Extraordinary Film ‘BASE’ Featuring Legendary Base Jumping Star Alexander Polli Coming to Cinemas and On Demand this Autumn

Kew Media Group, Vertigo Films and Infinite Wisdom Studios are delighted to announce that they will release extraordinary new film ‘BASE’ into UK cinemas from 27th October followed by its worldwide release on iTunes and on demand from 6th November.

Directed by Richard Parry and Produced by Michael Ford of Infinite Wisdom Studios and Executive Produced by Allan Niblo and James Richardson of Vertigo Films, BASE stars Italian-Norwegian Alexander Polli, famed for his hit YouTube viral video ‘Batman Cave Jump’ in Montserrat, Spain, and blurs the lines between fact and fiction to breath-taking effect. The iconic cave fly-through has so far racked up in excess of 14.6 million hits online for the rock-and-roll wingsuit pilot who became a pioneer in the sport, becoming the first proximity flyer to successfully strike a fixed target. Polli sadly died shortly after making the film last year in the French Alps, aged 31 in a devastating wingsuit accident in Chamonix in August 2016.

JC (Alexander Polli) is a B.A.S.E. jumper, a global playboy who lives his life quite literally on the edge, pursuing man's greatest dream - to fly. When a jump goes wrong, that dream is violently shattered. Haunted by the event, JC is drawn to his best friend’s lover, ASH (Julie Dray), as he pushes himself harder than ever before - flying lower, closer, faster and recording every moment on film. Soon JC's dark descent threatens not only his own life but the lives of all those around him. 'BASE' follows a man over the edge and watches him fall.

B.A.S.E. jumping and proximity flying has exploded in the last 10 years with the growing popularity of YouTube, and other video sharing websites, on which participants continue to push the boundaries of what is possible, attempting to become true pioneers of the sport.

B.A.S.E. jumping however, is not a new sport, it has been around for decades and has successfully achieved iconic status as a result of its appearances in major motion pictures over the last 40 years including: Batman Begins, Lara Croft Tomb Raider, Star Trek, Transformers: Dark of the Moon and the London Olympics 2012 base jump stunt which doubled for Daniel Craig and HRM The Queen. BASE (2017) maintains this tradition of ground-breaking cinema as the first full-length feature film to explore the world of B.A.S.E. and fuse it with narrative fiction.

Launching from iconic exit points around the globe, including a duel-flyby of the Christ the Redeemer Statue in Rio, the film showcases some of the most breathtaking views from around the world featuring GoPro footage from the world’s best wingsuit flyers. The film explores all corners of the globe, from Brazil to Switzerland and amongst the adrenaline-fuelled world of B.A.S.E. jumping. There’s nothing else like it. No other movie hits an audience with the sheer exuberance, thrill and danger of real proximity flight and the raw drama of a life lived truly on the edge.

Directed by Richard Parry (Shooting Robert King, A Night in the Woods), BASE stars world-class wingsuit pilot and YouTube sensation Alexander Polli, alongside rising French starlet Julie Dray (Channel 4’s Crashing, Breaking the Bank). With Production Completed shortly before Alex’s tragic real-life death, BASE blurs the lines between fact and fiction to present a portrait of a B.A.S.E. jumper and proximity flyer, a man who films the pieces of his life then edits them back together, desperate to make sense of it all. Principal characters are played by pro-B.A.S.E. athletes in a movie in which all the jumps are real. There are no stuntmen and no margins for error.

Mark Benmore (SVP Sales, Distribution, Kew Media Group) said “BASE is a ground-breaking and extraordinary film that we are thrilled to be releasing simultaneously worldwide to reach the widest possible audience. A must-see film, we are confident that audiences will be as awe-inspired and blown away as we are.”

Director Richard Parry said "‘BASE’ is a film about a man who throws himself off the edge and into the void, a man who thunders down precipices at 250 km/h, inches from death. It’s also about the need to be different, the desire to experience life to the full and the willingness to reconcile the dangers in pursuit of that life.

