DOCUMENTARY

Feature Documentaries

Lost TEmple of the inca

For decades, legendary archeologist Dr. Johan Reinhard has been searching for the lost temples of the Inca Empire in Peru, but one has remained hidden: Ausangate, named after one of the most sacred mountains in the Empire. In 2011, environmental scientist Preston Sowell picked up where Dr Reinhard left off: While looking for threatened high-altitude species in the Peruvian Andes, Sowell discovered ruins and artifacts submerged beneath the waters of a remote lake at the headwaters of the Amazon River that he thinks are the lost temple of Ausangate. Featuring Dr. Reinhard, this film follows Sowell’s journey of discovery, loss and adventure as he seeks to prove the cultural significance of this sacred place in order to protect the lake’s watershed from environmental devastation.

2019, 52 minutes

Directed by JIM AIKMAN | Produced by GRAHAM ZIMMERMAN | Co-Produced with OFF THE FENCE | Executive Producer DEBBIE HINNIGAN | Co-Producer NATHAN DAPPEN | Featuring PRESTON SOWELL & JOHAN REINHARD | Distributed by NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC & DISNEY+

TRANSCENDENCE

After walking away from professional cycling to pursue climbing, Adrien Costa suffered a devastating accident that began his journey as an adaptive athlete. This film follows his path from recovery to the cutting edge of adaptive climbing, working his way up to an epic first ascent in Washington’s North Cascades with PNW legend Mark Allen.

2023, 30 MINUTES

Directed by MICHELLE SMITH | Produced by JIM AIKMAN | Cinematography by JIM AIKMAN & CHRIS ALSTRIN | Producer LUKE WEBSTER | Presented by SALEWA, WILD COUNTRY, CLICK MEDICAL & MOUNTAIN BUREAU

Streaming on ADVENTURE+ and WATERBEAR in 2024!

hold fast

Conrad Anker is one of the greatest and most notorious professional mountain climbers in history. But at 54, his career in the big mountains is winding down, especially after suffering a heart attack on a climb high in the Himalayas. His friend Alex Wildman is a novice big-wall climber and cardiac nurse with his own history of traumatic illness. Together, they team up to support each other on a climb up Yosemite's El Capitan in Yosemite Valley.

2018, 56 MINUTES

Directed by JIM AIKMAN | Produced by GRAHAM ZIMMERMAN | Executive Producer TOM BRADY | Story Producer CYNTHIA PALORMO | Produced for the "Religion of Sports" series on the Audience Network Created by GOTHAM CHOPRA

Metanoia

The story of legendary climber Jeff Lowe's rise to the top of his sport before a devastating fall from grace that precipitated perhaps the boldest solo mountain climb in history: Metanoia, on the North Face of the Eiger. Twenty years later, Jeff faces a terminal disease with the same courage and grace that characterized his career as a climber.

2015, 78 minutes

Directed & Edited by JIM AIKMAN

High and Hallowed: Everest 1963

Profiling the bold and visionary efforts of the 1963 American Mount Everest Expedition, the film examines the sheer commitment, step-by-step struggle and lasting impact of the first American ascent of Mt. Everest and the pioneering first ascent of the West Ridge.
Five decades later, High and Hallowed: Everest 1963 journeys back to Everest to discover if the essence of risk, adventure and the unknown that drew the first Americans to the summit still exists on Everest today.

2013, 50 MINUTES

Co-Directed & Edited by JIM AIKMAN

THE MEANINGLESS PURSUIT OF SNOW

Riding powder is a useless pursuit—yet people across the globe devote their lives to earning their turns. The Meaningless Pursuit of Snow follows five such characters, united by their search for the same essentials: a connection to nature, the joy of the struggle and a backcountry community they call home.​

2023, 60 minutes

Produced by SWEETGRASS PRODUCTIONS
Directed by MICHAEL BROWN
Edited by JIM AIKMAN & MICHAEL BROWN

Sponsored and Distributed by PATAGONIA

AN IMPERFECT ADVOCATE

In the rarified air of the world’s wildest mountains, alpinist Graham Zimmerman has seen firsthand the effects of human-driven climate change on the world. He has seen glaciers recede, winters become shorter, and weather patterns become more volatile. As his eyes have been opened to the irreversible damage that humans are doing to the planet, he has been forced to acknowledge that he is complicit in destroying these places that he loves. Despite his own carbon footprint, Graham decides that he must take action and joins Protect Our Winters, an advocacy group that enlists him in the fight against Climate Change. In doing so, he starts down the path of advocacy in an increasingly turbulent world. A world that will challenge him in many ways, not least of all, by asking if he can accept his imperfections to become an effective advocate.

2020, 21 minutes

Directed by JIM AIKMAN
Produced by GRAHAM ZIMMERMAN
Executive Producers MARIO MOLINA & BRYAN COLE

Distributed by OUTSIDE TV

Martin’s Boat

In the 1950’s when the Bureau of Reclamation proposed two dams in the Grand Canyon—one at Marble Canyon and the other at Bridge Canyon—the late Martin Litton made sure the Sierra Club didn't acquiesce. Martin believed the best way for people to understand how important it was to preserve the Grand Canyon was to have them experience this secret world from the river, but not in just any boat. Martin pioneered whitewater dories on the Colorado River in the 1960’s and started a proud tradition of naming the boats after wild places that had been lost or compromised by the hand of man. Martin’s Boat is a film that honors the legacy of Martin Litton and follows the newest boat in the Grand Canyon Dories fleet, the Marble Canyon, on its maiden voyage down the legendary Colorado River through the grandest canyon on Earth.

2015, 20 MINUTES

Directed by PETE McBRIDE | Edited by JIM AIKMAN

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

Brazilian immigrant and climber Maiza Lima is on a mission to create her own climbing areas that celebrate the diversity of the sport. Follow Maiza as she learns about American climbing's long history of racist, sexist route names and builds the foundation for a more inclusive climbing landscape in Jules Jimreivat's directorial debut film, "What's in a Name?"

2021, 14 minutes

Directed by JULES JIMREIVAT
Produced by JIM AIKMAN
Executive Producer GRAHAM ZIMMERMAN

for REI Co-Op and Marmot

Short Films: