Behind the Mist

(Al otro lado de la niebla)
Sebastián Cordero | Documentary

2023 | 90 minutes | Ecuador

Filmmaker Cordero follows mountaineer Iván Vallejo on an Everest ascent, reflecting on ambition, ego, and the meaning of reaching the summit.

Biography Religion + Spirituality South America Geography Anthropology Cinema Studies Sociology
Synopsis

Behind the Mist is a contemplative documentary by acclaimed filmmaker Sebastián Cordero chronicling a Himalayan odyssey with Ecuadorian mountaineer Iván Vallejo, one of the few humans to summit Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen. As they ascend, conversations about filmmaking and life deepen into philosophical inquiries about goals, ego, and transcendence.

As days go by, the higher altitude and the depletion of oxygen will raise the debate to interior and transcendental territories putting at stake their trajectories and egos when facing the mountain and its millenary depth.

Set in Nepal’s Everest Base Camp and shot with minimal crew, the film interrogates selfhood, risk, and documentary ethics. Through observational and essayistic techniques, Cordero frames the mountain as a site of internal and external reckoning, making the film pertinent to research in environmental anthropology, visual ethics, and transnational Latin American cinema.

Reviews

"A haunting spiritual documentary that finds parallels between filmmaking and mountaineering"– Sam S. Adlakha , Variety

"Behind the Mist is less about reaching the summit and more about what the journey reveals. The film’s contemplative tone, stunning visuals, and philosophical underpinnings invite the viewer to reflect on their own aspirations and the meaning behind their pursuits. It challenges the audience to consider not just the peaks they aim to conquer but the inner landscapes they must navigate along the way.” – International Feature

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Pragda subjects

Anthropology
Biography
Cinema Studies
Geography
Religion + Spirituality
Sociology
South America

Keywords
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Festivals

Kunturñawi Ecuadorian Film Festival - Public Award; Minneapolis Film Festival; EDOC The International Documentary Film Festival "Encuentros del Otro Cine”; Braunschweig Internatinoal Film Festival; INKAFEST Mountain Film Festival; International Festival of Mountain Films Poprad; Mestia International Short & Mountain Film Festival; The International Outdoor Documentary Film Festival of China; Ariel Awards - Best Ibero‑American Film Nomination; Grande Prêmio do Cinema Brasileiro - Best Ibero‑American Film Nomination; Academy Awards - Ecuador’s official entry for Best International Feature Film

DIRECTOR: Sebastián Cordero

NATIONALITY: Ecuador

YEAR: 2023

GENRE: Documentary

LANGUAGE: Spanish

COLOR / B&W: Color

GRADE LEVEL: Middle School, High School, College, Adult

SUBTITLE/CC: AVAILABLE

AUDIO DESCRIPTION: NOT AVAILABLE

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