Horizons / The Last First: Winter K2 / USA 2026
Of the fourteen eight-thousanders, the second-highest, K2, has always presented a deadly challenge, grimly defying all who have attempted to climb this mountain in the winter months. More than a quarter of a century after his first of several visits to the Karlovy Vary IFF, renowned American documentarist Amir Bar-Lev returns with a nerve-shredding yet also touching story of a few resolute individuals who decided in 2021 to conquer the snow-clad “savage mountain”. This breathtaking spectacle, transporting us to places the majority of climbers will never reach, offers a comprehensive reflection of what is often naïve human folly in the face of nature and her extremes. The film also considers the gradual commercialisation of extreme outdoor sports that goes hand in hand with the rise of social media.
Karel Och
98 min / Color, DCP
Director Amir Bar-Lev
/ Dir. of Photography Will Pugh
/ Music Tom Hodge
/ Editor Joe Carey
/ Producer John Battsek, Sean Richard, Sarah Thomson, Howard T. Owens, Ben Silverman
/ Production Ventureland, Propagate, Object
/ Sales Apple TV
Amir Bar-Lev. Selected filmography: Fighter (2000, doc.), My Kid Could Paint That (2007, doc.), The Tillman Story (2010, doc.), Happy Valley (2014, doc.), Long Strange Trip (2017, doc.), The Last First: Winter K2 (2026, doc.).
Apple TV
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Amir Bar-Lev
Film Director
Joe Carey
Film Editor
Sean Richard
Producer
Sarah Thomson
Producer
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