Leaving the theatre after watching this documentary about Carl Boenish, father of the base-jumping movement, I couldn't help but think how far skydivers have pushed the sport.
Parachutist and base jumper Felix Baumgartner's much publicised, highly sponsored jump from space was an incredible feat.
But this doco offers much more fun. Like when Boenish checks if a cliff is jumpable by throwing a rock off it and counting until it slams into the face. There's something to be said for simplicity, spirit and child-like enthusiasm — all traits Boenish brought to the sport in its early days.
Director Marah Strauch discovered a stash of Boenish's films in a deceased uncle's belongings and Sunshine Superman blossomed from there. It's a conventional documentary, with plenty of archive footage, re-enactments nicely matched to archive footage, and talking heads, but there's no way this film would have been made without Boenish's film-making endeavours.
