Midway through Sasha DiGiulian鈥檚 new eighty-minute HBO sports documentary, Here to Climb, she expresses one of the film鈥檚 major tensions: 鈥淵ou have to be selfish,鈥� she says. Early in her climbing, DiGiulian鈥檚 mom acted as her belayer so she could spend time on the wall and not waste time belaying other people. Thanks to support like this鈥攁nd personal dedication鈥擠iGiulian became one of America鈥檚 most accomplished sport climbers, sending some of the hardest sport routes around the world, and she recently ticked off her 50th 5.14 route. But when she shifted from short sport climbs to making first female ascents of longer, multi-pitch routes, she found that focusing on herself wasn鈥檛 enough. 鈥淏ig wall climbing is about teamwork and about partnership,鈥� professional climber Cedar Wright says in the film. DiGiulian, admittedly, needed to learn how to climb with others.

The main narrative of Here to Climb, which debuts June 18 on HBO, uses DiGiulian and Lynn Hill鈥檚 2023 ascent of the three-pitch route called “Queen Line” on the Flatiron鈥檚 Maiden to demonstrate DiGiulian鈥檚 development as a climber and teammate.

DiGiulian grew up with a poster hanging on her wall of Hill making the first free ascent of the Nose of El Capitan with the caption, 鈥淚t Goes Boys!鈥� And, in the film, Hill assumes the role of mentor and DiGiulian鈥檚 foil. Though they both stand at the forefront of climbing in their respective eras, the two women developed vastly different understandings of what it means to be an elite climber. Hill came from a time before social media, where even groundbreaking ascents, like Hill鈥檚 first free ascent of the Nose, were understated. Digiulian, meanwhile, a late-generation millennial, discusses her focus on monetization and hyping her ascents. 鈥淚 took a very business-forward approach to my career,鈥� DiGiulian says, which allowed her to move from a skilled climber to a professional who capitalized on her social media reach.

鈥淪he鈥檚 the OG millennial influencer pro climber,鈥� Wright says.

But social media work comes at a price. The film discusses her struggles with her body while operating both as a performance athlete and as an influencer. DiGiulian describes her experience of being an 18-year-old 94-pound comp climber with body dysmorphia and then, gradually, finding comfort in her own skin. She talks about the criticism she received from an Agent Provocateur campaign, where she climbed in lingerie to show a correlation between strength and femininity. The film also examines the fat shaming she experienced online, though the film avoids naming Joe Kinder and the specifics of the event.

Though DiGiulian does note that this 鈥渨as an incredibly traumatizing period,鈥� the fact that the cyberbullying occupies a mere three minutes of the film might leave some viewers might be left to wonder just how much these things have affected her. Lynn Hill, however, notes that, DiGiulian is 鈥渞eally good at compartmentalizing her emotions,鈥� saying that she was shocked to observe a calm, young DiGiulian giving a slide show not long after the death of her father in 2014.

The film delves a little into the negative impacts of DiGiulian鈥檚 relentless drive, however. During one of her attempts on Pico Cao Grande, a volcanic plug on Sao Tome, an island south of Nigeria, DiGiulian rips off a large section of rock, which nearly hits her photographer. After that, the team questions her motives and her acceptance of risk for others. After nonstop rain, DiGiulian and her partner, Angela VanWiemeersch, reassess their objective and bail, one of the few retreats in DiGiulian鈥檚 long career.

As with her struggles with social media and body image, her climbing failures and difficulties are only briefly portrayed, but candor leaks into the film.

鈥淚 feel like with every big thing she鈥檚 done, there鈥檚 always a weird asterisk,鈥� Alex Honnold notes early in the film, referring to the significant scrutiny that DiGiulian鈥檚 ascents have seen from the climbing community.

After her 2021 ascent of Logical Progression, a long multi-pitch bolted route in Chihuahua, Mexico, DiGiulian that her partner didn鈥檛 successfully free one of the crux pitches and that DiGiulian top roped it, which adds a small asterisk to the ascent. Drama has also surrounded DiGiulian鈥檚 first female ascents, as with a public tiff in 2014 (detailed in an ) she had with Nina Caprez over which one of them should have the right to rig and film the first female ascent of Orbayu, a 5.14 big wall on Spain鈥檚 Naranjo de Bulnes. While the film alludes to another controversy on the Eiger, it glosses over the details.

In addition to the Lynn Hill partnership, the film also focuses on DiGiulian鈥檚 experience with chronic hip dysplasia, for which she underwent five surgeries in 2020. She had planned for Logical Progression to be a last hurrah before the surgeries, but before she could arrive, Nolan Smythe, one of the film crew riggers, died while fixing ropes for DiGiulian鈥檚 team. The death caused DiGiulian to retreat from the climb and instead push forward with her hip surgery. She struggled through her recovery, fixating on getting back on rock and . 鈥淪he needs something that鈥檚 just on the ragged edge of insanity,鈥� her partner Erik Osterholm said of DiGiulian鈥檚 drive to get back to her pre-surgery objective. Her dedication saw her back to Mexico and up the route.

Here to Climb鈥檚 arc moves quickly through DiGiulian鈥檚 problems, offering a superficial glimpse into what drives her. That鈥檚 easy criticism, though. It both minimizes the film鈥檚 breathtaking climbing footage and doesn鈥檛 do justice to the fact that DiGiulian speaks with vulnerability about her career. All in all, it鈥檚 an enlightening look at professional climbing.

Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg directed the HBO sports documentary Here to Climb from Red Bull Media House. The film debuts Tuesday, June 18 at 9pm ET/PT on HBO.

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Pioneering mountaineer, climate advocate, and adventure filmmaker David Breashears was found deceased on Thursday, March 14 at his home in Massachusetts. He was 68 years old.

