The Summit
2012
The Sundance film festival award winning The Summit is a 2013 documentary film about the 2008 K2 disaster, produced and directed by Nick Ryan. It combines documentary footage with dramatised recreations of the events of the K2 disaster, during which – on the way to and from the summit – 11 climbers died during a short time span, creating one of the worst catastrophes in climbing history.
Released internationally in theatres, the film garnered multiple awards, including Best film BANFF film festival, Best Adventure Film Boulder Film Festival and Best Feature Documentary at the 2014 IFTA awards.
Reviews for The Summit
Irresistible…Compulsively Watchable – LA Times
Gripping…A heart throbbing cliffhanger – The Hollywood Reporter
A pulse pounding success – The New York Times
Intense and Painful viewing – San Francisco Chronicle
The Summit is informative and diligent film-making… it’s never less than engrossing -Twitchfilm
Produced and Directed by Nick Ryan
Written by Mark Monroe
Cinematography Robbie Ryan and Stephen O’Reilly
Music by Nick Seymour
Edited by Ben Stark
Executive producers John Battsek, Darrell Kavanagh, John McDonnell, Pat Falvey
Behind the Scenes of The Summit
Throughout work on the summit we kept a record of the work that went into bringing the feature film to life. From our journey through Pakistan to film K2, to the composing and recording of the soundtrack, to the effects work that went into bringing the film’s most dynamic moments to life.
Filming in Pakistan
From the relative quiet of our offices to the winding and treacherous Karakorum Highway littered with the carcas’ of vehicles hundreds of feet below the mountain road. To a world record breaking helicopter flight to film the towering peak of K2.
The Reconstructions
An in depth look at how some of the most dynamic and harrowing moments from the story were recreated to bring the audience onto the mountain in that fateful 24 hours.
The Music
Composer, Nick Seymour and Director, Nick Ryan. Talk about what it took to bring the score for The Summit to life.
The 2010 Test Shoot
Where the visual style of the recreation scenes was solidified on the Eiger in Switzerland. This shoot, before full production began, was designed to determine if we could realistically recreate the key moments on K2 in the Himalayas by shooting in the Swiss alps.
