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ABOUT THE FILM
"A visually stunning climbing film and a deeply
moving human story."
-- The Sun Independent
"Inspirational in all the right ways with terrific storytelling from beginning to end, Looking UP is a film to watch for."
-- The Independent Critic
"A powerful message of resilience."
-- The Miami Times
Looking UP is the inspiring story of Eitan Armon, a young man facing encroaching blindness who takes on the challenge of climbing the world’s most epic granite wall.
At age 20, while serving in the military, Eitan is diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, a rare and incurable genetic disease that causes blindness. With only 5% of his central vision remaining, Eitan decides to challenge himself and ascend Yosemite’s daunting El Capitan. Looking Up documents Eitan’s journey and resilience, demonstrating the endless possibilities for those who approach life with positivity.
WINNER
TRAILER
TRAILER
Bios
BIOS
EITAN ARMON
Eitan is a veteran IDF paratrooper, where he was named the outstanding soldier of his company. After getting diagnosed with RP, Eitan was medically discharged from the military and enrolled at Columbia University, where he studied neuropsychology. Eitan was a Phi Beta Kappa honors graduate and a Rhodes Scholar finalist. Since graduating, Eitan has been applying the lessons he learned through his own patient experience and positive psychology research by working to raise awareness for RP and emerging treatments. Eitan serves as a mentor to others with visual impairments and as a member of the Foundation for Fighting Blindness Strategic Council. Professionally, Eitan works as a financial analyst covering healthcare services companies.
In his spare time, Eitan is an avid skier and hiker, rabid Boston sports fan, and loves dancing with his friends and family.
ELENA NEUMAN
Producer/Director
Elena is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and founder of NeumanFILMS based in New York City. Looking UP marks Elena’s feature film directorial debut, for which she won the New York Women in Film and Television Award for Excellence in Documentary Directing. Elena’s short film about four Holocaust survivors, People Forget, New Haven Remembers, aired on Connecticut Public Television and is currently streaming on CPTV. Elena co-produced/directed Wishmakers, a short film about an award-winning wine produced by mentally handicapped adults. The film won the International Gold Medal from the World Humanitarian Awards and an award of merit at IndieFEST. Elena has also produced content for many educational and non-profit organizations.
Previously, Elena was an associate producer at Manifold Productions where she worked on three PBS films: The Fall of Newt Gingrich, Rediscovering George Washington, and God and the Inner City. A graduate of Cornell and Yale Universities, Elena spent her early career as a print journalist before segueing into documentary filmmaking. When she's not making films, Elena loves hiking, biking and skiing in the mountains. Filming in Yosemite was a dream come true.
Photos
PHOTOS
CREDITS
Credits
Directed and Produced by: Elena Neuman
Director of Photography: Dani Tenenbaum
Mountain Cinematography:
Damian Benegas and Nils Bailey
Editor: Dennis Clark
Original Score by: Michael Bryan Stein
Impact Producer: Chen Drachman
Original Song "Looking UP"
Written and produced by Michael Bryan Stein
Performed by Edan Tamler
Color and Online Editor: Kyle Kelley
Sound Mix: Matthew Kulewicz
Additional Cinematography:
John Rossi
Tom Shaked
Motion Graphics: Michael Barnett
Trailer Editor: Mathew C. Ein
Yosemite Production Assistant: Bianca Fidani
Yosemite Climbing Assistant: Filipe Randis
Festival Consultant: Nancy Collet
Publicists:
Wendy Zipes Hunter
Suzie Cornell
Prana PR
Amy Prenner
The Prenner Group
Social Media:
Jess Mills, Oui Oui Marketing
Featuring (in order of appearance) :
Eitan Armon
Jay Lefkowitz
Willie Benegas
Tamar Arenson
Rami Armon
Dr. Edwin Stone
Dr. Tal Ben Shachar
Robert Heidenberg
Filming Locations:
Yosemite National Park, CA
New York, NY
Salt Lake City, UT
Hackensack, NJ