The news was confirmed by longtime members of the American climbing community Ed Viesturs, Kathy Harvard and Jed Williamson, all of whom were close with Breashears and his family.听国产吃瓜黑料 also received a statement from Breashears’ family announcing the death.

It is with tremendous sadness that we share the news of David Breashears鈥� untimely passing. David was a beloved brother, uncle, father, friend, and colleague and a caring, impassioned advocate of adventure, exploration, and the health of our planet.

In his lifetime, David climbed to the summit of Mt. Everest five times, including an ascent with the IMAX camera in 1996. He combined his passion for climbing and photography to become one of the world鈥檚 most admired adventure filmmakers.

What fulfilled him the most – where he鈥檇 want his legacy to lie – is his non-profit organization, GlacierWorks, which he founded in 2007 to highlight the Himalayan glaciers through art, science, and adventure. With GlacierWorks, he used his climbing and photography experience to create unique records revealing the dramatic effects of climate change on the historic mountain range.

We want to thank everyone for their wonderful messages of support and love for David and understand that we respectfully ask for privacy as we grieve our loss.

Breashears was one of the most influential Americans in the world of Himalayan mountaineering. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as a climber and video documentarian on Mount Everest, and in 1983 Breashears transmitted the first live television images from the peak’s summit. Two years later Breashears again reached Mount Everest’s pinnacle, becoming the first American climber to make a repeat visit to the highest point on the planet.

In a , Breashears said he was the 135th person to reach the top of the world, and the experience forever changed him. “Looking back to 1983, it almost seems quaint. We had the entire south side of the mountain to ourselves, and not only did I know who my teammates were, but I also knew they had come to Everest with the careful preparation, experience and thorough training to climb it,” he said. “I remember feeling much closer to the mountain then, more in tune with the experience.鈥�

Over the following decade Breashears helped millions of people learn about Mount Everest through his films and broadcasts. In 1997 he produced the first live audio Webcast from the summit for the documentary series NOVA as part of the film Everest: The Death Zone. The next year he released the feature film Everest, which became the first IMAX production from the peak, and one of the fastest-selling films shot in the high-resolution format. The film chronicled his 1996 expedition to the peak alongside American guide Viesturs, and explored the training that mountaineers follow prior to their expeditions, and the hazards they encounter along the route to the top. Everest generated more than $120 million in revenue, and transformed Breashears into a celebrity in the outdoor world. Writing for 国产吃瓜黑料 in 2004, journalist Karen Heyman called Breashears the “James Cameron of the IMAX set.”

In a 1997 interview, Breashears said he was fascinated by extreme altitude and its impact on the human body and brain. In his films, he said, he wanted to explore how hypoxia impacts a person’s judgement. “A climber at high altitude is the last person to know that their thinking and thought processes are probably impaired,” he said. “There’s not an angel on your shoulder saying, 鈥榢nock knock, beware, you’re not thinking clearly.鈥�”

Breashears shot Everest during 1996 climbing season, and witnessed the deadly blizzard that killed eight climbers and was later chronicled by author Jon Krakauer in the 国产吃瓜黑料 feature and best-selling book听Into Thin Air.听Breashears helped with the rescue and recovery of climbers after the incident, and his experience led to another Everest film, the 2008 Frontline documentary Storm Over Everest.听The film included interviews with survivors, video from the 1996 expedition, and recreated scenes of the storm and rescue efforts.

Speaking to Frontline, Breashears said he felt it was necessary to retell the story via film and not just words to try and help viewers understand the tragedy. “For me, to see and hear direct testimony from a person who has overcome such adversity, has survived such a difficult and stressful event, is very powerful,” he said. “There is something so much more poignant about seeing a person’s face and looking into their eyes and hearing their voice than just reading about them on a written page.”

He pursued a prolific career in filmmaking, racking up credits as a cinematographer, cameraman, and producer on nearly two-dozen films, including the Hollywood blockbusters Cliffhanger 补苍诲听Seven Years in Tibet.听

Breashears was not done with telling the story of the 1996 disaster, and in 2015 he served as a co-producer and consultant on the Hollywood film Everest, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Brolin, and Jason Clarke. He was also on the peak in 2015 filming a documentary when an earthquake sent debris and ice crashing down onto Base Camp, killing 19 people.

In recent years Breashears had turned his attention to the impacts of climate change on the Himalayan region. He founded an advocacy group called GlacierWorks, which documented glacial retreat across the region through still photography and video. He displayed his images in galleries across the world to show viewers how quickly the region was being transformed. Through his work with GlacierWorks, Breashears gave lectures and talks across the world to educate audiences about the impact of the warming climate. “It鈥檚 a very easy thing to do, awareness. You can go find two pictures on a website and say that you鈥檙e creating awareness, while the real hard work is taking people from awareness to impact,” Breashears. “That鈥檚 why taking this imagery and moving it to exhibits, or to scientists at NASA, is important.”

Breashears grew up in Boulder, Colorado, and was a great rock and ice climber, turning heads early as a youth in Eldorado Canyon. As told in a , Breashears earned the nickname 鈥淜loeberdanz Kid鈥� after a speedy ascent of the challenging route Kloeberdanz, 5.11c R in Eldorado Canyon at just 18 years old. His visionary 1975 first ascents of the difficult and committing routes Krystal Klyr and Perilous Journey, both 5.11b X, with the X for great danger in the event of a fall, remain legend. Among their other mountaineering feats, in winter 1982 Breashears and Jeff Lowe made the of the 4500-foot north face of Kwangde Lho (6011 meters) via a hard and technical route on extremely steep rock and ice. The face was unrepeated until 2001.

