Chasing The Line

In the 1970s skiing scene, Austrian Franz Klammer was the greatest rival of Swiss Bernhard Russi. For years, the two national heroes engaged in a duel for supremacy in downhill skiing.

Barely 22, Franz Klammer (Julian Waldner) finds himself in the eye of the storm when he arrives for the men’s downhill competition at the 1976 Winter Olympic Games in Innsbruck. Since the previous season the charismatic newcomer has won virtually every race, so the pressure from the media and the public is off the scale. Faced with this pressure, his sponsor wanting to change his equipment at the last minute, the weather conditions worsening by the day and rival racers on his heels, Franz confronts the ultimate challenge.

Packed with thrilling race sequences and set over several days leading up to the contest, this passionate film explores Klammer’s journey in forging his own identity as an athlete. Director Andreas Schmied’s feel-good biopic provides a highly entertaining look behind the scenes of professional sports and shows Klammer as a rebel against the commercialisation of skiing.