Mandy Horvath has a tattoo on her chest reading, “Tell me that I can’t and I’ll show you that I can.” And that’s exactly what this woman does in her climb to the top of Kilimanjaro, without legs!
Mandy is a smart, feisty young woman with a caustic, amusing sense of humor. From a small town in Kansas, she got in trouble with alcohol, drugs, and a fight in a bar with her date Dan and friend Valerie. She may have been drugged, and doesn’t remember how she ended up lying across railroad tracks when a train ran her over, cutting off her legs.
This film is well-structured with a compelling story about Mandy’s strength and determination to climb to the top of Africa, using only her hands, pushing her butt forward on the ground, one painful stride at a time. Directors Edward Drake, Scott Veltri, and Francis Cronin intersperse Mandy’s tough childhood, her party years, actual footage of her waking up in the hospital and details of the back story trying to find out what happened that night. We screened the film which won the Audience Award in the Documentary Feature Competition at SXSW.
It includes her rigorous training to prep for the treacherous, long climb 15,430 feet up to the top of the highest free-standing mountain in the world. You see her every obstinate refusal to give up, despite terrible blisters, soreness and debilitating hand injuries in cold and rocky conditions.
In the film, Mandy shows her appreciation for the Expedition Commander, Carel Verhoef, and Physiotherapist, Sally Grierson who claimed she was stronger than any of us. And for the porters who helped every step of the way, especially Commander Julius John White (“Whitey”). All not only became Mandy’s friends but her protectors. Laffrey Witbrod captures incredibly beautiful photography of every excruciating mile of the climb.
This film makes you actually feel all of what Mandy Horvath is feeling emotionally and mentally from the struggles of her past leading to her stubborn determination to overcome her physical obstacles to ascend Kilimanjaro, No matter what.
Good Complex 1 hour 42 minutes Documentary
