#interview #iceclimbing #newgeneration
Since it is ice climbing season, we are glad to present the story behind the impressive manifesto of Paradice (A journey into frozen waterfalls) the adventure short directed by the swiss team formed of Daniel Bleuer, Jonas Schild and Nicolas Hojac. The movie impressed our Transylvania Mountain Festival film jury with its inspiring scenes and the message carried to the audience by the three top mountaineers and climbers.
Still shot during the Paradice (2020) film.
Paradice (2020) shows three of the most beautiful Swiss ice climbing tours from an unusual perspective. A film about risk, responsibility and the beauty of nature. We must also mention that we have appreciated the word creativity in the title of the movie!
The film was part of the official selection of renown mountain film events in Diablerets, Trento, Barcelona, Denali, Boulder, Ushuaia, Skopje, Cluj-Napoca, Krakow, Chelsea and Wiesbaden.
Daniel Bleuer (front) / Maximilian Hochstrasser (behind)
Born in Bern, Switzerland, Daniel Bleuer studied film at HSLU (Hochschule Luzern – Design & Kunst) and honored us with bits and pieces from behind the scenes.
The Making Of PARADICE (2020)
We have contacted the team’s representative, Daniel Bleuer and asked him to tell us more about the film project and how they started to put it together.
[Daniel Bleuer:] Jonas Schild, Nicolas Hojac and I, we have started the project in the winter of 2016. We all know each other from early childhood and have done smaller film projects together before. After these short documentaries, we were motivated to realize a bigger film project and so we developed the concept for Paradice.
On the ice waterfall / a scene from the Paradice film
[D.C.]: What was the most challenging aspects while making it?
Daniel Blauer: The first winters during our shooting period were very warm. We only had one season during all these three years with good ice conditions. This made the shooting schedule very difficult and required great flexibility from both, the athletes and the film crew. During the shooting, everyone’s safety was one of the biggest challenges. The locations inside the icefalls had to be secured in advance, which was a big effort for the athletes, who were responsible for the safety of the film crew.
Ice climbing / a scene from Paradice film.
[D.C.]: How did you select your key cast?
Daniel Bleuer: Jonas Schild and Nicolas Hojac are both top alpinists and we are all close friends. We developed the film story together, so there was no need to look for suitable athletes. During the project, Stephan Siegrist completed our crew as another athlete. He was a great enrichment for our young team – especially in discussions about the changes in mountain culture over the last thirty years, he brought many interesting aspects to our attention.
Ice climbing in the ice silo / scene from the Paradice film.
[D.C.]:What about the mountain sports that you practice?
Daniel Bleuer: I love being in the mountains. To me, they are a recreation place and I love the peace that is inherent in them. I like ski touring, trail running and I have been climbing for a long time.
Daniel Bleuer / Rock climbing.
[D.C.]:How is mountain culture seen and promoted in Switzerland?
Daniel Bleuer: Switzerland has a long history of mountain sports due to tourism in the Alps and its popularity is still rising. There is a young generation of talented mountaineers and climbers, who practice the sport professionally and this strengthens a diverse mountain culture. Of course, commercialization also has its downsides, especially regarding environmental awareness and the treatment of nature.
Ice climber / scene from the Paradice.
[D.C.]: How was 2020 for you?
[Daniel Bleuer:] As for almost everybody, 2020 also was a challenge for me. However, I wasn’t affected that much compared to other people, since I was very lucky to work on a few interesting projects.
[D.C.]: How did Transylvania Mountain Festival look like from the distance?
Daniel Bleuer: First I would like to thank you for the possibility to participate at the Transylvania Mountain Festival. The festival shows a great diversity of films around mountains and nature. Of course, we would have been very happy to visit the festival physically, but we are impressed by the way, the online festival has been set up and we appreciate the efforts that have been made.
[D.C.]: What’s coming up next?
Daniel Bleuer: Now, we are working in the same team on a new documentary about an expedition in India. We are still at the very beginning, and we are curious where the journey will take us.
Stay tuned for more news are coming soon in 2021 from the super team made of Daniel Bleuer, Jonas Schild and Nicolas Hojac.
“Interview: Daniel Bleuer On The Making Of Paradice” – an interview prepared by Diana Ciorba in December 2020.
published: 22.02.2021 / Cluj-Napoca, Romania
