What was your most thrilling first date? In 2016, two young Russians known for their extreme 鈥渞ooftopping鈥 adventures 鈥 where they attempt to illegally climb vertiginous landmarks like La Sagrada Familia and the Eiffel Tower 鈥 skipped the perfunctory happy hour cocktail and instead ascended China鈥檚 tallest incomplete skyscraper, the 1,957-foot-high Goldin Finance 117.
At the time, Ivan Beerkus and Angela Nikolau didn鈥檛 know they鈥檇 end up together. Beerkus had invited Nikolau, a rare female member of the rooftopping community (she was scaling the proverbial glass wall before breaking it), to join him for the climb to produce sponsored social media posts. But it was the beginning of a long romantic and creative partnership, which has led them to travel thousands of miles 鈥 and thousands of feet in the air 鈥 together.
Eight years later, the documentary film 鈥溾 takes an intimate look at their unusual romance through hundreds of hours of footage that, of course, includes heart-dropping POV footage from impossible heights and the occasional run-in with law enforcement.
Like all couples, Beerkus and Nikolau have their ups and downs, and when they argue the stakes are a just bit higher than most (in one scene, Beerkus bravely accuses his girlfriend of being 鈥渢oo negative鈥 as she gears up to nail a precarious acrobatic pose literally above the clouds). Through the pair鈥檚 unusual lifestyles, 鈥淪kywalkers鈥 becomes a meditation on trust and commitment, though their stunts will also get your palms sweaty, if that鈥檚 your thing.
Directed by Jeff Zimbalist, a filmmaker with rooftopping experience of his own, and co-directed by Maria Bukhonina, 鈥漇kywalkers鈥 debuted at Sundance Film Festival in January and is now streaming on Netflix. It follows the couple, who utilize Nikolau鈥檚 background as a trained gymnast to create acrobatic stunts on narrow ledges, poles and scaffolding, as they take on increasingly difficult challenges and navigate their own budding relationship.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not just about the fear of falling from heights, but more about the fear of falling in love,鈥 Zimbalist said in a video call with CNN. 鈥淎ngela first told me that they were鈥 competitors and rivals. But you could sense under the surface that there was this bubbling flirtation there.
An architectural dare
As the documentary progresses, the pair plot out their most difficult climb yet: Kuala Lumpur鈥檚 Merdeka 118, the world鈥檚 second-tallest building. The gleaming 2,227-foot-tall tower, which opened earlier this year, is crowned with a 527-foot-tall spire whose apex is only accessible via a narrow internal ladder.
In 2022, when Beerkus and Nikolau made their plans, the 鈥渟upertall鈥 skyscraper had topped out but was still under construction. Evading security and reaching its apogee safely required an intense and elaborate scheme 鈥 one conjured while they worked through relationship issues. (At the time of their climb, the tower鈥檚 owner said police were investigating the pair for trespassing, although Malaysian authorities did not respond to CNN about whether further legal action was taken.)
Rooftopping is a contentious pastime 鈥 both for the danger it poses and participants鈥 reliance on illegal trespassing. With the urban 鈥渟port鈥 emerging as one more of the more extreme ways to get likes on social media, several harrowing deaths have followed.
For 鈥淪kywalkers鈥 the film crew followed Beerkus and Nikolau to document their stunts, but only to a point. Zimbalist emphasized his team鈥檚 safety measures, which were designed to ensure the crew neither endangered themselves nor presented any distractions for the couple.
鈥淲e talked a lot with Ivan and Angela, saying, 鈥楶lease, don鈥檛 go do anything additionally crazy beyond what you would usually do,鈥欌 Zimbalist said. 鈥淏ecause to us, this isn鈥檛 a movie about whether or not you succeed at Merdeka or any other climb鈥 the genuine suspense here is if you choose to trust each other.鈥
An 'expanded state of mind'
For the couple, rooftopping isn鈥檛 just about thrill-seeking. Nikolau, the daughter of circus performers, says in the film that pushing herself to her limits was engrained from childhood and that she is always striving to better herself. For Beerkus, who scaled buildings alone in Moscow for years, rooftopping offers a sense of mental clarity.
鈥淭he higher I went, the easier it was to breathe,鈥 he says to camera, recalling his earliest climbs. 鈥淭his extreme life, this expanded state of mind, it鈥檚 essential for me.鈥
Zimbalist recognizes the dangers of rooftopping and says his film is not about 鈥渄efending what they do against critics.鈥
Instead, he hope that 鈥漇kywalkers,鈥 in addition to its message on love and trust, provides a rare look at the hard work and planning behind the rooftoppers鈥 鈥減olished鈥 social media posts.
鈥淲ith any activity that鈥檚 dangerous, social media tends to disguise the difficulty,鈥 he said. 鈥淭elling the story behind a stunt helps to give context and just how challenging and how dangerous some of these things are.鈥
Believe it or not, Nikolau maintains that she is afraid of heights, something she has had to confront repeatedly to keep up with her chosen line of work.
鈥淭he fear never really went away; I just got better and better at facing it,鈥 she explains in one clip.
So while the makers of 鈥淪kywalkers鈥 would probably rather you don鈥檛 climb your nearest skyscraper, their film encourages us to dare 鈥 and say 鈥測es鈥 to the thing that scares us the most.