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鈥�Most people know me as Mo Farah, but that鈥檚 not my name or my reality.鈥�

Prior to 2022, if you鈥檇 asked any British citizen who Mo Farah is, they likely would have listed off the facts they know about one of the most accomplished athletes in Britain: He made a name for himself as a kid who arrived in the U.K. as a Somalian refugee, worked hard in track and field, and eventually won gold in the 5,000- and 10,000-meter races in the 2012 London Olympics. He was even knighted by Queen Elizabeth, making him Sir Mo Farah.

Except Farah kept a secret for years.

In 2022, Farah revealed that he鈥檇 been lying about who he really was. All the stories he鈥檇 told during press junkets and interviews鈥攖hat he arrived in the U.K. with his family as an asylum seeker鈥攚ere lies. Even his name was a lie. Mo Farah was really Hussein Abdi Kahin.

RELATED: Mo Farah Opens Up About His Tortured Past

鈥楾he Real Mo Farah鈥� Documentary

The BBC produced a documentary about Farah鈥檚 story, now available for the U.S. audience on 国产吃瓜黑料 watch.

In , we hear the real tragic story of how at nine years old, Farah鈥攖hen called Hussein鈥攚as taken from his mother during the Somali Civil War and illegally trafficked into being a domestic servant. He took on the identity of a young boy he’d met from Somalia, whose name was Mo Farah, and made it his own.

Although Farah was moved into a safer home environment after a few years, he continued to live as 鈥淢o.鈥� At thirteen-years-old, he placed ninth in the English schools cross-country championships and the following year won the whole thing. After years of securing championships and records in the 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters, Farah was selected to run for Team Britain in the World Athletics Championships at the age of 14.

And, as most people know, at the London 2012 Olympics, Farah solidified his legendary status by winning two gold medals in the 10,000 meters and the 5,000 meters.

The Real Mo Farah depicts the weight Farah felt living under false pretenses through all of this success, and the guilt he constantly battled over taking the real Mo Farah鈥檚 name.

In the film, Farah asks , a Rights Lab鈥檚 Health and Wellbeing Programme Trafficking Expert, 鈥淲hat鈥檚 the long term effect of this? Do you ever get over it? Or will it always just鈥e there?鈥�

鈥淚 think the very fact that you鈥檙e starting to think about these things 20 to 30 years after they鈥檝e happened shows that it鈥檚 a long and complicated journey,鈥� Garbers responds. 鈥淎nd sometimes with potential victims, they feel guilty as well, because they feel like they were part of it.鈥�

In the documentary, Farah is asked if he is worried about what people will say in regards to his past.

鈥淧eople who love me, who care, like my mom and Kinzi, told me it鈥檚 OK to say my real name,鈥� Farah says. 鈥淚鈥檓 starting to understand me. Me. not Mohamed Farah. Me. Hussein Abdi Kahin.鈥�

Watch on 国产吃瓜黑料 Watch.

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You鈥檝e likely seen adrenaline-pumping videos of mountain bikers soaring off cliffs, descending steep and rocky trails, and flipping aerial stunts off of dirt jumps. This style of mountain biking鈥攃alled freeride鈥攖races its roots back to a small cadre of athletes who all sought to push the boundaries of the sport decades ago.

The new feature documentary Nothing鈥檚 for Free, produced by 国产吃瓜黑料 Studios in association with Freeride Entertainment, chronicles the birth and evolution of freeride from a cult sport to a global phenomenon. It takes viewers on a 30-year journey with the pioneers, visionaries, and industry masterminds that pushed the sport to where it is today. 国产吃瓜黑料+ members can now .

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We鈥檙e living in a gilded age of adventure filmmaking, and thanks to gizmos like flying drones and undersea cameras, couch potatoes like myself can view the most heart-stopping moments in outdoor sports in gleaming high-definition. In recent years I鈥檝e watched mountaineers trudge below the skyscraper-sized ice serac on K2, surfers shred 80-foot swells off the Portuguese coast, and kayakers bob down Tibet鈥檚 raging Yarlung Tsangpo river like twigs in a brook. From the safety of my sofa, I鈥檝e often gazed at these dangerous moments caught on film and thought: boy, I鈥檇 love to be able to do that! 听

I had no such reaction while watching the latest film to enter the adventure oeuvre: Netflix鈥檚 new documentary听, which is now streaming. The film takes viewers inside the dangerous world of competitive freediving, where divers descend to the dark depths of the open ocean while holding their breath and then attempting to swim to the surface.

The Deepest Breath shows in gut-wrenching detail what happens when things go horribly wrong. Underwater cameras show divers swimming upwards, only to black out from oxygen deprivation before reaching the surface. These moments trigger a frantic reaction from life-saving personnel: safety divers grab the stricken athlete鈥檚 neck, seal off their nasal passages, yank them out of the water, and then begin performing CPR. The athlete, meanwhile, is limp and lifeless, with bugged-out eyes and blue lips. After a few moments, they jolt awake and begin coughing.

Scenes like this play out again and again in The Deepest Breath. The message is clear: near-death blackouts are as common in freediving as sprained ankles are in marathoning.

I鈥檒l be honest: these video clips now fuel my nightmares. After watching The Deepest Breath, I can say without any hesitation that I鈥檇 sooner attempt K2 in a pair of Tevas or paddle out at Nazar茅 on a boogie board than ever try my hand at freediving. While the film may not be a shining endorsement of the sport, it is still a very compelling watch. I would recommend it to anyone who can stomach repeated scenes of people appearing to drown before being resuscitated.

