• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

Brave New Wild a film by Oakley Anderson­Moore 76 min For downloadable images: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/4ofn6ekt9izfipa/AACCi_9neHrxj6TO9pCrVSzva For press inquires, please contact Alexander Reinhard [email protected] * (858) 336­6999 Introduction BRAVE NEW WILD is an offbeat chronicle of America’s Golden Age of rock climbing before and after the controversial ascent of the Dawn Wall in 1970. Some forty years later, Oakley Anderson­Moore, the daughter of a pioneering climber, stumbles upon her father's old hi8 tapes, and sets out to answer the question: why climb when there's nothing to gain ­­ and everything to lose? Wry humor and an eclectic original soundtrack punctuate the delinquent antics of the Vulgarians in the ‘Gunks, the larger­than­life rivalry of Yosemite’s rock gods, and the fruit tramping, freight train hopping hobodom of her dad’s climbing life, making this film quintessential viewing for those who long for adventure. What people are saying about B rave New Wild : "This is one of the best films I've ever seen ­­ climbing or otherwise..." ­ Cameron Burns, Author Postcards from the Trailer Park "Speaks to a lot of us who yearn for vertical adventure & the song of the open road." ­ Stewart Green, About.com "The first time's a charm for director Oakley Anderson­Moore." ­ Brad Weismann, Denver Westward “An outdoor classic is born.” ­ De Escalada “This movie goes places other climbing filmmakers have yet to even dream about.” – Ajax Greene “A playful, unique tone that is rare in documentaries.” ­ Robert Hardy, Filmmaker’s Process Producer’s Notes For decades, observers have asked the question, why do people climb ? It’s a dangerous and arguable very silly thing to do with one’s life. BRAVE NEW WILD comes as close to a poetic, comprehensive answer as you’ll ever get! The film doesn’t hit you on the head with a one­line answer, but ruminates. As the viewer, you piece together thematic connections between stories of adventure, gallows humor, historical context, and coming of age to come up with your own interpretation. These themes are built from a collage of climbers from the early days of the climbing revolution in America: the class­defying Vulgarians in the ‘Gunks, the draft dodging Climbers Camp in the Tetons, the Rock Gods of Yosemite Valley (and the controversial first ascent of the Dawn Wall in 1970), and the personal story of the director’s father, a 1970s era climbing bum. The stories are loosely weaved together into an entertaining and thoughtful meditation that encourages the viewer to consider their own lives, and what’s motivating their own futures. As the daughter of a climbing pioneer who grew up with climbing, the director approaches the film with admiration as well as irreverence — and finds a delicate balance between conveying the feeling of this world while still asking the tough questions. The film has a unique and playful, almost subversive, tone that is rare in documentaries but extremely well suited to the story of degenerate American climbing pioneers who eschewed the mores of society and laughed in the face of danger. ­­ Alexander Reinhard, Producer Q&A with the Director, Oakley Anderson­Moore Q: Are you yourself a climber? Do you consider climbing your passion? A: I learned to climb from my dad, and I do climb today. Quite terribly in fact, but I do have a great time! I enjoy meeting new climbers and outdoor enthusiasts everyday ­­ even as I am slogging up some route they quite speedily pass me up on. I think the accomplishment of leading a complicated and difficult climb (relative to you) is something very remarkable, and worth experiencing. So many of us lead our day­to­day lives afraid to take risks. And while that’s generally a healthy way to feel, sometimes you need to take risks in order to understand who you really are and what your life can mean to you. With that said, I couldn’t claim to be as passionate about climbing as my father was at my age. If I was, I would not have spent so much time making a movie about climbing. I would have been out there doing it! Q: How long did you spend making this film? A: I did the first round of interviews in 2008 – at one of the Gunks reunions in New Paltz ­­ so quite a long time! Q: What’s it like to be a female filmmaker having made this film about a predominantly male­dominated world? A: The first thing I’ll say is that what drew me to the climbing world of the 1950s ­ 1970s is the non­conformist nature of climbers. (Even in terms of not conforming to each other, which is something that motivates much of the conflict in the film!) So while society at large exacts pressures on us about what ‘women’ and ‘men’ should be doing, those are often pressures the original climbers reject, or try to at least. Every person that you see interviewed in Brave New Wild made up their own mind about my ability to tell their story, and didn’t give a damn about me being a girl. The second thing I will say is that there are very few women in this film (with exception to myself, narrating in deus­ex­machina fashion.) Elaine Matthews is the sole female voice. Where are all the ladies? Historically, the involvement of women in rock climbing actually went down in the 1950s and 1960s (the time period of the film.) This is partly because of tremendous shifts in notions of femininity and masculinity at the time. Without writing a novel here, you can look at movies to see the shift. Unlike the strong, independent women in films in the 1930s a la Katherine Hepburn, you see a shift towards more helpless bombshells 1950s and 1960s a la Marilyn Monroe. At the same time, masculinity was undergoing a major facelift. In the late 1800s early 1900s, having muscles and being privvy to manual labor was looked down upon as “working class” – a very dirty word back then. But after WWII, as America started to develop a robust middle class that it hadn’t had before, those notions changed. All of the sudden, working class stiffs going out to the cliffs and being crazy and being tough was more acceptable. (Not to mention possible because in the new economy working class people could actually afford to have a weekend to explore.) These are some reasons why climbing as a riskier, more macho sport in the 1950s took off. And also why you see fewer women at the cliffs leading climbs. Much of that changes quite quickly, as I address a little bit in the companion film I made called Wild New Brave (more about 1970s, with appearances from Lynn Hill, Sibylle Hechtel, and Bev Johnson.) There’s no doubt that women faced a lot of discrimination, particularly in the expedition world, and had to overcome a lot of societal preconceptions get where they did in climbing. As Lynn Hill mentions in Wild New Brave, when she was a kid, girls didn’t even wear pants! We’ve come a long way. The shifts in gender and the gutsy achievements of women in climbing is something I hope to address in a future film ­­ where I can give it the time and excitement it deserves. The last thing I feel I should say in terms of what it meant for me to be a female and make this film is this: I worked my ass off to make this the best, most authentic story possible. And on top of that, I had the balls [not literally of course) to tell the story from my point of view. To me, it benefits the film immensely. Some people will not like that. They will say, how come she inserted herself into this story? How come she couldn’t just get a nice narrator and keep it historical? There are certainly some climbers who will question if I had the right to tell the story with my voice. I encourage those people to ask themselves why they they think that a man, preferably a celebrity with a deep velvety voice, has more of a right to tell the story than I do? Documentary conventions often use a booming narrator as a figure of authority, sure. But this is not a conventional world. I, on the other hand, will lead you unauthoritatively through the film as that’s how I thought it should be, growing up breathing the ether of this world as a climber and a climber’s daughter. I have more right than anyone to make this film. And in doing so, I welcome people who appreciate good stories and recognize that this day belongs to those who seize it, regardless of gender. Stylistic Approach This documentary is playfully organized and edited to simulate the intoxicating, irreverent world of the story. The characters speak to us from flickering campfire or candlelight as we're transported to bright photographs and ephemeral footage. As the characters follow a coming­of­age trajectory, cartoons come to life, old book pages flip by, and original music delivers punch lines and floats the viewer by different places, personalities, and events. Long Synopsis Brave New Wild examines how the act of rock climbing evolved into a fanatical movement amongst the new middle class in post­World War II America. Unlike aristocratic mountaineers of the past, who climbed mountains with caution and for national honor, climbing rocks grew into an American counter­culture movement that embraced risk taking and individual self­expression.

Load more

  10

Copy Link