Experiencing Interruptions?

Stronger than Ever

Rock climber Maciek "Pastor" Kubera, 52, has a tragic fall while climbing, breaking his arm, his leg, his pelvis, his heel and four vertebrae. From his hospital bed, he vows to come back stronger than ever to tackle the toughest climb of his life - a super steep route called Andromeda on the Greek island of Kalimnos.

The film paints an intense portrait of a man of passion and dedication who imposes a draconian training regime on himself, with his life governed by the schedule in his training logbook. To his own surprise, he finds that his needs go far beyond physical strength - he is now limited by his psyche. Fear has taken over his climbing and he doesn't know how to tame this previously unknown beast.

We travel with our man from psychotherapy rooms to climbing coaching sessions to friends and family reunions in the mountains of Spain, England, Greece and Poland. And even to the music studio, where he works on performing his own rap lyrics at a noisy concert.

Will it be enough to fulfil his great challenge and lifelong climbing dream? Will he emerge victorious from his vertical duel with the limestone and with himself? And what will he learn along the way about the crisis and about getting a second chance?

  • Marcin Jamkowski
    Director
    River of Treasures, Against the Sands of Time
  • Marcin Jamkowski
    Writer
    River of Treasures
  • Marcin Jamkowski
    Producer
    Against the Sands of Time
  • Maciej Kubera
    Key Cast
    "Pastor"
  • Ewa Kubera
    Key Cast
    "Bibi"
  • Marcin Gala
    Key Cast
  • Tom Randall
    Key Cast
  • Adam Pracownik
    Key Cast
  • Marzena Hmielewicz
    Cinematography
    River of Treasures
  • Adam Suzin
    Cinematography
    Over the Limits, Crocodile, Broad Peak
  • Marcin Jamkowski
    Cinematography
    River of Treasures, Against the Sands of Time
  • Natalia Jacheć
    Editing
    Krzyk: Loosing Control, Different Paths to Holiness, How to Swim and not to Drown
  • Maciej Pawliński
    Editing
    Over the Limit, Broad Peak, Fucking Bornholm
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 12 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    January 1, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    150,000 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Poland
  • Country of Filming:
    Greece, Poland, Spain, United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English, Polish
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Distribution Information
  • Adventure Pictures, Marcin Jamkowski
    Sales Agent
    Country: Worldwide
    Rights: All Rights
  • Canal+ Poland
    Distributor
    Country: Poland
    Rights: Paid TV
Director Biography - Marcin Jamkowski

Filmmaker and writer. Passionate rock climber and scuba diver. Marcin studied chemistry in Warsaw, Poland, and after graduation did research with lasers and organic dyes at the color science laboratory. In his mid-20s, he changed his career path and became a science writer for the science section of the largest newspaper in Central Europe. He penned about a thousand articles and shot his first two documentaries before being hired as editor-in-chief of National Geographic magazine in Poland. After five years in that desk job, he went freelance, wrote six books, and followed his passion by studying filmmaking at Harvard and MIT.
Marcin's favorite subjects have always been expeditions, exploration and popular science stories. He has participated in or organized more than a dozen expeditions to five continents with exploratory, archaeological or scientific goals. He has been a TED speaker and a recipient of a scholarship from the Polish Ministry of Culture. Marcin is a Fellow of The Explorers Club and is currently serving his second term as Vice Chairman of the Polish Chapter of the Club.
"Stronger Than Ever" is his second feature-length documentary.

FILMOGRAPHY
2025 "The Artists of Science", 40' doc about saving ancient cities and temples in Vietnam
2024 "Stronger Than Ever", feature-length documentary about the recovery of a rock climber and his quest to send the life-long dream climb.
2023 “The Scientific Magnificent Seven”, 37’ documentary video about 19th century Polish explorers on the Pacific.
2022 "Against the Sands of Time", 40' documentary about the archaeological excavations.
2019 "River of Treasures", feature-length documentary about the underwater exploration of the 350-year-old treasure of the Polish king.
2010 "No One Left Behind" - 25' documentary about the last battle of the Vietnam War
2001 "Higher than Lemurs" - 25' long doc on big wall expedition to Madagascar
2000 "Higher than Geckoes" - short documentary on big wall climbing expedition in Mali

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

We have had a very warm reception to our film at a few festivals - winning the Grand Prix and the Audience Award. People saw in our work not just a climbing film, but they clearly recognized the wider and deeper message - about crisis moments in life and about taking second chances.

All of us will have some kind of crisis in our lives - some of us will have a financial crisis, some of us will have a health crisis, some of us will have a relationship crisis, some of us will have a job crisis. The question is how we deal with the crisis. How we fight. How do we find the strength not to give up?

The example of the protagonist of "Stronger than Ever" is bright and clear. When times are as turbulent as ours, it's good to see the beacon that can point the way.