Sikkim

Record of the first ascent of Everest made without the use of oxygen equipment, made in May 1978 by Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler. Could it be done? Would their blood vessels burst? Would they suffer brain damage leading to madness? Nobody was sure. Messner: 'I would never come here for trying Everest with oxygen. That is not a challenge for me.' A fascinating piece of history, well filmed by Leo Dickinson and Eric Jones (above the South Col Messner used a cine camera to continue the filming), featuring Messner and Habeler's thoughts. The film follows the usual sequence from Namche to Base Camp, through the Icefall, to Camps I, II and III. It also shows historical footage of the pioneering Mallory and Shipton expeditions.

Every year, over a thousand climbers try to reach the summit of Mount Everest, with the annual record for successful attempts currently standing at 633. But of that number, nearly half were Sherpas - the mountain's unsung heroes. Yet the Sherpa community has remained secretive about their nation, culture and experiences living in the shadow of the world's highest mountain. Now, for the first time, they open the door into their world. Without the expertise of the Sherpas, only the hardiest and most skilful climbers would succeed. Every day they risk their lives for the safety of others, yet they seek neither glory nor reward, preferring to stay in the background. Following the stories of four such Sherpas - Phurba, Ngima, Ngima Tenji and Gelu - this film reveals the reality of their daily lives, not just up the mountain, but with their families after they return home.

Picking up the story first presented in I Don’t Know (1970), Hats Off to Hollywood (1972) brazenly and brilliantly mixes documentary reality with fully staged recreations/reimaginings of episodes in the lives of Jennifer and Dana, a loving, bickering couple who challenge the notion of homonormativity. Drugs, poverty, disease, bigotry and prostitution all figure into this disarmingly candid and often hilarious film, a remarkable work that is the apotheosis of director Spheeris’ early work, and a luminous signpost leading directly to The Decline of Western Civilization (1979-1997). Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012.

An overview of John F. Kennedy's political career. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive, in partnership with Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., in 2014.

Ronnie is a short exposé of a handsome young street hustler Curt McDowell met in San Francisco. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2015.

The great successes and tragedies in the life and work of Hans Kammerlander, the renowned mountaineer.

Maurice Barrard and Liliane Bontemps met in 1973 in Peru. Four years later, they are married and start their life together in the Loire Valley. She is a physiotherapist, he is an educator. For them, although settled not far from Chartres, the mountains are never far away. Whenever the opportunity presents itself, they embark on high-altitude expeditions. First individually, then together. In 1982, they were at the top of Gasherbrum 2, an ascent filmed in this documentary prelude to other future ascents including the Nanga Parbat in 1984, after an aborted attempt a year earlier, which made Liliane Barrardi the first woman to climb this mountain. of Karakoram. The "tallest couple in the world" will not stop there. After the Makalu in 1985, in the spring of 1986 they will attempt the ascent of K2 and its 8,611 meters... Un Homme, Une Femme, Un 8000 was broadcast in the program Les Carnets de L'Aventure in 1983.

Primary is a documentary film about the primary elections between John F. Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey in 1960. Primary is the first documentary to use light equipment in order to follow their subjects in a more intimate filmmaking style. This unconventional way of filming created a new look for documentary films where the camera’s lens was right in the middle of what ever drama was occurring. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with The Film Foundation in 1998.

On some peaks in 2003, the statistics are impressive. For the K2 dubbed "wild mountain" or "ruthless mountain", only 240 reached the summit and more than 60 perished in the ascent. An unimaginable rate of one death in four to survive. And these statistics are even worse At the start of the 2004 climbing season, only five talented and determined women had reached the 8,616-meter summit of K2, but only two made it out alive. , they too perished while climbing other peaks of 8000 meters, these five women all disappeared in the mountains.

The people of Britain resist the German air force and navy with help from North America. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with Library and Archives Canada in 2005.

Henry Browne, an African American farmer, and his family are profiled in this film. The important job of a farmer during times of war is highlighted, specifically his efforts growing peanuts and cotton. This role is made even more poingnant when they visit the eldest son who is a cadet in the 99th Pursuit Squadron.