A pair of influencer daredevils take their love to insane heights in “Skywalkers: A Love Story,” a thrilling documentary that’s part heist movie, part Instagram romance.
Angela Nikolau is a Russian rooftopper — that’s the name given to social media thrill junkies who trespass into tall buildings to photograph themselves from the tops of said structures — whose main competition in the hobby is Vanya Beerkus, a fellow Russian who has mastered the art of the skyscraper selfie. The pair circles each other until they meet up for a brand collab. Ah, young online love.
Angela is fiercely independent, a product of her upbringing (both her parents were circus performers), and she makes a promise to herself to always be self-reliant, no matter what. Vanya gives her someone to lean on, and he wants to take care of her, and the two fall madly in love, documenting their crazy courtship from the tops of buildings the world over. But their initial whirlwind love affair eventually gives way to arguments and bickering, which is even worse when it’s happening 2,000 feet above the ground.
After the COVID-19 pandemic wipes out the pair’s revenue streams and pushes them into the world of NFTs — a sign of the times that already feels dated — Angela and Vanya attempt to save their relationship by embarking on the climb of all climbs, scaling the world’s second tallest skyscraper at the time of filming, Kuala Lumpur’s Merdeka 118.
