1 // LAS LOCAS (13:21)* DIRECTOR: ANNA HAZLETT FEMALE DIRECTOR + PRODUCER
Aleksandra “Ola” Taistra is a Sardinia expert, having ticked off impressive lines including five 8b multi-pitches on the island already. After being inspired by up-and- coming trad climber Anna Hazlett’s (Hazelnutt) Instagram adventures, Ola spontaneously invites Anna to come try a new project with her! Of course, having never met each other, their main adventure unexpectedly becomes forming a lifelong friendship. Their personalities are diametrically opposed, but they share a fire and passion for excelling on the rock that unites them.

2 // LUMINOSO (35:00) DIRECTOR: KAI AXMACHER
N.S. David loves rock climbing more than anything, but sometimes she wonders why – it hurts, it smells, it makes her toenails fall off. Looking for an answer, she sets off to Mexico with an ambitious goal: climb “El Sendero Luminoso.” At over 1500 feet, this towering limestone mountain is – she freely admits – “way too hard” for her. But as she makes friends, eats too many tacos, attempts to go running, and battles other, more daunting, obstacles, the answer becomes clear.

3 // LOVE (14:45)* DIRECTOR: TARA KERZHNER PRODUCER: SARAH STEELE FEMALE DIRECTOR + PRODUCER RECIPIENT OF THE 2023 “FEM-WOW” AWARD (ALL-WOMAN PRODUCTION)
Love is a story of motherhood through the eyes of professional climber Paige Claassen as she redefines strength as a pregnant athlete through loss and growth.

4 // THE DESTINY OF A SHERPA WOMAN (12:07)* [MOUNTAINEERING] DIRECTORS: LOUISE THALLER, STANISLAS GIROUX FEMALE DIRECTOR + PRODUCER
Step by step. To the rhythm of Yangji’s sure and steady pace, we walk through her life journey, as she returns after many years of absence to the poor village in the Everest region where she grew up. She who turned her back on the mountain as a teenager in the hope of escaping the misery that reigns in the valley of her childhood never thought she would come back, and even less so with the title of mountain guide…
This portrait is part of a series entitled ‘Altitudes’ which explores the many facets of the relationship between man and mountain across the world and cultures.

5 // ASCEND (19:40)* DIRECTORS + PRODUCERS: KATHRYN FRANCIS, CAMPBELL BREWER EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: ALEX LOWTHER, MONIKA MCCLURE, JUSTIN ROTH FEMALE DIRECTOR + PRODUCER
Mina Bakhshi, Haniya Tavasoli and Rabia Hussain had a fair amount of latitude for women in Afghanistan, able to pursue their education, go to work, and explore hobbies and interests. Joining Ascend, a nonprofit organization teaching leadership and rock climbing to women, gave them the chance to test their personal and cultural limits and explore the mountains of their home country. But when the Taliban took over in August 2021, Ascend became their one chance to escape a regime that would restrict their freedoms and future.

While the women of Ascend were being resettled in other countries with volunteer host families from Ascend’s network—often other climbers wanting to help—Merryn Venugopal and Michelle Pellette, two members of Yosemite Search and Rescue, were also looking to find ways to support fellow climbers in need. They invited the women to spend a week in Yosemite, where they could safely reunite and find solace in the climbing community. Now, as they build new lives in a country separated from their families, the women find that meeting other climbers in Yosemite is also a connection to home.