The Summit, by Davide Cargnoni

Nicolle, Kevin, and Gianluigi come from different backgrounds, carrying distinct stories and bodies, yet in climbing they discover a shared path that leads them upward.

They meet through Brenta Open, a project conceived by alpinist Simone Elmi with the aim of making the Dolomites accessible to everyone.

The documentary follows them through everyday life and physical training, moments of exertion and bursts of enthusiasm, weaving their personal stories with the visual power of the Dolomites.

The narrative reaches its peak in the group ascent, where the pursuit of surpassing limits becomes a collective experience - a simple and tangible form of spirituality, shaped by hands reaching out, steps taken together, and silences that open space for inner reflection.

The summit thus becomes the symbol of a journey that seeks not only a destination, but a deeper sense of shared meaning

Film Informations

Director & Writer: Simone Cargnoni
Director of Photography: Simone Cargnoni, Sebastiano Luca Insinga

International Title:The Summit
Country of Production: Italy
Production Year: 2026
Running Time: 52 minutes
Shooting Format: 2K
Languages: Italian
Subtitles: Italian, English

The Director's statement

The Summit was born from a simple urgency: to restore the mountain as a real space of confrontation, not an idealized one. A place where every gesture is the result of a balance between body, environment, and relationships with others.

Nicolle Boroni, Kevin Ferrari, and Gianluigi Rosa approach the mountain with one limb missing, yet our intention is not to construct an heroic portrait of disability. Our gaze remains close to the protagonists - to the way they experience both the mountain and life itself. Disability is never emphasised or explained: it is part of the narrative because it is part of who they are, but it is never its center.

The film’s intention is to observe this experience without rhetoric, avoiding any heroic or sentimental aesthetic.

The direction adopts a direct, essential language. The cinematography alternates the physicality of action—on rock faces, on ice, at the crag—with suspended moments of waiting or silence, where the mountain imposes its own rhythm.

Scenes of the protagonists’ everyday lives are built on pure observation, bringing us closer to their most intimate and familiar dimension.

Sound plays a central narrative role. High-altitude wind, the muffled crunch of footsteps on snow, the metallic clink of carabiners: every sonic detail contributes to immersing the viewer in the environment, making the space of the climb tangible. When present, the music is mostly diegetic or minimal, leaving room for the physical presence of natural sound.

The interviews, filmed in a studio setting, are conceived as spaces of listening. We do not seek testimonies, but reflections. The choice of a neutral set removes distractions and gives weight to spoken words.

The editing weaves together the three personal stories with archival footage of Brenta Open climbs, creating a double movement: intimate and collective.

In this film, the mountain is not only a geographical place, but an inner landscape. The documentary does not attempt to answer the question of what it means to “reach the summit”; instead, it reframes it through the voices and bodies of those who, by climbing, redefine their relationship with limits. The summit becomes a symbolic place- a threshold that changes for everyone.