TOM
Even before he was born, Tom had stood at the summit of the Eiger. For him, it is natural that his life is all about climbing. But what he does is still special, such as climbing the six classic Alpine summits solo in the winter season.
Tom lives with his father James Ballard at a campsite in the Dolomites, where they live from James’ benefit payments. Tom just wants to climb. Even before he was born, he had stood at the summit of the Eiger. His passion for climbing is not diminished by the fact that his mother, the well-known British alpinist Alison Hargreaves, died during a descent of K2 when he was six. His life is all about climbing, and his greatest wish is to climb the north faces of the six classic Alpine peaks in one winter season. No-one has ever done this before and Tom aims to be the first. Together with his father, he travels in their white camper van to the first of the summits to realize his dream.
‘TOM’ is the first mountain film by the young Spanish film-makers Angel Estaban and Elena Goatelli. Their first documentary ‘One minute for conductors’ was screened at IDFA in 2013 and won several awards. ‘TOM’ was premiered during the Kendal Mountain Festival in the United Kingdom on 17 November 2015 and won the prize for the best mountaineering film. A few days later, the film won the jury prize at the Bansko film festival in Bulgaria.