"Dirtbag: The Legend of Fred Beckey" launches pre-sale on iTunes

SEATTLE - April 10, 2018 - PRLog -- "Dirtbag: The Legend of Fred Beckey" has launched for pre-sale on iTunes, climbing the charts with a digital release expected this summer. The highly anticipated 96-minute documentary continues its worldwide tour of film festivals and independent screenings this year after winning 20 awards to date, including seven Grand Prizes and three Audience Awards.

Recently signed to a representation deal with The Film Sales Company, "Dirtbag" is an intimate portrait of the late mountaineering icon Fred Beckey, whose groundbreaking ascents and rebel lifestyle inspired generations.

Coinciding with the iTunes pre-sale launch, independent screenings and film festival dates, title sponsor Patagonia has also brought "Dirtbag" on tour throughout North America, Europe and Japan.

Hailed as one of the most prolific and influential climbers of all time, Fred Beckey has become a cult hero in the outdoor world. He eschewed fame, money and family life so his only obligation would be the next summit. This untamable athlete conquered more unclimbed peaks than anyone in history during his 80-year climbing career, staying myopically focused on the mountains until his death in 2017 at age 94. Spoken in hushed tones around campfires, Fred Beckey's name has evoked simultaneous adulation and vitriol since the 1940s. He pioneered the lifestyle of the freewheeling American "Dirtbag" -- one who forgoes material comforts and defies societal norms to pursue a nomadic life of outdoor adventure -- leaving a long trail of scorned climbing partners and lost lovers in his wake.

A scholar and author of essential climbing guides, an environmentalist ahead of his time, a polarizing figure and an inspiration to all who yearn to live life on their own terms, this iconic mountaineer has remained shrouded in mystery until now. "Dirtbag: The Legend of Fred Beckey" explores in cinematic rapture the unmatched drive, superhuman achievements and enigmatic genius of this man who set the bar for what is possible in an uncompromised existence.

Director Dave O'Leske spent more than a decade climbing and filming with Beckey in the mountains of China, Canada and North America. Beckey befriended O'Leske over the years, giving him unprecedented access to volumes of his personal journals, photos and archival films dating back to the 1930s.

"Dave O'Leske surely realized he'd struck documentarian's gold a decade ago when he began tailing veteran mountaineer Fred Beckey... a living legend in the climbing community and a character so fascinating you'd swear a Hollywood screenwriter invented him... 'Dirtbag' beautifully captures the romance inherent in Fred Beckey's lifelong passion. It finds affectionate, oddball humor in latter-day Beckey's cantankerous eccentricity. But it also illustrates with bracing clarity the thin line between following your dreams and being consumed by them... 'Dirtbag' is Peak Documentary Filmmaking."
-- CityArts Magazine

A full list of screenings is on the film's official website, http://dirtbagmovie.com

Watch the official trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05RiYBruHpU



About the Film

Fred Beckey is a true American pioneer, with an unparalleled list of alpine accomplishments under his belt over the past century. Known for an uncompromising dedication to the mountains with his record string of first ascents and groundbreaking new routes, he carries a polarizing reputation as a hero and a rebel, his name evoking simultaneous worship and vitriol. Despite his enigmatic nature, Beckey's scholarly writings reveal a greater depth to this man, captured in more than a dozen published books that continue to inspire new generations of climbers and environmentalists.

Colorado-based documentary director Dave O'Leske and co-producer Jeff Wenger partnered with a crew of award-winning Seattle filmmakers -- producers Jason Reid, Andy McDonough, Colin Plank and Adam Brown, editor Darren Lund and executive producer Colin Baxter -- whose collective past credits include the hit climbing documentary "K2: Siren of the Himalayas" (2012), the Webby Award-winning "Sonicsgate: Requiem for a Team" (2009), the Emmy® Award-winning "Man Zou: Beijing to Shanghai" (2010) and the narrative drama "Eden" (2013), which won Audience Awards for Best Narrative at SXSW and the Milan International Film Festival. O'Leske's first feature documentary, "Spirit of Snow" (2002), won a Special Jury Award at Mountainfilm in Telluride.

Presented by Patagonia.

Nonprofit support provided by The American Alpine Club and The Mountaineers.