Blog - Elia Saikaly - Adventurer - Filmmaker

Welcome to my personal blog. From ‘how to’ articles, expedition dispatches to the stories of the incredible people I learn from along the way. These are my most personal stories, framed through my lens and expressed in words straight from my heart.

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Himalaya – An Everest Time Lapse Film

A time-lapse journey from the roof of the world. 3,408 still images stitched together to portray a single day in the majestic Himalayas. The story behind the images: Some of us are vocal and social when it comes to our pain, others suffer silently and quietly like warriors waiting out…

Everest – The Final Ridge

Experience the final push to the top of the world. The Story Behind the Climb Imagine… it’s 11pm and you’re in the death zone. It’s -20 degrees Celsius, your mind isn’t quite right due to the lack of oxygen, you’ve got 20 000 kids in 130 schools that have…

The Climb for Albinism – How it came to be

In 2016, while on a philanthropic mission in Africa, I met a young Kenyan woman named Jane Waithera, a person with albinism. I was immediately taken back by her passion, her character and most importantly, her voice as an activist. I learned about the crimes committed against persons with albinism…

This is what summiting Everest looks like

Mt. Everest. Step by step, raw and unfiltered. Experience the final push to the top of the world. My goal was to create a video that would transport viewers to the summit of Mt. Everest. No music. No sound effects. No slow motion. No extreme wide angle helmet-cam…

Everest – A time lapse film II: How I did it

I’m once again truly humbled to see that my new short: Everest A Time Lapse Film – II is captivating audiences around the world. As always, my goal is to bring to life the majestic beauty of the Himalayas and to inspire others to dream big, discover their passions and…

Everest – A Time Lapse Film- II

Experience the beauty of Mt. Everest at night in time-lapse. While most climbers slept, I attempted to capture some of the magic that the Himalayan skies have to offer while climbing to the top of the world. These time lapse Images were captured as high as 6200m (camp 2) above…

Winner – Canadian Screen Award for Aaron Sanchez – Limitless

WINNER – BEST SPORTS PROGRAM AT THE CANADIAN SCREEN AWARDS Limitless – The Story of Aaron Sanchez Produced by Rogers Sportnet Director of Photography: Elia Saikaly Camera Assistant: Matthew Delaney Team Sportsnet: Marc Leblanc, Paul Sidhu, Mark Wade, Stephen Brunt I can’t say enough about the incredible team at Sportsnet…

Unclimbed – The Unsung Heroes of Unclimbed

One of the main themes that we have been trying to bring attention to with our expedition are the climbing Sherpas who work behind the scenes, often in the shadows, who are the unsung heroes of the Himalayas. Sadly, they are often wrongfully omitted from the stories of triumph and…