Spoilers ahead!听There鈥檚 a love story and tragedy at the heart of The Deepest Breath, one that 国产吃瓜黑料 reported on in 2017. The film chronicles the lives of popular divers Stephen Keenan of Ireland and Alessia Zecchini of Italy鈥攖he latter is a freediving prodigy, world champion, and world record-holder (she dove to 358 feet on March 27, 2023). By age 14, Zecchini was already toppling breath-holding records in the swimming pool, and by 18 she had become freediving鈥檚 undisputed up-and-coming star. Keenan, meanwhile, discovered the sport after spending his twenties as a rudderless globetrotter. After becoming a SCUBA instructor in the freediving hotbed of Dahab, Egypt, Keenan blossomed into a safety diver on the sport鈥檚 international circuit.

Irish filmmaker Laura McGann weaves their respective narratives together with detailed archival footage from the early parts of their lives. Along the way, McGann pulls the curtain back on the sport and its competitive nuances. Freedivers propel themselves downward for the first 90 feet or so before the ocean takes over and sucks them into the dark depths at high speed. After reaching a platform set at a prescribed depth, a diver snatches a token from the platform and begins swimming toward the surface. Once they emerge, a team of judges examines the diver鈥檚 health to determine if the attempt is good. A blacked-out diver is disqualified.

Kudos to McGann and her fancy, high-definition waterproof cameras for capturing freediving鈥檚 eerily beautiful field of play. From 50 feet below, the surface appears emerald, the depths purple. The camera makes a free dive look both exhilarating and claustrophobic鈥攍ike flying blind through a moonless sky.

Top competitors play mind games with one another鈥攖hey only announce the depth of their forthcoming dive shortly before the descent to keep competitors from scheduling deeper attempts. The sport is a constant game of one-upmanship. Divers are constantly trying to push the limits of their bodies to see who can go deeper. In this fanatical push to push the limits, athletes often find their physical barriers in tragic ways.

You see, those repeated submersions have a grim impact on the human body. During a freedive, the ocean鈥檚 pressure squeezes a diver鈥檚 lungs down to the size of a lemon鈥攔epeated dives can crush and tear the organ apart, causing bleeding, irreparable damage, and even death. That鈥檚 not the only danger. Divers sometimes get pushed off course by the current and become disoriented. This is what likely killed the sport鈥檚 most decorated female champion, Russian diver Natalia Molchanova, who vanished off the coast of Ibiza in 2015 at age 53.

The message at the heart of听The Deepest Breath seems to be that a freediver鈥檚 pursuit of the sport is a one-way ticket to an early and watery grave. Tragedy is central to the听the film and its two central characters. After meeting on the freediving scene and beginning a short courtship, Zecchini travels to Dahab to train with Keenan. She also wants to dive , an undersea cavern that supports a submerged arch, that only the best divers can swim through without running out of air.

The filmmaker captures the fateful events of Zecchini鈥檚 attempt. She descends into the Blue Hole, finds the arch, and attempts to swim through it, but then becomes disoriented and runs out of air. Keenan, meanwhile, swims down to her, grabs her hands, and hauls her weakening body upward. The effort saves Zecchini鈥檚 life, but it costs Keenan his.

Keenan went missing during the dive, and swimmers found his dead body floating at the surface a short time later. The footage shows his heroic effort.

I absolutely teared up during the film鈥檚 conclusion, which features Zecchini on camera retelling the tragedy. In this way, The Deepest Breath is similar to other excellent contemporary projects in adventure filmmaking. The best footage captures emotion and heart. And you don鈥檛 need a flying drone or an expensive waterproof camera for that.

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This Memorial Day weekend marks 45 years of听, with more than 100 documentaries screening at the festival in Telluride, Colorado, from May 25 to 29. The 2023 festival is dedicated to the iconic late ski mountaineer听Hilaree Nelson, who died during her descent from 26,781-foot Manaslu on September 26, 2022. A longtime Telluride resident, Nelson appeared in various documentaries at Mountainfilm over the years, and guided programming as a guest director in 2021. At 1 P.M. on Sunday, May 28, the festival will host the world premiere of a documentary that captures one of Nelson鈥檚 last expeditions. 国产吃瓜黑料 is supporting Mountainfilm as its 2023 national media sponsor.

After three years of holding an online festival due to the pandemic, Mountainfilm will only be in-person this year. In addition to feature-length and short films, Coffee Talks, the Minds Moving Mountains Speaker Series, and DocTalks are on the schedule. You can purchase passes for the festival .

When Mountainfilm was founded in 1979, most of its programming focused on gravity-defying climbs. As word of the festival spread, the event grew to include a diverse range of athletes, activists, and artists. This year鈥檚 lineup exemplifies that tradition, celebrating the resilience of the human spirit.听听

Here are five films we can鈥檛 wait to see this weekend:

Earthside

In the spring of 2022, Hilaree Nelson, Brette Harrington, Emily Harrington, and Christina Lustenberger flew north of the Arctic Circle with the goal of scoring first descents on Baffin Island. Navigating massive seracs and freezing temperatures, the group spent over a week skiing 1,000-meter couloirs and climbing more than 20,000 vertical feet as part of an expedition sponsored by the North Face. Earthside (40 min.) captures the highs and lows of that trip, as directors Kaki Orr and Robert Wassmer follow the team through tests of will and trust. The documentary is especially poignant in light of Nelson鈥檚 death just months after filming. The 49-year-old mother of two was a mentor to athletes of all genders, but particularly to women. Watching Nelson guide this all-women expedition is both heartbreaking and heartening, a reminder of all that she made possible.

