Following on from gut-wrenching short documentary Roofer’s Point of View, which followed urban explorers and photographers Vadim Mahorov and Vitaliy Raskalov climbing skyscrapers in Berlin, is a new documentary New Perspectives, presented by HUB Footwear.
The new doc follows Vadim and Vitaliy as they go back to familiar territory in Moscow and Siberia, where they grew up, and scale some nausea-inducing heights to the top of public buildings and then, claustrophobically, down into the subway networks currently being constructed in Moscow.
The doc includes footage from their urban explorations around the world – including 350-metre climbs in Dubai and a particularly controversial adventure to the top of ancient monument the Pyramid of Cheops in Egypt – and explores, through interviews, what motivates the curious twenty-somethings.
We caught up with Vadim a couple of months ago after the release of A Roofer’s Point Of View to try and understand what would make you want to dangle your feet into the abyss.
What was your first experience roofing?
My first roofing experience was in Novosibirsk, when we climbed a lifting crane, around hundred metres high. It was almost night, we were shooting the city. For the first time I saw it from this perspective, then I realised, that’s what I want to do.
Have you had many run-ins with the authorities? Are there many restrictions on public space in Russia?
Not as many as there could have been. Maybe we are just lucky. Law is not drastic in relation to our hobby. If we don’t commit vandalism, and I stand right against that, then the most trouble we can get is a small fine, for trespassing on private territory.
How many photographers do you think are roofing at the moment?
A lot, I think, but not just photographers. Simple people looking for thrills.
Obviously it’s a risky game – why go so big?
Not as dangerous as you think it is. If one is careful, the risk is minimal.
What do you think you’ve learnt about cities from this birds-eye perspective?
The city looks different from a birds-eye perspective. It seems like a totally different place. You can see all the infrastructure. You can see some things (statues, architectural elements of buildings, interesting roofs), which you can’t see from the ground. I can see small backyards, that I would never have found just walking on street. And off course from height you can feel the scope of the city.
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