Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibilityThe Last First: Winter K2 | 2026 Sundance Film Festival
Accessibility

Premieres

The Last First: Winter K2

sd_star_fav_icon
United States/United Kingdom202698 minEnglish, Sherpa, Urdu, Icelandic
Last First: Winter K2

The race to grab the last great prize in mountaineering, K2 in winter, left five dead. It exposed deep fault lines in alpinism today: pressures from commercialization, toxic effects of social media, and long-brewing tensions between those who’ve been marginalized and those who’ve always basked in the sport’s glory.

+ More

The race to grab the last great prize in mountaineering, K2 in winter, left five dead. It exposed deep fault lines in alpinism today: pressures from commercialization, toxic effects of social media, and long-brewing tensions between those who’ve been marginalized and those who’ve always basked in the sport’s glory.

In The Last First, master documentarian Amir Bar-Lev tells a complex, harrowing, and moving story that unpacks the industry of extreme mountain climbing and its changing culture. Focusing on a 2021 expedition, mountaineers John Snorri Sigurjónsson, an Icelander, and Pakistani father-son team Ali and Sajid Sadpara set out to be the first to summit K2 in the winter, when the mountain’s conditions are the cruelest. The men soon find themselves sharing the treacherous ascent with influencer climbers and their film crews, commercial expedition clients, and Nims, a Nepalese celebrity mountaineer, and his team of Sherpas.

The Last First takes us to the icy heights and unpredictable weather of K2 and reveals a surprising and layered story — one of strategy and determination, class and caste, money and power — all under life and death circumstances. — KY

Available in person only.

PremieresAll FeaturesBiographyAction/AdventureNonfictionAudio DescriptionClosed CaptionOpen CaptionU.S. Only- less

Screenings

in persononline not available
  • Jan 22, 11:30 AM MST
    Premiere

    The Ray Theatre

    Park City

    Closed CaptionClosed Caption

    Audio DescriptionAudio Description

  • Jan 23, 7:00 PM MST
    Screening

    Megaplex Redstone - 1

    Park City

    Open CaptionOpen Caption

    Audio DescriptionAudio Description

  • Jan 24, 2:30 PM MST
    Screening

    Rose Wagner Center

    Salt Lake City

    Closed CaptionClosed Caption

    Audio DescriptionAudio Description

  • Jan 28, 11:15 AM MST
    Screening

    Eccles Theatre

    Park City

    Closed CaptionClosed Caption

    Audio DescriptionAudio Description

  • Jan 30, 9:30 AM MST
    Screening

    Holiday Village Cinemas - 1

    Park City

    Closed CaptionClosed Caption

    Audio DescriptionAudio Description

    THIS FILM IS NOT AVAILABLE ONLINE

Credits

  • Director(s)

    Amir Bar-Lev

  • Producers

    John Battsek

    Sean Richard

    Sarah Thomson

    Howard T. Owens

    Ben Silverman

  • Editor

    Joe Carey

  • Cinematographer

    Will Pugh

  • Executive Producers

    James Packer

    Taylor Levin

    Kerstin Emhoff

    Amir Bar-Lev

    Ali Brown

    Will Kane

  • Co-Producer

    Olive Faure

  • Composer

    Tom Hodge

  • Line Producer

    Lottie Allan

  • Company

    Propagate / Ventureland / Object

  • Contact

    John Battsek

    j.battsek@venture.land

Meet the Artist

Panelist Name

Amir Bar-Lev

    Amir Bar-Lev’s directorial credits include Fighter (2001), My Kid Could Paint That (2007), the Emmy-winning The Tillman Story (2010), Happy Valley (2014), and Long Strange Trip (2017). Bar-Lev also co-produced Trouble the Water, which was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 2008 Academy Awards.

    You May Also Like

    Premieres
    sd_banner_img

    The History of Concrete

    FilmUnFillFavIcon

    After attending a workshop on how to write and sell a Hallmark movie, filmmaker John Wilson tries to use the same formula to sell a documentary about concrete.

    (1hr 40mins)
    Premieres
    sd_banner_img

    Give Me the Ball!

    FilmUnFillFavIcon

    World champion tennis trailblazer Billie Jean King has had a game-changing impact on culture and sports. Rare archive and candid interviews with Billie Jean and those closest to her reveal how one woman put changing the world ahead of saving herself.

    (1hr 41mins)
    Premieres
    sd_banner_img

    The Oldest Person in the World

    FilmUnFillFavIcon

    A decade-long global journey chronicles the ever-changing record holders of the title of oldest person alive. What begins as a portrait of longevity becomes a meditation on the passage of time, the randomness of fate, and the joy and profound human experience of being alive.

    (1hr 27mins)
    Premieres
    sd_banner_img

    THE DISCIPLE

    FilmUnFillFavIcon

    An outsider fueled by relentless determination works his way into the inner circle of the Wu-Tang Clan, where his ambition and creativity converge in the making of an album poised to ignite global controversy.

    (1hr 45mins)

    FESTIVAL HOST STATE

    Sponsor

    FESTIVAL HOST STATE

    FESTIVAL HOST STATE

    FESTIVAL HOST STATE