In the age of social media, where everything is performative and exhibitionist, we’ve seen a rise of, well, exactly that on every level. People trying to share or show off their skills of any sort. So you’ve probably also seen a rise in the trend of daredevilism, and in particular, what some call skywalkers: a trend in people climbing dangerously dizzying heights and posing and performing on skyscrapers and gigantic towers. That’s essentially the gist of “Skywalkers: A Love Story,” a documentary about a pair of daredevil lovers that risk nearly everything to reach the next great height.
Premiering at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year to much acclaim (read our review here), “Skywalkers: A Love Story” follows a daredevil couple (see their Instagram posts), Angela Nikolau and Ivan “Vanya” Beerkus, who take their relationship to terrifying new heights in a wild scheme to climb the world’s second highest skyscraper and perform a death-defying stunt on the spire.
The film is directed by Jeff Zimbalist, known for acclaimed documentaries like “The Two Escobars” and “Pelé: Birth of a Legend” and co-directed by Maria Bukhonina, known for “Booze Traveler” and “Why We Fight.”
Here’s the official synopsis:
A daredevil couple risks it all by going where no one has gone before: the top of the world’s second-highest skyscraper. Angela and Vanya are Russia’s preeminent rooftoppers who defy the odds (and death) to scale the globe’s tallest buildings. As their acrobatic stunts go viral and rack up millions of online views, they put their love and trust to the test as they create a highly dangerous new art form that they call “skywalking.” Filmed over six years across six countries, Skywalkers: A Love Story captures extreme climbing in harrowing detail and is directed and written by Emmy-winning filmmaker Jeff Zimbalist (Favela Rising, The Two Escobars, Momentum Generation).
“Skywalkers: A Love Story” premieres July 19, 2024 on Netflix. However, before that, XYZ Films will release Skywalkers: A Love Story in select IMAX theatres for only one week, beginning July 12. Watch the new trailer below.
