Defying Gravity

Defying Gravity

Whether on top of a mountain, deep in Antarctica or just a New York City street, these are documentaries that take the viewer to the edge of the world. Not for the faint of heart, they all show what human beings are able to accomplish and what difficulties can be overcome in life.

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Defying Gravity
  • The World Before Your Feet

    Directed by Jeremy Workman • Documentary • With Matt Green • 2018 • 95 minutes

    There are 8,000 miles of sidewalks, paths and roads in New York City and for the past six years Matt Green has been walking them all--every street, block, pedestrian overpass and park lane. A five borough journey that...

  • Mountain

    Directed by Jennifer Peedom • Documentary • With Willem Dafoe • 2018 • 73 minutes

    Only three centuries ago, setting out to climb a mountain would have been considered close to lunacy. Mountains were places of peril, not beauty, an upper world to be shunned, not sought out. Why do mountains now h...

  • Meru

    Directed by Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi • Documentary • With Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin, Renan Ozturk, Jon Krakauer • 2015 • 90 minutes

    In the high-stakes pursuit of big-wall climbing, the Shark’s Fin on Mount Meru may be the ultimate prize. Sitting 21,000 feet above the sacred Ganges Ri...

  • Maidentrip

    Directed by Jillian Schlesinger • Documentary • 2013 • 82 minutes

    14-year-old Laura Dekker sets out - camera in hand - on a two-year voyage in pursuit of her dream to be the youngest person ever to sail around the world alone. In the wake of a year-long battle with Dutch authorities that sparked...

  • Gunnin' for that #1 Spot

    Directed by Adam Yauch • Documentary • 2008 • 97 minutes

    On the corner of 155th Street and Frederick Douglas Boulevard in Harlem, New York, lies Rucker Park. By appearances, the green concrete pavement, anchored on either end by its run down slab bleachers, is no different than any other basketb...

  • Shaka

    Directed by Morgan Le Faucheur • Documentary • With Mathieu Crepel, Koa and Eddie Rothman • 2018 • 77 minutes

    Showcasing breathtaking footage of mountains and waves around the world, Shaka follows snowboarding world champion and renowned athlete Mathieu Crepel as he faces the biggest challenge o...

  • Echoes of the Invisible

    Directed by Steve Elkins • Documentary • With Paul Salopek, Rachel Sussman, Al Arnold, Anil Ananthaswamy, Lynda Lynch, Losang Samten • 2020 • 106 minutes

    "Echoes of the Invisible" interweaves a mosaic of profound quests. A blind man runs alone through Death Valley as journalist Paul Salopek walk...

  • Northern Light

    Directed by Nick Bentgen and Lisa Kjerulff • Documentary • 2013 • 105 minutes

    Set against the backdrop of a town's annual snowmobile race, NORTHERN LIGHT explores the working class experience in a series of captivating personal stories of recession-era America. The lives of three families change...

  • Antarctica: A Year on Ice

    Directed by Anthony Powell • Documentary • With Genevieve Bachman • 2017 • 92 minutes

    Antarctica: A Year On Ice is a visually stunning journey to the end of the world with the hardy and devoted people who live there year-round. The research stations scattered throughout the continent host a clos...

  • Travels in the Congo (Voyage au Congo)

    Directed by Marc Allégret • Documentary • 1927 • 117 minutes

    In 1925, Marc Allégret accompanied André Gide on a journey to French Equatorial Africa, the Congo, as his secretary, and novice filmmaker. Filming throughout their 11-month travels, and only three years after Nanook of the North, Allég...

  • Antarctic Edge: 70° South

    Directed by Dena Seidel • Documentary • 2015 • 72 minutes

    A thrilling journey to one of the world's most perilous environments, Antarctic Edge: 70° South follows a team of scientists as they explore the West Antarctic Peninsula.

    In the wake of devastating climate events like Superstorm Sandy an...