix - Mont Blanc, Une histoire de conquêtes

The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young

In its first 25 years only 10 people have finished The Barkley Marathons. Based on a historic prison escape, this cult like race tempts people from around the world to test their limits of physical and mental endurance in this documentary that contemplates the value of pain.

The Ascent of Mont Blanc

Joseph Vallot and his team of guides and porters climb Mont Blanc in 1906. Their ascent will take three days. They spent their nights at the Grands Mulets refuge and the Grand Plateau refuge. This is the very first successfully filmed ascent. Joseph Vallot (1854-1925), rich heir of Lodève in Occitania. He devotes part of his fortune to the observation of the Alps, sometimes opposing the scientific community. He built an observatory, still standing today.

Explore Mont Blanc

Perilous Assignment

"Perilous Assignment" is an episode of ABC's Walt Disney Presents. Disney loved to show viewers behind the scenes of the daring shoots of its theatrically released or TV shows. The theme of the episode is the making of his next film, The Third Man on the Mountain, an adaptation of James Ramsey Ullman's novel Banner in the Sky, based on the true story of the first ascent of the Matterhorn. Walt Disney will not be limited to a simple promotional making-of. He offers to meet exceptional people, including the French mountain guide Gaston Rébuffat. The latter will show climbing techniques and then reveal breathtaking images of his ascents of steep cliffs with a client for the ascent of Mont-Blanc, filmed for the occasion. In 1958, Walt Disney will therefore offer him to be deputy director on the high mountain scenes of the film "The Third Man on the Mountain".

The Unfamous of Mont Blanc

Mont Blanc, the highest peak in the Alps, rises to 4,810 m and was first climbed on August 8, 1786. Chamonix natives Jacques Balmat and Michel Paccard set out on the afternoon of August 7 and returned victorious on the morning of the 9th, after two nights spent outdoors. This film is a staging that reconstructs this great event with all the problems it created and resolved, thus contributing to the emergence of the modern concept of mountaineering. Denis Ducroz, guide and filmmaker, immerses us in the minds and times of these two men, 224 years later.

Once is Enough

After losing his mother to obesity, a thirty-two year old chubby ginger comedian and vegan son-of-a-pig-farmer sets out to avoid the same fate by running one hundred miles through the mountains of Colorado in one of the world's most difficult ultra trail marathons...and lives to tell jokes about it.

The Edge of Possible: A Barkley Marathons Tale

The Edge of Possible: A Barkley Marathon Tale takes you deep inside the legendary Barkley Marathons, the world’s most elusive and punishing ultramarathon. Set in the unforgiving terrain of Frozen Head State Park, this film follows elite ultrarunner Harvey Lewis as he battles the course, his limits, and time itself. Halfway through, we meet Jasmin Paris, whose grit and endurance add another layer to this epic test of human resilience. With insights from race founder Lazarus Lake, past Barkley finisher John Kelly, Gary Robbins and others, this documentary is an unprecedented look at the fine line between ambition and impossibility.

Beyond the Arctic

A team of an entrepreneur, an athlete and a student from Taiwan arrived in the Arctic Circle. Through their participation in the 2008 Polar Challenge – a 600 km race to the Magnetic North Pole, they’ve realized their dreams. They experienced hypothermia and attack from polar bears en route.

Une Belle Trace

July 2022. Two high mountain guides, Frédéric Dégoulet and Benjamin Ribeyre embark on a journey around the Mer de Glace via the most legendary peaks of the Mont-Blanc massif.

The High Route

The only recorded completion of the North Cascades High Traverse took 28 days. Motivated by the challenge of rugged mixed-alpine terrain, trail runners Kaytlyn Gerbin and Jenny Abegg set out to complete the epic linkup in 6.

Unbreakable: The Western States 100

In 2010, four of the greatest undefeated mountain runners on earth toed the starting line at the Western States 100-mile endurance run, the oldest and most prestigious 100-mile foot race in the world. 'Unbreakable: The Western States 100' follows the four lead men on this amazing journey. Hal Koerner, two time defending Western States champion, and running store entrepreneur from Ashland, Oregon. Geoff Roes, undefeated at the 100-mile distance, an organic chef from Juneau, Alaska. Anton Krupicka, undefeated in every ultramarathon he has ever started, a graduate student living in Boulder, Colorado. Kilian Jornet, the young mountain runner and two time Ultra-trail du Mont-Blanc champion, from Spain.

Solace

On | Solace – Running the Alps in 30 days – Karel Sabbe's Via Alpina FKT In the summer of 2021, ultrarunner Karel Sabbe ran the Via Alpina trail in just 30 days. Averaging two marathons on a daily basis, he navigated the route 14 days faster than anybody else. As well as the Alps, Karel overcame sleep deprivation, illness and extreme weather. And he did it all with a camera crew in tow, documenting every step.

The Middle Way

Entre Terre et Ciel

This is Gaston Rebuffat's fourth film, in which, with several close friends, he discovers the sublime landscapes of the Alps. “Mont-Blanc is beautiful. I climbed it several times depending on the time, the color of the sky and the shape of the cornices and ridges. Because of the weather and also because of this feeling of altitude, Mont-Blanc provides great pleasure. For the guide, Mont Blanc is his garden, but the garden becomes more beautiful when shown to a friend. Personally, I really like the bivouacs; only there one penetrates a little the mystery of the altitude. That's why I immediately accepted when Tazieff expressed the desire to spend the night at the top of Mont Blanc in an igloo. The film won the Grand Prix at the Trento Film Festival in 1961.

In the High Country

Anton Krupicka’s running has evolved from trails to mountains to free-soloing. Filmed over a season “In the High Country” thin air, river baths, and itinerant mountain living.

Caribou

Life in 24 Hours

One of the most successful ultrarunners of all time Lithuanian Aleksandr Sorokin talks about challenges, emotions and thoughts running 24h in World Championship in Verona, Italy. He openly describes the hardest moments of his attempt to break 24h running world record. That is one of the rare moments when elite athlete talks about weaknesses and pressure he feels every day and how he cope with it.