Climbing Never Die
Filmmaker Matt Groom chats to VL about the story he was prepared to risk everything for.
Indoor speed climbing may not be an obvious subject choice for Reel Rock, but when Matt Groom met Ukrainian Danyil Boldyrev he saw a film that needed to be made.
As an IFC commentator and filmmaker, Matt was at a comp in Munich where Danyil competed and won. When Danyil told Matt he was considering going back to Ukraine for the Nationals in Kiev, Matt said something just clicked.
“I didn’t really have a plan [but] I had this absolute certainty that there was a story in Ukraine,” he said.
Matt was struck by the idea that even in the middle of a war zone, people still wanted to climb. But, he explained, it made sense—he himself turns to climbing when he feels sad or down, so why wouldn’t Ukrainian climbers do the same?
To make the film, Matt said he was lucky to be guided by Danyil who took the lead in organising logistics and showing Matt his country.
“I went with Danyil and crossed the border,” said Matt. “I traveled 3,500 km in a few weeks, gradually moving further east. I ended up by myself in a place 30km from the Russian border—it was an active war zone, we were there during a Russian offensive.”
“We found some stories that the world needed to see and needed to be told,” said Matt. “I’ve always struggled with the idea that sport and politics shouldn’t be linked. Politics is a fundamental part of any sport. My job is to go to climbing comps and talk about what happens in that moment, but there is so much that happens outside those two hours.”
As he explored the Ukraine and interviewed climbers, Matt said he was struck by the juxtaposition between the joy they took in climbing and the death and the destruction surrounding them.
“We see these athletes compete, and we need to see what their country is going through,” Matt said. “I went to a competition and as we left an enormous air raid siren sounded, and yet people were walking around like nothing was happening. Any one of those competitors could be killed at any moment.”
Heading into a war zone would alter the worldview of most people. And Matt is no exception.
“For me it was and is the most important thing I’ve ever done. As fulfilling as what I’ve done in life is, this is something above that,” he said.
“I went there for quite selfish reasons. I went there because I needed to film something and I needed to find something. Along the way I realised that that sense of ego was a bit pathetic when actual people's lives were at stake.”
Matt said that he came away with a sense of responsibility to make a film that honoured the people who let him into their lives and trusted him with their stories.
“Danyil Boldyrev is the most incredible person. He’s struggling with the idea that he should be fighting, but instead he’s competing to win medals,” said Matt. “It’s his story, without him none of this would have happened… He let me in and I happened to be there with a camera.”