Press Release/Opening – 2025-10-15
22nd Tegernsee International Mountain Film Festival, 15 to 19 October 2025
From Antarctica to the Himalayas
The 22nd Tegernsee International Mountain Film Festival has officially opened. This evening’s program features the French production “Of a Lifetime”, followed by an intermission and “Meru – The Ascent of the Goldfish”, a film by Black Forest-based director Daniel Hug. Photographer Hug has traveled from South Tyrol to Tegernsee especially for the opening night, to share insights into the challenges of filming an expedition at almost 20,000 feet.
As Tom Dauer steps onto the stage, his first words are for Michael Pause: “As the new Festival Director, I am following in big footsteps.” He then invites his predecessor—who led the festival for 22 years—to join him. Pause, with a wry smile, replies: “For the first time, I’m experiencing the evening completely relaxed—from the audience’s perspective.” Before handing over the stage to Dauer, Pause—now the festival’s Patron—calls out to the entire team with a playful twist on a famous German soccer quote: “Go out into the halls and make it a decent festival!”
What unfolds over the next 44 minutes indeed captivates the audience inside the packed Barocksaal venue. Tom Dauer doesn’t exaggerate when he says: “A good mountain film transports the essence of adventure—it tries to make it tangible on film and to carry it into everyday life. In my opinion, the film ‘Of a Lifetime’ has succeeded in doing this extraordinarily well.” In short, you feel as if you’re journeying through Antarctica.
“Of a Lifetime” follows the renowned De Le Rue snowboarding family: Xavier (seven-time world champion), his brother Victor (three-time world champion), and Xavier’s daughter Mila on their first expedition together. They sail across the storm-lashed Drake Passage into the icy wilderness of Antarctica—a place of peril, but also breathtaking beauty. Amid penguin colonies, orcas, and towering ice slopes, Mila embraces the challenge of big mountain freeriding. Personal diaries offer a glimpse into her inner world as she confronts her fears and grows beyond herself. In the end, 18-year-old Mila reflects: “It’s the wildest of all wild places. It was the trip of a lifetime.”
After the interval, Dauer presents “Meru – The Ascent of the Goldfish”, an extraordinarily humorous film about three mountaineers attempting to climb the three-peaked Mount Meru in the Indian Garhwal Himalayas. After weeks of highs and lows, the trio reaches the crux of their first ascent. The goal of the expedition mountaineers is a new route in the southeast face of Meru South (6,660 m / 21,850 ft). But before they can tackle the crux of their line, they must overcome a host of challenges. Will they succeed? The audience cheers them on to the very end—and is left exhilarated.
Afterwards, Festival Director Dauer is delighted to welcome a special guest: photographer Daniel Hug, who accompanied and filmed the mountaineers and has traveled from South Tyrol for this occasion. Hug shares how he was originally brought on as a photographer for “Meru” but soon found himself stepping into the role of filmmaker and director. He recounts the dangers of the expedition, the physical toll of filming at high altitudes for an entire month—carrying roughly 45 pounds of gear from morning to night—and how he managed to smuggle his equipment into the country despite an official ban on foreign-made drones.
“It’s the behind-the-scenes glimpses that make our festival,” says Dauer. That spirit has drawn many guests of honour and passionate cineastes to the opening of the 22nd Tegernsee International Mountain Film Festival. In his welcome address, Tegernsee’s Mayor Johannes Hagn offered special thanks to LOWA, which “has committed itself like no other main sponsor.” He also acknowledged the many representatives from politics, society, and the media, along with sponsors, jurors, supporters, and mountain enthusiasts—and gave a heartfelt nod to the German Alpine Club (DAV) and the countless volunteers “without whom the festival would not be conceivable.”
Dauer promises many more thrilling films through Sunday. Naturally, he’s keeping quiet about which competition entries will take home one of the coveted prizes. That decision lies with an international jury, tasked this year with evaluating 74 documentaries, sports films, features, and shorts—from Germany, Austria, Italy, and Switzerland, as well as from cinematic voices in Greenland, Afghanistan, Poland, and Iran. Screenings continue until the Award Ceremony on Saturday evening (7 p.m. at Barocksaal Tegernsee), with films shown across four venues—Barocksaal Gymnasium, Altes Schalthaus, Gesundheitszentrum Medius, and Sporthalle—as well as in the Kurgarten cinema tent. Tickets are still available for nearly all performances.
In addition to the traditional Sunday matinée showcasing the winning films in full, this year’s program features a special highlight: the German premiere of the feature documentary “Downhill Skiers – Ain’t No Mountain Steep Enough”, which Tom Dauer co-directed. The film follows some of the world’s top downhill skiers, with its nationwide theatrical release set for 30th of October. Among the guests of honour are Olympic champion and former ski racer Viktoria Rebensburg, German racer Fabiana Dorigo, former downhill skiers Michael Veith and Thomas Dreßen (Streif winner 2018, now coaching), racers Anton Grammel and Luis Vogt, Raphael Haaser (2025 Giant Slalom World Champion and Super-G silver medalist), and the Alpine Director of the German Ski Association (DSV) Wolfgang Maier.
Further Information: Sonderbüro Bergfilm-Festival Tegernsee, phone +49(0)8022-1801 – 27; bergfilm@tegernsee.de, online: www.bergfilm-tegernsee.de All films and the fringe programme are described in detail in the print programme and online.
Advance ticket sales at the Tegernsee Tourist Information, Tel. +49(0)8022-92738 – 62; tegernsee@tegernsee.com; on the Internet: www.bergfilm-tegernsee.de or www.muenchenticket.de.