Wild State Boards 'Learning To Fly' Ultra Marathon Doc
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- Wild State (founded by Chris Hemsworth and Ben Grayson) has boarded 'Learning to Fly,' an ultra marathon-themed documentary directed by Max Lowe ahead of its theatrical release beginning August 21.
- 'Learning to Fly' follows former competitive runner turned photographer Aisha McAdams as she re-enters the world of elite ultra marathon running after walking away from the sport due to trauma and mental health challenges.
- The film opens at Angelika Film Center in New York and Laemmle Monica Film Center in Los Angeles on August 21, after premiering at last year's Telluride Film Festival where Lowe also unveiled his 2021 doc 'Torn.'
- Oscar winner Evan Hayes (Free Solo) produces alongside Katy Chevigny (Dick Johnson Is Dead) and Ayesha Rokadia (Deli Boys), with Wild State's Ben Grayson, Kevin Joseph, and Andy Mininger serving as executive producers.
- McAdams photographs ultra endurance athletes Jim Walmsley, Rod Farvard, and Eszter Csillag competing at the Western States Endurance Run in Eastern California and the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc in the French Alps before entering her own ultra-marathon.
- After its theatrical run, Learning to Fly will launch globally on Amazon Prime Video; the film is presented by Unreasonable Studios as an Anomaly Content & Entertainment production in association with Big Mouth Productions and Wild State.
Why it matters: The deal gives Wild State another prestige documentary title ahead of a wide theatrical-plus-streaming rollout via Amazon Prime Video, while distinguishing this project from Hayes's prior Free Solo work by centering on a sport — running — that producer Hayes explicitly frames as accessible to anyone who can lace up shoes. The mental health and resilience throughline also positions the film to reach audiences far beyond endurance-sports fans.
