Girl Climber: Free Best of the Fest Screenings on San Juan and Lopez Islands
- FHFF
- Feb 5
- 2 min read
Updated: Feb 8
The 2026 Best of the Fest Series continues with another powerful, audience-selected documentary—bringing free, award-winning films to San Juan and Lopez Islands each month from January through September.
Our next screenings feature Girl Climber, showing Friday, February 20 at 7 PM at the San Juan Island Library and Saturday, February 21 at 7 PM at the Lopez Island Grange.
Both screenings are free and open to the community. No ticket or RSVP is required.
About the Girl Climber Documentary
Winner of the 2025 FHFF Audience Choice Award for Best “Explorers & Adventures” Feature Film, Girl Climber follows professional climber Emily Harrington as she pursues a career-defining goal: a free ascent of the Golden Gate route on El Capitan in under 24 hours.
Already renowned for summiting Everest, climbing 8,000-meter peaks, and dominating the competition circuit, Harrington turns her focus to Yosemite’s big walls—terrain long associated with a tight, male-dominated inner circle of elite climbers.
The film traces Harrington’s multi-year commitment to this objective, balancing meticulous preparation with the psychological weight of expectation, identity, and time. Midway through the journey, a near-fatal fall during a pre-dawn attempt forces a reckoning—introducing injury, recovery, and renewed doubt into an already exacting pursuit.
“She was willing to be vulnerable and emotional on screen, which I think is really hard for a lot of people.” — Director Jon Glassberg
Rather than framing the story as a simple record chase, Girl Climber becomes an intimate portrait of resilience, vulnerability, and persistence, asking what it truly costs to pursue a once-in-a-lifetime goal.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Directed by Jon Glassberg, Girl Climber reflects a filmmaker’s eye shaped by deep roots in the climbing world. Glassberg, himself a professional climber, has built his career capturing authentic adventure narratives in extreme environments through his production company Louder Than Eleven.
His access, trust, and lived understanding of the sport allow the film to move seamlessly between sweeping big-wall imagery and quiet, personal moments—revealing not just the scale of El Capitan, but the interior landscape of a climber navigating risk, scrutiny, and self-definition.
Both island screenings will include a pre-recorded interview with Jon Glassberg, offering additional insight into the making of the film and the story behind the climb.
Join us for these free community screenings on February 20 and 21—and experience a film that is as emotionally honest as it is visually breathtaking.
Girl Climber is presented as part of the 2026 Best of the Fest Series, with support from Film Sponsor: The Rec SJI, 2026 Best of the Fest in-kind Sponsor: The Journal of the San Juan Islands, and 2026 Best of the Fest Series Presenting Media Sponsor: CascadePBS.
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