Jan. 30, 2024
Streaming platform Netflix has just bought Skywalker: A Love Story, after the documentary made its debut at the Sundance Film Festival. By: Dylan Low
Skywalkers, which premiered on January 18th at the Ray
Theatre, details a fearless couple in Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus from
Moscow, who rescued their relationship and career by mounting one of the
world’s tallest buildings. The official logline mentions, “A daredevil couple
journey across the globe to climb the world’s last super skyscraper and perform
a bold acrobatic stunt on the spire.” The documentary spanned up to seven years
of production.
The movie
is directed and written by Jeff Zimbalist together with Maria Bukhonina as
co-director. Zimbalist and Bukhonina came in as producers together with Library
Films’ Chris Smith and XYZ Films’ head of documentary Tamir Ardon, while XYZ
Films’ Nick Spicer were the executive producers. XYZ Films and Library Films participated
as joint studios on the All-Rise Films production.
In a review
by film critic Owen Gleiberman, it was stated, “Jeff Zimbalist’s documentary
redefines the words ‘high anxiety.’ It’s set in the world of rooftoppers, and
it’s full of amazing, terrifying, transfixing verité shots of young daredevils
scaling the spindly spires that shoot out of the tops of skyscrapers. Yet it’s
also a tumultuous love story that follows the saga of two rooftoppers from
Russia, Vanya Beerkus and Angela Nikolau. The film is about balancing on the
tips of man-made mountains of steel and glass, but it’s also about trust,
desire, dread, and transcendence.”
The film
agreement was reached by Nate Bolotin and Pip Ngo for XYZ Films.
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