Indie Film Podcast Review: Another Way

In an unpredictable landscape, the line becomes a tool to explore, connect, and discover both a place and its people.

Written by Chuck Norton.

Another Way: Go Where No One Has Been

A good film takes you places you’ve never been before. A good documentary does the same while leaving you with new bits of knowledge you didn’t know existed. Another Way manages to do both in just 15 and a half minutes.

When I sat down to watch Another Way I had no clue what was to come. I understood I was sitting down to watch a documentary but had no prior knowledge of the subject matter, or the impressive visuals I was about to witness.

At my local park I’ve seen people stumbling between trees on a flat rope on many occasions, in a hobby frequently called slacklining. I’ve even given it a go myself and was impressed at how much balance and coordination is needed to stay upright on such an unstable surface. After watching Alice Rosano’s documentary, I now know that this seemingly simple pastime can be an all-encompassing extreme sport. Unlike casual recreational slacklining, Another Way takes it to the extreme as a documentary about highlining.

This video team...should get a medal for following along, step-by-step.

Rosano follows a group of athletes as they attempt to “go where no one has been” (in the words of Davide Spaccasassi). The team of highliners and videographers crisscross remote areas of Egypt where they climb precarious peaks, connect the apexes, and deftly, in the words of Guiseppe Di Bella, “walk in the sky.” While traveling, the team doesn’t forget to investigate the stories behind these areas with stunning natural vistas. I was enthralled as Amreya Farag describes how she hand built Umm Al Saad, one of the basecamps for the highlining team, or how Um Bogma, an abandoned mine deep in the mountains, was a construction of former British Imperialists. Sitting comfortably on my couch, the intriguing stories, and inspiring quotes paired with jaw-dropping visuals helped me understand the highliner’s thirst for adventure. And these visuals, they are something else.

As a filmmaker and videographer, I was blown away by the footage. These highliners climbed some precarious places. Prior to the first highlining image of Guiseppe crossing two daunting summits along a thin rope, the camera team documents the preparation involved. The team painstakingly scales two mountains, drilling holes and securing climbing rope. Every step of the way, there are cameras capturing the action. It’s to be expected in a documentary about extreme sports that the subjects will be performing surreal acts of conquest. This video team, however, should get a medal for following along, step-by-step.

Indie Film Podcast Recommends: Watch It Now!

If you prefer to watch unsurprising mass produced video with expository dialogue every five minutes that plays in the background while you flip through your phone, then you can skip this film. But, if you like adventure, grandiose visuals, and death defying acts, then click play on this documentary ASAP. Trust me, it’s worth it.

Learn more about Another Way here.