I loved the idea of a unique film set in the globetrotting world of B.A.S.E., focused around these characters whose lives are self-immortalised on camera for the briefest moments. I was immediately drawn to the material and excited by the challenge: To keep the rawness of the jumps and yet craft an engaging story at its heart. To maintain the edge and believability and still make an original, exciting and cohesive movie. "Was that real?" has proven a common refrain amongst test audiences to date. It's a reaction that makes me think we ultimately found the balance we were looking for.”

#BASEMovie

Find BASE on Facebook and Twitter.

BASE is in UK Cinemas 27 October and available Worldwide on iTunes and On Demand from 6th November

About Kew Media Group
Kew Media Group produces and acquires more than 1,000 hours of new multi-genre content every year and distributes Kew’s catalogue of film, television and digital assets to more than 150 countries worldwide on almost every available viewing platform. Kew Media Group distributes a library approaching 10,000 hours of TV and digital content including major drama series, non-fiction entertainment, special event programming, kids’ series, TV movies and mini-series. Kew Media Group formerly traded as Content Media Corporation.

THE CAST
	ALEXANDER POLLI [ 1985-2016 ] // JC Alexander Polli was a world class wingsuit pilot and pro-B.A.S.E. athlete. A true rock and roll star within the B.A.S.E. Jumping world, Polli partied with paupers and Princes (literally) and even dated singing superstar Britney Spears. A true pioneer in human flight, he became the first-ever proximity flyer to successfully strike a fixed target. Reaching speeds in excess of 250 km/h (155 mph), Polli hit the polystyrene slalom pole in 2012. In 2013 he followed this with arguably one of the most impressive wingsuit stunts ever attempted, a tactical flight through a narrow cave no wider than Alexander was tall, carried out in the Roca Foradada Mountains in Montserrat. The stunt was one of the biggest YouTube hits of the year having amassed over 14.5 million hits to date. You can see the stunt here. Having trained as a method actor for four years, Polli returned to acting to combine his two loves as the lead actor and wingsuit pilot in BASE. Sadly, Alexander died in a tragic wingsuit flight in August 2016, before the film could be released.
JULIE DRAY // ASH The only non-jumper in a cast of B.A.S.E. athletes, Julie Dray is a French native and English speaking actress. Nominated for a BAFTA in 2009 for the short film Ralph, Julie won Best Actress at Method Film Fest in Los Angeles for the film Do Elephants Pray? 2014 saw her take on a leading role in Breaking the Bank alongside Frasier star Kelsey Grammar, whilst her theatre work includes leading roles in Bang Bang Bang at the Royal Court in London. British viewers will know her from the hit BBC2 Peter Kay sitcom Cradle to Grave as well as Channel 4 comedy Crashing, whilst her latest role sees her play alongside Julia Stiles in Sky Atlantic’s big-budget Riviera. In BASE she plays the enigmatic Ash, torn between best friends JC and Chico, and forced to confront secrets and lies on the edge.
	CARLOS BRICENO SCHUTTE // CHICO Venezuelan-born B.A.S.E. jumper and proximity flyer Carlos Briceno Schutte rounds out the central trio in BASE. An experienced cameraman, Carlos joined long-time friend and fellow jumper Alexander Polli on an international shoot for the improvised feature. Filming saw the production visit locations in Brazil, Switzerland, Italy and the UK, as Carlos took on the role of JC's best friend and Ash's first love, Chico.
RIQUIER VINCENDEAU-VERBRAEKEN // MAX 26-year-old French native Riquier Vincendeau-verbraeken, is a skilled B.A.S.E. jumper, considered by some, including the late Alexander Polli, to be one of the best low-altitude 'packers' in Europe. Having performed in amateur dramatics as a boy, Riquier was excited to return to the world of acting to take on the role of Max, a naive young jumper who seeks out a broken JC after his tragic loss.