Both
of my parents are from the Berkshires and I love to visit there. And I
love this web site because I can look at all the different pictures and
events of my parents home town.
Abby Phillips
Mountain Climbing Documentary Explores Life and Death Descent
- February, 10 2006
North
Adams - When Joe Simpson and Simon Yates set off to climb Siula Grande
they opted to do it “Alpine-style” without presetting ropes or base
camps. Despite a major snowstorm and dangerous climbing over powder
formations, the experienced climbers had little trouble with the
mountain until Simpson slipped on the descent, breaking his leg badly.
Yates used their longest rope to lower Simpson down one section at a
time -- but having run out of gas for heat -- they couldn’t stop for
the night.
When a violent snowstorm hit, the two men couldn’t communicate from
opposite ends of the 300-foot rope and Yates inadvertently lowered
Simpson over the edge of a cliff—and dropped him. Actors Brendan Mackey
and Nicholas Aaron play Simpson and Yates reenacting their adventures
as the two retell their story in gripping interviews for Oscar-winning
director Kevin Macdonald’s chilling documentary Touching the Void,
slated to screen at MASS MoCA on Thursday, February 23, at 8 P.M. as
part of the museum’s Extreme Documentary: Alternative Vérité series.
Best known for his 1999 documentary One Day in September (for which
he took home the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature) and his acclaimed
1997 Howard Hawks: American Artist Kevin MacDonald has also directed
Being Mick (about Mick Jagger) and Donald Cammell: The Ultimate
Performance, and he wrote and directed Chaplin’s Goliath. He now turns
his keen and penetrating eye to extreme sports and the need that some
have to push the limits of human endurance.
MacDonald will return to MASS MoCA on April 8 for its Extreme
Documentary: Alternative Vérité conference. The museum partners with
Williams College’s Oakley Center on the films presented in the Cinema
Lounge this season. The season, which includes the screening of
Touching the Void, leads up to the April conference, held at Williams
and MASS MoCA, bringing together leading practitioners and critics for
two days of screenings and panel discussions. In addition to MacDonald,
conference participants include Werner Herzog, Frederick Wiseman,
Jonathan Caouette, Mieke Bal, Faye Ginsburg, Walid Raad, and the Yes
Men.
Doors open for Touching the Void at 7 PM, with food and drink from
Lickety Split available before and during the screening. Club B-10
features comfortable couches and café tables as well as a full bar.
Tickets for Touching the Void are $6. MASS MoCA members receive a
10% discount. Tickets are available in advance through the MASS MoCA
Box Office located off Marshall Street in North Adams from 11 A.M.
until 5 P.M. (closed Tuesdays). Tickets can also be charged by phone by
calling 413.662.2111.
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