Synopsis: Having left their cars at the Col de la Givrine, three youths meet in the depth of the forest in the Swiss Jura on their way to the Carroz Chalet, their ski touring destination. The Chalet is run by members of the Geneva Section of the Alpine Club.

The youths: Lyrice, Arnaud and Valérian, respectively 20, 19 and 18 years old, receive a warm and spontaneous reception on arrival at the chalet. There they learn about the activities of the Club and, in particular, about the Zanskar expedition and depart with the idea of taking part in this adventure.

The Club decides to provide them with the opportunity to participate in this expedition, a big leap forward to them fulfilling their dreams of becoming independent and impassioned mountaineers.

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Chloe, film editing is usually carried out with the director close at hand. You found yourself alone with a mammoth task to complete without its author: How did you overcome this challenge that seemed insurmountable?

Indeed, initially it did appear insurmountable because this was above all about the disappearance of two friends and to edit their film without them was a constant reminder of their absence but it also meant paying them a special tribute and their last work couldn’t remain unfinished. Working without a director is difficult but we didn’t want to replace them because another director would have made his own film. So while editing I endeavored as much as possible to take into consideration all the suggestions I’d received, sometimes from Romeo, sometimes from Stephane. I also passed shared them with Marie Geiser, editor and director, who was able to edit some of the Zanskar sequences when I was busy with other projects. I was also able to count on the assistance of Julien Christe (mountaineer and cameraman in Switzerland and Zanskar) and Yannick Flugi (mountain guide, co-organiser of the expedition and cameraman in Zanskar) who were able to compensate for my lack of knowledge in editing techniques and bring an invaluable contribution to how the film evolved. There was also valuable support from the Framevox team.

This film is a documentary with a history and a totally unexpected tragic dimension. It is filmed in highly varied situations, sometimes extreme, nearly always outside, with very diverse technical means. How have you managed to ‘balance’ it all?

The directors were confronted with all the sorts of difficulties one can face when filming in the mountain. This led them to change several times their equipment and team and this is obviously noticeable in the film. This being said, the evolution of filming methods also mirrors the evolution of the history of film. For instance, the drone images come at a fortuitous time when the youths really start their training for the expedition and, ultimately, strive for their autonomy in the mountain. Those magnificent pictures highlight and illustrate well how one can see further and bigger.
In Zanskar, the difficulties were much greater, with the altitude, the inclement weather and isolation, not to mention Stephane’s death. The filming was not easy, both in terms of image and sound. Editing has its rules that even the best can’t defy. They had to choose sometimes between shooting and safety. As a result, when it came to editing we were faced with a few challenges. But it is the job of the editor to face up to such challenges and to successfully make a story come what may. Then, it was necessary to balance everything in terms of colours and sound, which was also quite a saga. Here is the result and I think we can be proud of the outcome given the adverse circumstances.

Stéphane Schaffter
Mountain Guide and Director – 1953 – 2015

UIAGM Mountain guide for about thirty years, Stephane starts climbing and mountaineering at 16 when ascending the Bonatti Pillar. In 1982, he discovers the Himalaya, which leads him to higher planes.

2015: Organisation of the expedition of the Geneva Section of the Swiss Alpine Club to Zanskar and shooting of the film ‘The Dream Makers’.
2013: Involvement in the shooting of ‘Each his Mont Blanc’.
2012: Writing of a book entitled Vertical Passion, from the Jura to the Himalaya, published by Belvedere.
2011: Opening of 3 new 6000m summits in Zanskar, one being the Gocook Peak at 6050m.
2010: First ascent of Antoine Lecoultre Mountain.
2008: Twentieth Aconcagua.
2002: Everest Summit and shooting of the film The Dream to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Geneva Section.
1997: Shooting of the film Everest snowboard on the North ridge of Everest for Jean Troillet.
1985: K2 Ascent without oxygen with Daniel Lacroix and Eric Escoffier.
1984: Ascent of the South face of the Aconcagua with Wanda Rutkiewitch.

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