Wild Life

When her husband Doug died in a kayaking accident in 2015, Kristine Tompkins was left to lead the couple鈥檚 conservation nonprofit alone鈥攋ust as the organization was about to make the largest private land donation in history. Wild Life (93 min.), from Oscar-winning filmmakers Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, chronicles Tompkins鈥檚 dogged efforts to create national parks in Chile and Argentina, preserving the countries鈥� natural wonders for generations to come. The documentary is, as Stephanie Pearson wrote for our听 May/June issue, an 鈥渆pic saga of love and loss,鈥� revealing how Tompkins channeled her grief into protecting some 14.8 million acres. 鈥淚 want people to realize that this film is not about Doug and Kristine,鈥� Tompkins told 国产吃瓜黑料. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the representation of hundreds of Chileans鈥� and Argentines鈥� work. Mother Nature is not winning this game. We are all on the losing team, and everybody needs to join the fight.鈥�

Cowboy Poets

Since 1985, people have gathered in the high desert of Elko, Nevada, for the annual . For six days, crowds pack into small downtown theaters to hear stories about ranching, horses, and life in the rural west. In Cowboy Poets (92 min.), director Mike Day turns his lens toward these storytellers as they navigate an ever-changing landscape blighted by climate change, fossil fuel extraction, and political polarization. Through lyrical verse, the cowboy (and cowgirl) poets interrogate their region鈥檚 founding myths and contemplate a way forward, as drought and wildfires threaten to decimate their livelihoods. With lingering wide shots of torched pasture and mountainous expanses, Day records what has been lost and what鈥檚 at stake.

Patrol

On the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua sits a wildlife sanctuary teeming with jaguars, great green macaws, and howler monkeys. The 785,000-acre Indio Ma铆z Biological Reserve is home to the Rama and Afro-descendant Kriol peoples, who consider the area sacred. In Patrol (82 min.), directors Brad Allgood and Camilio De Castro Belli follow park rangers from both groups as they attempt to shield the land from illegal cattle ranchers. The film draws attention to the urgent issue of 鈥渃onflict beef鈥濃�攎eat harvested from deadly attacks on Indigenous land. Demand for imported beef in the U.S. soared during the early days of the pandemic, and Nicaraguan settlers stole acreage to increase production, . The reserve is one of the most intact tracts of lowland forest left in Central America. As Patrol shows the Indigenous rangers teaming up with a conservationist and undercover journalists, the documentary illustrates how protecting ancestral lands is a moral and environmental imperative.

Mama Bears

As GOP-led state legislatures across the country attack the rights of trans children, thousands of mothers are taking a stand. Mama Bears (90 min.), directed by Daresha Kyi, follows some of the 32,000 movement members fighting for a better world. Many self-described 鈥渕ama bears鈥� grew up in conservative Christian households, where they were taught that being LGBTQ was a sin. But their faith in God is what propels their activism. 鈥淭he Bible says some are born this way, and some are made this way. And my child is fearfully and wonderfully made. My child was born for a time such as this,鈥� activist Kimberly Shappley says .

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There鈥檚 a scene in the second season of HBO鈥檚 docuseries 100 Foot Wave in which surf icon Garrett McNamara sits silently on a Hawaiian beach and meditates as his brother-in-law, CJ Macias, does a voiceover. 鈥淭hese days it鈥檚 not always clear what Garrett is up to, or what his intention is on any given day,鈥� Macias says. The scene is supposed to illustrate how McNamara, now in his fifties, has finally broken free from his globetrotting pursuit of monster waves鈥攁 decades-long addiction that made him famous, nearly killed him, and was the focal point of 100 Foot Wave鈥檚 Emmy-winning debut in 2021.

The scene also inadvertently defines the strengths and weaknesses of the series鈥� second chapter, which airs its penultimate episode this Sunday, May 14, on HBO and HBO Max, before concluding on May 21. Yes, the latest edition of 100 Foot Wave again dazzles viewers with heart-pounding footage of surfers zipping along skyscraper-sized waves in Nazar茅, Portugal, and explores the emotional connection that they have with their adrenaline-soaked and sometimes deadly profession. But chapter two lacks the singular focus and season-long arc that characterized its debut. It ping-pongs between Portugal, Hawaii, and even Iceland. Some episodes feel more like a hang session with the surfers than a story. Some viewers (myself included) may find themselves echoing Macias鈥� words as they watch along. During season two, it鈥檚 not always clear what the show is up to, or what its intention is during any given episode.

Let鈥檚 back up. In the summer of 2021, 100 Foot Wave听burst into the HBO streaming queue after creating a buzz on social media with . That first season told the story of how McNamara and his tiny band of misfit surfers developed Nazar茅 from a little-known fishing village into the most famous big-wave surfing destination on the planet. Season one also covered nearly a decade of听 McNamara鈥檚 life, and explored the psychological stresses that he and other big-wave surfers undergo in their pursuit of the perfect wave. They find unmeasurable joy, but also crash and suffer traumatic injuries, and spend months鈥攕ometimes years鈥攂attling physical and emotional hardships to try and get back in the water. I checked out season one as a curious surf interloper and was immediately sucked in.

That season鈥檚 six-episode arc had a tidy ending in its finale: Nazar茅 hosts a major professional competition in February 2020, and the world鈥檚 best big-wave surfers finally get to experience the mythical wave that McNamara helped pioneer. It鈥檚 a fitting capstone to the contained story 100 Foot Wave set out to tell, and (in my opinion) one of the reasons why it brought home an Emmy award that year.

Season two covers the 18-month period after Nazar茅鈥檚 international debut, and captures the pandemic, a few huge storms, and even two different competitions. The six episodes are set chronologically, but you can watch them in any order (except five and six鈥攙iew those back-to-back) without feeling lost. Rather than simply focusing on McNamara, the series profiles others, among them Frenchwoman , who over the season becomes something of a co-star.

I recently asked McNamara to define season two, and after some thinking, he gave me this answer: 鈥淲eaving in other characters, weaving in other stories. The main character started out as Nazar茅 and now it鈥檚 the metaphor of the 100-foot wave. Life is a 100-foot wave. Bring that vibration and that frequency to wherever you go and whatever you do.鈥� (You can read my full interview with him here.)

