Matty Hong

Matty Hong is an American rock climber, filmmaker and photographer from Boulder who in 2018 became the fourth American to climb a route graded 5.15b (9b) and who has directed notable climbing films. His dual identity as an elite mover and a documentarian shapes the footage he appears in: the films are as interested in process, sequence and team dynamics as they are in individual hard moves.

The two films here capture different sides of that practice. In ROCK TRIP | The North Face (2025) Hong steps into the director’s role on a collaborative Chilean‑Argentina trip to Valle Encantado, joining a mixed international roster that includes Shawn Raboutou, Sam Elias and Brette Harrington. The edit foregrounds bolting, route‑finding and low‑angle approach work alongside climbing sequences, so viewers get a practical sense of how new sport lines are developed in granite spires, how teams trade technique and how decisions on protection and approach shape a short exploratory trip.

By contrast, The North Face presents: ALPHANE (2022) places Hong amid high‑end Swiss bouldering and projection culture, showing attempts on problems ranging from V14 up to the Alphane project. That film records sequence reading, repetition and on‑the‑rock adjustments at the cutting edge of bouldering grades. Watch for how filming choices highlight the mechanics of attempts and for how Hong’s presence threads between partner dynamics, projection routine and the craft of climbing cinema. Together the two films give a grounded picture of Hong’s interests: elite performance, collaborative line development, and translating that work into thoughtful, climber‑focused filmmaking.