And the Judge's decision please...
First up were 3 shorts that were part of a filmmaking competition Reel Rock put on. The first was the winner of the Humor/Spoof category, Spray Lords. This movie had it all, famous climbers, the Red, and numerous references to 8a.nu. I think that says it all... No, wait, awesomenessity! That covers it nicely.
Second go was the winner of the Action/Inspiration category, Do What You Like. Absolutely fantastic videography in this film, but outside of that it seemed rather run of the mill.
Last to summit was the Judges Choice award winner, Pose Age XXXVIII. This one is a complete spoof on the Dosage series as well as all the usual players in the major climbing vids. Prepare to laugh ourself out of your seat, and under the table if you happen to be at one.
The Second First Ascent
After the first round of shorts we were treated to the first two episodes of the new show First Ascent. Having not been a huge fan of the movie, I was skeptical about the spin-off TV series. However, the stories, and climbing, in the episodes was of a much higher quality than that of the movie.
The first episode followed Alex Honnold on his epic free-soloing adventures. The footage of him climbing the Moonlight Buttress, and then the North West Face of Half Dome, left everyone in the theater breathless and on the edge of their seats. These shots blew my mind more than anything else I saw all night.
The other episode was a much more sobering tale about a man that lost his wife to a car accident and his mental recovery from it. The story follows him and his friends, Renan Ozturk and Cedar Wright (I'm going to go ahead and just get it out that this is the first video to have Cedar Wright in it that I actually enjoyed the entirety of), on a trip to Patagonia to claim a first ascent in her memory and scatter her ashes in the mountains that she loved. This one tugged on my heartstrings in a few spots; An amazingly well told and touching tale.
And now for the Main Event!
The showcase of the whole night was the premier of Progression, the new film for Big Up. It is filled with the usual suspects, such as Chris Sharma and Tommy Caldwell, as well as some newer faces, like Adam Ondra and Kevin Jorgeson. I don't want to spoil any of the sweetness that this movie exudes, so I'll just stick to saying that it shows some of the best climbers in the world doing what they do best, pushing the limits on R/X trad routes, sketchy highballs, bold free-solos, and insane 5.15 sport climbs from 40' tall to over 200' tall.
If you still aren't psyched to see these movies then just go here to watch the trailers. Now if you still aren't psyched to see these, why are you reading my blog? You obviously don't like climbing and we probably aren't friends. Don't you have a life?
See you on the rocks!
-Josh
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