Hey, that works for me. And I understand why McNamara and the series producers chose to tell a broader story, even if the one they bit off didn鈥檛 necessarily have a natural arc. Season two opens in the early months of the pandemic, when an October storm in the Atlantic sends a record swell toward Nazar茅. McNamara, Dupont, and season one star Andrew Cotton ride into the waves alongside a swelling collection of new surfers: local teenaged phenom Antonio Laureano, surfing celebrities Lucas 鈥淐humbo鈥� Chianca and Kai Lenny, Brazilian couple Michelle Des Boullions and Ian De Cosenza, and others. Footage shows the water churning with jet skis towing surfers鈥攁 visible contrast to the empty waves featured in season one.

The rocky coastline above Nazar茅鈥檚 churning water has also changed. Thousands of fans crowd the fortress overlooking the ocean to watch the action, giving the surf spot the feel of a Roman coliseum. They cheer, gasp, and recoil in horror as the surfers angle down waves and get swallowed by deadly whitewater. The scene is a visible cue that Nazar茅 has indeed been discovered by the masses鈥攖hus, it鈥檚 time for听100 Foot Wave to tell a new story with a different focus. In subsequent episodes, the series heads to Oahu to explore the legendary break Jaws. It discusses the challenging personal dynamics that often exist between a surfer and his or her jet-ski driver. And it dives into the dangerous combination of ego and blind ambition that sometimes leads to disaster in the water.

My overall takeaway from the new season is still unquestionably positive, and the show is absolutely worthy of your attention. The show profiles new surfers, and the series expands its focus to other big-wave destinations. Plus, improved camerawork and technology provides dizzying and fresh vantages of the heaving ocean that may leave you searching for your sea legs. And don鈥檛 even get me started on the Philip Glass score, which has all of the energy and complexity of .

I suppose the one consistent through-line in this varied storytelling is McNamara and his family. He and his wife, Nicole, navigate the choppy seas created by his lifestyle. They have another child. He surfs mega waves while she watches for danger from the shore, and together they attempt live as regular parents.

McNamara, sporting a head of gray hair, grapples with his aging body, which after decades of surgeries and crashes, no longer has the power to withstand the most ferocious wipeouts. When I completed听100 Foot Wave season two, I thought that perhaps it was McNamara鈥檚 struggles with Father Time was the missing arc that I was searching for. Perhaps the focus of season two was actually the aging gladiator finally turning his back on the ocean, I thought.

When I spoke to him on a call, I realized that this storyline was far from over. He told me he was again training to surf monster swells.

鈥淢y body is going to be way better than it鈥檚 ever been in a month鈥擨鈥檒l probably be in the best shape of my life in a month,鈥� McNamara told me. 鈥淚 kinda got a little desire, a little more hunger for a few more big waves.鈥�

Turns out not every story needs a beginning, middle, and end.

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The five-part documentary series Fabric鈥�鈥攑ays homage to women making positive change in their communities through sport. Featuring athletes, artists, and activists across snowboarding, surfing, and skateboarding, it turns its lens beyond gnarly tricks and toward efforts like fitting a year of trash into a jar, or organizing free skateboarding workshops for Indigenous youth. Ultimately, the series is a testament to what athletes can achieve when they use their talents to fight for a better future.

Fabric was produced by Happy Okay Pictures and directed by pro freeride snowboarder . We spoke to Van Gyn about the series, and how the pandemic shifted her creative vision.

The first three episodes of Fabric are available now on 国产吃瓜黑料 Watch. The fourth and fifth episodes will be released on March 23 and March 30, respectively.听

OUTSIDE: Why did you want to pursue this project?
ROBIN VAN GYN: I saw a lot of amazing people around me doing incredible things, and I didn鈥檛 feel like they were getting the love that they deserved. And I really was just inspired by these athletes who were taking action in their communities. I wanted to see more of that in action sports media, and media in general. If I wanted to see that, then there must be other people out there who wanted to as well.听

Fabric marks your directorial debut. What were some of the biggest challenges you encountered while making this series?
I didn鈥檛 know what to expect. I鈥檝e always just gone where my head and heart want to go, and haven鈥檛 really thought about the logistics. In this case, it was so much more than I imagined. We started the project just before COVID-19 hit in 2020. Right away, we lost all of our funding. So, we had to move through letting it die, then bringing it back to life. And then when it came back to life, it evolved into something better. We found all the right people. All of the themes of the episodes came to life鈥攅verything became a lot more clear when we had this moment of negative space to pause and look at what was really important to us.

What was your vision before the pandemic halted production, and how did the series end up changing?
The first idea was to do one of the most groundbreaking board sport films for women, action-wise. But when we actually had to take a minute to reset, we thought, what were we missing? Is athletic achievement something that we really needed to celebrate? There were all of these amazing women being spotlighted in action sports because of their talent. But we became interested in what else made them shine. Ultimately, we decided that the athletes鈥� contributions to their communities were what we really needed to amplify. All of the people that make up our cast are absolute heroes.

Fabric celebrates young women and girls getting involved in these sports, regardless of their athletic ability. Why did you think it was important to portray that on screen?
First and foremost, it鈥檚 not even just about young women and girls鈥攊t鈥檚 about everybody. It鈥檚 about creating this bigger, broader spectrum of what matters and who can be involved. It鈥檚 not just about athletic achievement. Maybe it鈥檚 about creating sports camps in your community. Maybe it鈥檚 about art, or motherhood, or mentorship. When it comes to action sports, we look at our heroes and what they can do. But really, I think the perspective shift there is, what are they doing? What we wanted to drive home to anybody interested in snowboarding, skateboarding, or surfing is that there is a place for you. There is something for everybody out there.

