The days of big, outside-the-box visibility moves at film festivals have definitely quieted down lately. It is pretty rare now to see filmmakers do much beyond the standard Q&A. Last year in Toronto for TIFF, we did see a bit of that old spirit when director Colin Hanks and producer/actor Ryan Reynolds pulled up to the John Candy: I Like Me premiere in a vintage Chrysler LeBaron, a direct nod to the one Candy drove in Planes, Trains and Automobiles. While those moments don’t happen often these days, the subject of the new documentary The Ascent is bringing some of that energy to SIFF. 

Mandy Horvath, a bilateral amputee and the subject of the film, is planning to climb the interior stairs of the Space Needle on the morning of May 8. Horvath is attempting to become the first amputee on record to make their way up all 832 steps. Film publicity aside, the climb is a fundraiser for cancer research at Fred Hutch and the American Brain Tumor Association, dedicated to the memory of the late Sean Foley, the former executive producer of Naked and Afraid.

We caught the world premiere of The Ascent at SXSW in March. It’s a fascinating documentary that follows Horvath as she makes her way toward the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro while investigating the mystery of how she lost her legs. It’s half mountain-climbing doc and half true-crime investigation. Horvath uses the climb to face the trauma of her past and figure out what really happened that tragic night years ago. The film won the Audience Award in Austin, and it is easy to see why.

If she’s successful, the Needle climb will mark her eighth world record. You can see The Ascent on May 9 at the PACCAR IMAX or May 10 at SIFF Cinema Uptown. Directors Edward Drake and Scott Veltri will be there with Horvath for both screenings. This doc is definitely worth catching while it’s in town.