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LAST BASE from Aslak Danbolt on Vimeo.
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LAST BASE, 15min, Norway, Action/Thriller
Directed by Aslak Danbolt
Joachim is retiring from base-jumping to become a father for the first time, but first he goes on one last adventure with his best-friend Oyvind. When a storm approaches their friendship is put to the test; Oyvind want’s to turn back, but Joachim will apparently stop at nothing to pull off his very last jump.
Director Statement:
Making Last Base was about going back to finish something I started several years ago. In 2008 I made a documentary about a group of base-jumpers that failed because of bad weather. A year later, one of the jumpers died in a base-jumping accident, which came to inspire this film. I always wanted Last Base to be understated, realistic and to have a documentary feel. Having filmed base-jumpers through the years, I’ve felt the overwhelming silence right before they jump, and while waiting for the parachute to open far below in the valley. That silence is more suspenseful than any music I could have ever imagined, and that’s why I always intended the film to be without music.
Last Base was shot on a micro budget, which meant we had to carry the equipment all the way to the top of Mt. Katthammeren (1200 meters) in Western Norway and camp there for the 5 days of shooting. It already felt like a Fitzcarraldo-project when we were unexpectedly hit by an ice-cold blizzard that jeopardised the whole project. Trapped on top of the mountain without sufficient clothing, equipment or food, the bad weather nearly defeated me again. But thanks to an amazing effort by the whole cast and crew we pulled it off through something that at times was more resembling of a (poorly planned) polar expedition than a film shoot.
But although we pulled it off in the end, I don’t feel the circle has ended. Cause I know I’ll be back, now that I’m turning it into a feature.
Thriller/Suspense Film and Writing Festival 