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.听

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A few times a year, a new documentary film about the outdoors appears on our favorite streaming services, purporting to explore , or the , , or some other natural wonder in a groundbreaking manner. In addition to dizzying drone angles and super slow-motion footage, these projects all share a common quality: a celebrity narrator.

President , so did and actors , , , , and (among many others). Michael B. Jordan and Kevin Costner both joined the narration ranks this year. has done so many that he鈥檚 probably lost count.

The proliferation of celeb voiceovers begs the question: Who should narrate the next one? While the rational, down-to-earth answer is likely 鈥渨homever is available,鈥� we鈥檙e inclined to nominate more creative鈥攁nd less pragmatic鈥攐ptions.

Joe Buck

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Av2-3OCDfXg

Over the years, football and baseball announcer Joe Buck has weathered more than his fair share of criticism. Some find him biased, unexpressive, and monotone. For the record, he won me over with his call of the in 2018, but to the haters still out there, I propose that he may be better served narrating nature-docs. Take one of his most criticized moments: when he called Randy Moss鈥檚 innocuous fake-mooning of a 2005 Green Bay crowd 鈥渁 disgusting act.鈥� This comment would make much more sense applied to, say, a leech swallowing a worm.听And if you find nature-watching boring, try sitting through a 3-hour baseball game! Buck has developed the patience to guide us through a predator slowly stalking its prey, and he鈥檒l be ready with quips and facts to keep us entertained (鈥渨e saw this hawk grab a rodent from 60 yards during warmups鈥�). Even if he still gets the usual complaints (鈥淛oe Buck is clearly rooting for the lions!鈥�), at least he鈥檒l introduce some much-needed controversy to the genre. 鈥擩onathan Ver Steegh, digital production manager

Louise Belcher from听Bob鈥檚 Burgers

Who better than the dark-minded, chaos-loving of Bob鈥檚 Burgers to tell us how some obscure fish from the depths of the ocean stalks its prey? Voiced by Kristen Schaal, nine-year-old Louise鈥檚 unique helium-laced timbre would keep audiences rapt, and her sardonic sense of humor would lend itself well to describing the brutal realities of the animal kingdom.

-Maren Larsen, podcast producer

Marcel the Shell

The problem with nature documentary narration is one of perspective. I want gonzo journalism. I want an inside scoop. Who better than a shell to tell me about the wildest marine species, or the geological history of the desert Southwest鈥攚hich used to be a shallow sea? Voiced by comedian Jenny Slate, Marcel is humble, charming, and earnest. Marcel knows what it鈥檚 like to try and hack it as a non-human inhabitant of this planet we鈥檙e destroying. I鈥檇 like to hear what he has to say. 鈥擜bbie Barronian, 国产吃瓜黑料 senior editor

Shooby Taylor

OK鈥擨 realize that the obscure 80s jazz singer is not a celebrity, and alas, he is also dead (RIP), both of which disqualify him from actually narrating a cool film about whales or whatever. Shooby was a novelty act, no doubt, and his scat singing attempted to replicate the sound of a jazz trumpet. His voice is so off-putting and bizarre that, at some point, it becomes beautifully hilarious. I beg you to watch and listen to and then tell me you wouldn鈥檛 want to hear Shooby, mid-song, describe the hunting tactics of a majestic Peregrine falcon. The eagle鈥檚 large eyes spot the prairie dog and鈥攂im, soo-di-lee dee-buh-lah-bay diddle-ay doat-und vee-bah鈥攈e takes flight and circles the rodent. 鈥�Frederick Dreier, articles editor

Tommy Wiseau

Perhaps you are familiar with The Room, that Z-list masterpiece of dramatic schlock that鈥檚 inspired as many midnight showings as The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Aside from a couple of cameos here and there, the movie鈥檚 director and star Tommy Wiseau has mostly been eating off the notoriety of that film in the 19 years since its release. But I respectfully submit that Wiseau鈥檚 chaotic energy and unpredictable delivery鈥攐ne minute scenery-chewing, the next inappropriately blas茅鈥攚ould be a perfect pairing for the natural world, where the lines between predator and prey are often fuzzy and the roles can be recast in a fraction of a second. Imagine late-night documentary screenings at your local independent theater, everyone dressed up as their favorite animal and shouting along to the best parts of Tommy W鈥檚 narration (鈥溾��). I鈥檇 get in line for tickets right now. 鈥擜dam Roy, Backpacker executive editor

Dennis Haysbert, the Voice of Allstate Insurance

There is no better voice of god than this man, who, after a quick google search, is none other than 68-year-old Dennis Dexter Haysbert. This man鈥檚 voice sounds like room-temperature butter on a homemade sourdough toast (the kind from before the pandemic). He is home, comfort, and warmth. I would trust this man to guide me up Everest in a bathing suit. He can do no wrong. So, if wants to lull me into sweet informational bliss by rattling off some nature facts while I sink slowly into the folds of my couch, tell me where to sign. 鈥擲ierra Shafer, Ski editor-in-chief

The post Who Should Narrate the Next Nature Doc? Wrong Answers Only. appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Two weeks ago, I fired up , and a preview for the new docuseries flashed across the screen. The snippet showed a mountaineer standing precariously on a rickety ladder in the Khumbu Icefall, and as a consumer of all things Everest, I immediately clicked through and binged the film鈥檚 three episodes. As the story unfolded, I saw that there was a balancing act of a different nature at play in the film.听While听Aftershock is marketed as the latest Everest documentary, the film attempts to tell听a story that is much larger than the world鈥檚 highest peak.

