Jeff Zimbalist, Ivan Beerkus, Angela Nikolau, and Maria Bukhonina at the premiere of Skywalkers: A Love Story at The Ray Theatre in Park City, Utah, on January 18, 2024. (Photo by Donyale West/ Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival)
By Stephanie Ornelas
Our full potential is on the other side of fear. - Angela Nikolau, skywalker
Fire of Love, The Deepest Breath - you can now add Skywalkers: A Love Story to the list of thrilling docs that have premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, giving us a glimpse into another boundary-pushing duo: rooftoppers Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus from Moscow.
Audience members were gasping on the edge of their seats as Nikolau and Beerkus took them on a fairytale journey of their rise to the top. Centering on this remarkable partnership where trust is key - a matter of life or death, even - director Jeff Zimbalist puts an up-close lens on Nikolau and Beerkus as they build their professional careers traveling across the globe to climb some of the world's highest skyscrapers and sharing intimate photos with their millions of followers on social media.
It took seven years of production, over 300 hours of archival cinema verite footage, so many unexpected twists and turns, and a shocking climax that I still can't believe, Zimbalist says during the post-premiere Q&A on January 19 at The Ray in Park City, Utah.
The documentary is a beautiful yet complicated love story, and shows the highs and lows of a relationship between two daredevils. Through breathtaking drone shots and intimate GoPro footage from the climbers themselves, audiences start to witness Beerkus' concern for his own safety shift to that of Nikolau, but her desire to make the ultimate climb only continues to grow. Constant gasps fill the air as Festgoers witness the couple climb insane heights, escaping law enforcement and death as they dangle off some of the world's tallest skyscrapers. By the end, audiences delivered a standing ovation.
I didn't know my heart could race faster than being on the roofs with these guys but that standing ovation, you got me, Zimbalist tells the audience.
Everybody that got on board this project took a major gamble. There was nothing rational about it. It was a harebrained passion project that had so many unknowns, so many variables. I'm so grateful to all of you for choosing to believe in the film and choosing to believe in me.
When COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine led to a Russian shutdown of social media, ultimately causing them to lose their sponsors, which was a huge source of income, audiences start to see a dramatic shift in the couple's relationship. But when Beerkus gets the idea of how to revive it all by scaling the Merdeka 118 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - and performing a bold acrobatic stunt at the very top of the spire - before a security-camera system is put in place, their journey to the top begins, thus continuing the hair-raising vertigo-inducing adventure. But there was one condition Beerkus had: This would be their last climb.
Zimbalist shared with audiences how the team worked tirelessly to bring Nikolau and Beerkus to the Festival, but it just wasn't possible due to logistical constraints. However, he did bring up the couple on livestream. Audience members were thrilled to see them on screen before being given one last surprise.
Why are you walking? Where are you guys? Zimbalist asks them. As they turned their camera around, audiences were shocked to see the front of The Ray Theatre in Park City. Moments later, Nikolau and Beerkus walked in through the front of the theater and were greeted with another standing ovation.
But an audience member had one burning question: Was this really their last climb?
We've talked about potentially quitting or retiring, mostly because there's no higher roofs left to climb, says Beerkus. We're trying to venture into other things. But as of now, it's our passion; that's how we make our living, and right now, maybe not yet.
By the end of the film, it was as clear as the air 118 stories up: The higher they ventured together, the deeper they fell in love. The sky was the limit.
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Jeff Zimbalist, Ivan Beerkus, Angela Nikolau, and Maria Bukhonina at the premiere of Skywalkers: A Love Story at The Ray Theatre in Park City, Utah, on January 18, 2024. (Photo by Donyale West/ Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival)
