Scenes from “Vertical Freedom.” TRAILER
On Saturday, I had the pleasure of being invited to a limited showing of NATE’s documentary “Vertical Freedom” at a cozy little theater in Wilmington, DE. Hosted by NATE Board Member Kevin Dougherty, the event attracted about 70 attendees who were treated to more than just free popcorn and beverages.
The film itself impressed from the start with its music and graphics followed by extraordinary drone shots panning climbers at work in a variety of breath-taking settings. Clearly, by its outset, this was more than just your average industry feel-good film. NATE brought in some pros for the job. Credit belongs to the writing staff, film crew and writer/director Doug Lee for bringing the various stories of six tower climbers to life. The climbers themselves are not just a cross-section of ethnicity and gender, but their stories are a fascinating mix of their circuitous paths to ending up in this industry.
Not only should the film crews be recognized for their technical expertise but the movie’s executive producers, Kevin Dougherty, Paula Nurnberg and Todd Schlekeway, need to take a bow as well for allowing an unvarnished peek inside the tent of the dangers inherent in the business and the sheer guts it takes to perform in it. If this was intended as a recruitment film, future climbers, you’ve been warned. At the same time, a viewer gets energized and shares in the rush of climbing and the enticing bonding that goes on within a crew. A non-climber watching this film is constantly asking him-herself ‘could I do that?’
The climbers, Andrew Lealofi, Ky Nguyen, Sean Gilhooley, Angelo Wiggins, Kelsey Olsen and Robert Gallegos, are an engaging bunch with a myriad of stories to tell that range from fighting addiction and incarceration, to sudden business failure, to losing friends on the job. Interspersed are segways into their personal backgrounds and the impact on their families. Interviewing the spouses of a few climbers and hearing their fears, yet pride, in their mates, was a brilliant touch and an original perspective.The weeks on the road, away from family and living out of less-than-four-star hotels, was duly noted and well documented.
Various climbing conditions and scenarios were depicted in the film while soaking in the scenery along the way. Scenes showing the switching out of one-ton analog-to-digital tv antennas via helicopter assistance were particularly riveting (or bolting).
The movie has already received its share of award-worthy notifications from the New Hampshire Film Festival and the Boston Film Festival. Additional viewings are coming up in North Canton, OH; Walnut Creek, CA; Washington, D.C.; Ft. Lauderdale/Davie, FL and Salt Lake City, UT.
The film is slated for public video-on-demand release (available to rent or buy) on November 1, 2022. There will be a Blu-Ray DVD sale around that time as well. After the initial VOD window, the distributor, Gravitas Ventures, will then begin actively shopping the movie to the prominent streaming platforms.
By Jim Fryer, Inside Towers Managing Editor
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