Aftershock documents the horror and devastation caused by the April 2015 earthquake in Nepal that left nearly 9,000 people dead and an estimated 2.5 million homeless. It tackles the question of what happens when millions of people are instantaneously placed in survival situations鈥攄o they look out for one another or themselves? Mount Everest, and the avalanche that devastated Base Camp,听is of course a chapter in this story. But Aftershock听also takes viewers into crumbling buildings in downtown Kathmandu, and high into devastated villages on the other side of the country, to tell a broader story of the disaster.

I recently spoke to British filmmaker Olly Lambert,听础蹿迟别谤蝉丑辞肠办鈥檚 director, and he said that he and the film鈥檚 producers constantly weighed how much attention to give the Everest mountaineers, and how much to give to other storylines. 鈥淟iterally, from day one of the production, the question we asked was how can we ensure that this huge disaster taking place in the Indian subcontinent is not framed as a load of white people bleating about their holiday going wrong,鈥� Lambert says. 鈥淵ou could make an entire film about the discussions we had about the title alone.鈥�

Complete coverage of a disaster of this size and scope in one film is, of course, impossible. The directors and producers tackle this lofty goal by weaving together three separate survival stories, set in three different locations, that all contain eerily similar elements of terror, sadness, and controversy. The title card tips you off that one of these stories focuses on the climbers and guides who are preparing to ascend Mount Everest when the earthquake hits on the morning of April 25, 2015. Another story is set in the remote Langtang Valley, an off-the-beaten-path destination for trekkers, and it centers听on three Israeli hikers and the villagers they meet along the way. The third (and most tear-jerking) story takes place in a hotel in Kathmandu, operated by a reformed (and self-described) Nepalese gangster and his wife and children.

These stories are told through interviews with the people who survived, and with amazing footage captured at each location. There鈥檚 also some dramatic reenactment to recreate moments that were lost in time.

The team spoke to a Nepalese researcher who showed them how the 22 deaths at Base Camp generated nearly 50 percent of all international headlines about the earthquake itself, and how this disparity in storytelling obfuscated the true size and scope of the disaster. 鈥淎s filmmakers, we didn鈥檛 want to fall into the same trap,鈥� Lambert says. 鈥淲e were always wrestling with how to balance Everest with what happened elsewhere.鈥�

But Lambert and others also knew that the general public鈥檚 fascination with Everest would likely suck in viewers who might otherwise skip a film about the Nepalese fight for survival. There was the need to 鈥済et bums in seats,鈥� as Lambert says, which also loomed large.

Plus, another pragmatic reason made the Everest storyline important: actual footage of the quake. Multiple documentary film crews at Base Camp filmed the avalanche and its aftermath with high-definition cameras. The film鈥檚 producers had a glut of footage to choose from, and the clips they included show the helplessness that everyone in Base Camp must have felt watching the plume of debris speed toward them. The rain of ice and rocks devastated the camp, killing 22 people, the most fatalities in one event in the history of Everest expeditions.

One poignant series of scenes shows Kiwi mountaineer Dave McKinley in the moments after the avalanche, as he radios climbers higher up in Base Camp to try and assess the damage. 鈥淚t just so happened that, in the minutes after the quake, a documentary cameraman picked up his incredibly high-quality 4K camera. He had a sound recordist, too, and they just shot the scene,鈥� Lambert says.听鈥淵ou actually see it in Dave鈥檚 eyes when he realizes what is going on. He takes a deep breath, says 鈥極K, Roger that,鈥� and then he kicks into gear. If I was trying to stage it, I couldn鈥檛 have shot it better.鈥�

Lambert and his crew spent nearly a year trying to decide on the two other storylines to pursue. They worked with Nepalese producers to compile a list of narratives to follow, and then whittled them down based on a variety of factors, including access to filmed footage or photography. Lambert says he wanted to pursue a storyline from the quake鈥檚 epicenter in the Gorkha District, but no footage of the drama survived. The crew instead was drawn to stories coming from the Langtang Valley and the devastation around Langtang Village. Most mainstream media had overlooked the drama around the Israeli hikers, Lambert says, but rumors circulated within the community about the trio of outsiders and how they had nearly triggered an international incident. (国产吃瓜黑料听did cover what happened in Langtang Valley in a 2015 feature.)

The Israeli trekkers came upon Langtang Village鈥攁 town where they had slept just a few nights before鈥攁nd discovered that a rockslide had buried the town鈥檚 buildings and killed most of its inhabitants. I won鈥檛 spoil what happens,听but let鈥檚 just say that the three trekkers make a blunder that places them in a seemingly life-or-death conflict with the town鈥檚 survivors. 鈥淲e tracked down the main characters from what happened on that day, and they were all up for talking about it,鈥� Lambert says. 鈥淥ne group of tourists did something that was clearly seen as a transgression, and they paid a price for it. It seemed to echo a lot of the tensions that were playing out on Everest at the same time.鈥�

In the Kathmandu story, the efforts to save survivors buried in the rubble become a race against the clock, as well as a socio-political battle between foreign rescue crews and those from Nepal.

In my opinion, this project could have jettisoned any reference to Mount Everest and still been a compelling watch. As a viewer, I tried to put myself in each person鈥檚 shoes to ask myself how I would have reacted amid such an extreme situation. Would I have been altruistic, or would I have sought some advantage in the survive-or-die scenario? Lambert says that dynamic, ultimately, is what the film is all about鈥攏ot just an avalanche in the Himalayas.

鈥淵es, the series we鈥檝e made is about an earthquake,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 really about these people, and how they were changed, and how they were revealed by their actions and behaviors. Something inside of them came out.鈥�

The post Netflix鈥檚 鈥楢ftershock: Everest and the Nepal Earthquake鈥� Is About So Much More Than the Mountain appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.