Wasatch National Forest, UT
Silver Spring, MD
Ra'anana, Israel
Iowa City, IA
Englewood, NJ
Closter, NJ
West Nyack, NY
Run Time: 01:11:34
Accessibility features:
Captions and Audio Description
WHERE TO SEE
Where to See
Denver Jewish Film Festival
Wednesday, January 28, 2026 @ 7 PM
Elaine Wolf Theatre
350 S Dahlia St
Denver CO
https://tickets.jccdenver.org/djff
Austin Jewish Film Festival
February 19, 2026 @ 7 PM
Austin, TX
JCC Indianapolis
Indianpolis IN
March 8, 2026
NJ Jewish Film Festival
MetroWest, NJ
March 11, 2026 @ 1 PM
Kaplan JCC on the Palisades
Tenafly NJ
March 30, 2026
Bender JCC of Greater Washington
Rockville, MD
April 12, 2026
PAST SCREENINGS
Miami Jewish Film Festival
January 12, 2025 @ 6:30 PM
Miami, FL
SOLD OUT
FINALIST FOR AUDIENCE AWARD
DOCUTAH International Documentary Film Festival
February 27, 2025 @ 12:30 PM
and February 29 @ 11:15 AM
St. George, UT
ANNAPOLIS Film Festival
March 30, 2025 @ 12:30 PM
Annapolis, MD
SOLD OUT
Julien Dubuque International Film Festival
April 23 @ 1:30 PM
April 24 @ 7:45 PM
Dubuque, IA
CESJDS
May 16, 2025
Rockville, MD
Aspen Screening to benefit Challenge Aspen
August 12, 2025 @ 5 PM
Isis Theater
Aspen, CO
SOLD OUT
Lonely Seal Film Festival
August 24, 2025 @ 3 PM
Regent Theater
Boston, MA
WINNER JURY AWARD BEST FEATURE DOCUMENTARY
Richmond International Film Festival
September 28, 2025 @ 4:30 PM
Bowtie Cinemas
Richmond, VA
Chagrin Documentary Film Festival
October 9, 2025 @ 1:30 PM
October 10, 2025 @ 7:30 PM
Chagrin Valley Little Theater
Chagrin, OH
SOHO International Film Festival
October 9, 2025 @ 7:45 PM
Regal Union Square Theater 14
NEW YORK, NY
SOLD OUT
WINNER NYWIFT AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE
IN DOCUMENTARY DIRECTING
FINALIST FOR AUDIENCE AWARD
Newport Beach Film Festival
October 18, 2025 @ 1 PM
The Big Newport
Newport Beach, CA
Twin Cities Film Festival
October 19, 2025 @ 12 PM
Minneapolis, MN
St. Louis International Film Festival
November 11, 2025 @ 5 PM Hi-Pointe Theater
& November 13, 2025 @ 5 PM B&B Theatres Creve Coeur
St. Louis, MO
POST-SCREENING Q&A WITH DIRECTOR ELENA NEUMAN
Breaking Down Barriers Film Festival
November 9, 2025
Moscow, Russia
FESTIVAL OF ARTS
Jewish Federation of South New Jersey
Cherry Hill, NJ
November 11, 2025 @ 7 PM
POST-SCREENING Q&A WITH DIRECTOR ELENA NEUMAN
and CAST-MEMBER ROBERT HEIDENBERG
Spirit Film Festival
November 13, 2025 @ 3 PM
November 14, 2025 @ 3:45 PM
November 15, 2025 @ 2:30 PM
Cinematheque Tel Aviv
Kayenta Center for the Arts
BEST OF FEST DOCUTAH
Dec. 5, 2025 @ 7:30 PM
Ivins, UT
Raanana Theater
December 7, 2025 @ 7 PM
Raanana, Israel
POST SCREENING Q&A
WITH ELENA NEUMAN, DIRECTOR
JAY LEFKOWITZ, CAST
SIGAL SAHAF ILAN, LIROT
DR. DROR SHARON, HEBREW UNIVERSITY
AND DR. GILAD LITVIN, CMO OF CorNEAT
SOLD OUT
Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan
in partnership with ReelAbilities
December 9, 2025 @ 7 PM
New York, NY
POST-SCREENING Q&A
WITH EITAN ARMON AND DIRECTOR ELENA NEUMAN
SOLD OUT
PRESS
press
"Stunning cinematography, heart-pounding climbing sequences and an intimate exploration of personal struggle."
-- The Independent
"This is the kind of film audiences love to see."
-- Richard Propes, The Independent Critic
"A powerful message of resilience."
-- The Miami Times
"An emotional and deeply inspiring portrait of perseverance and positivity."
-- IndieWrap
IMPACT AND ADVOCACY
IMPACT
“Let go of everything you can’t control and focus on what you can.”
We are focused on raising awareness about Retinitis Pigmentosa and living boldly with disability. LOOKING UP is proud to collaborate with impactful organizations to raise awareness
for blinding diseases and living with visual and other disabilities.
We are always interested in collaborating with communities committed these goals. If
you’d like to work with us, please reach out to Chen at
gracedragonproductions@gmail.com
For more information about our impact campaign, please click here.
CONTACT
For Festival Inquiries: nancy@cinemacollet.com
For Press Inquiries and Interviews: amy@theprennergroup.com
For Non-Festival Bookings: contact@chendrachman.com
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