Programme - Thursday 17. October 2019 - during the day

The grandfather of Marcell Barelli tells the story of a small bee who has to flee from pollution. But before they start into the tale, the two need to agree on how a “real” bee should be drawn. Spiced with a dose of humour, sound and image combine to form a detailed and lovable short film.
Marcel Barelli received the 2012 Otto Guggenbichler Award for a Junior Film Maker for his film “Gypaethus Helveticus”.

Animal reporter Anna travels to the highlands of the Andes. Llamas and alpacas, the small relatives of camels, live here in South America. Anna helps the shepherds to drive the alpaca herd to pasture, a breath-taking experience in the truest sense of the word. She comes very close to the alpaca offspring and is thrilled with the animals’ soft fur. But these Andean camels are not only highly valued because of their wool, they also serve as pack animals, at least if they feel like it, otherwise they spit – even further than Anna!

The Schneeferner Glacier at Mt Zugspitze is Germany’s highest glacier. Scientists fear, however, that it could disappear without a trace within about twenty years. Because the ice up here is also melting. But why is that? Does it also have consequences for us humans? And above all – can the glacier be saved after all?

Young people from all over the world aim high, especially when looking for apprenticeships around Mt Zugspitze. Whether in relation to cable car technology, gastronomy or science, the mountains play a very special role in everything. And sometimes even very young dogs take part – like Kanda. She has come to Mt Zugspitze to become a real search and avalanche dog. Together with her 22-year-old owner she is busy training with the team.

The small town of Damawand is located near Iran’s highest mountain. Its history reaches back several thousand years, as evidenced by culture and architecture – same as its inhabitants’ traditional way of life. Moreover, the town is surrounded by exceptionally beautiful natural landscapes.

Two researchers travel across southwestern China to discover the legendary Shangri La. They find clues in the book “Lost Horizon” and in travelogues by Joseph Rock published in the National Geographic. It’s a tedious search. Is it possible that this mystical place is in fact located in the Tibetan Autonomous District of Muli in the southwest of China’s Sichuan Province?

Tourist brochures from the 1920s tell the most delicious fibs: Oberhof at Mt Schneekopf – 1,000 meters above the sea! That suggests magnitude, snow, alpine flair. At 978 meters (3,209 ft) Thuringia’s tallest mountain is indeed an almost one-thousander. But it certainly can do without false ambition.

The artist Barbara Gwerder works in the imposing, rugged mountains of the Central Swiss Alps. In search of images, she is at the mercy of her own emotions and fears. Her life is characterised by simplicity and deprivation. After dark, lonely evenings in the barren hut, she paints large-format pictures. In the open air, as the seasons change, she captures the essence of this breath-taking, wild landscape in her works.

Bayandalai is one of the elders of the Dukhas tribe. In his yurt, deep in the heart of the taiga, he reflects on life and death. He is one of the last guardians of the once large reindeer herds that still roam the endless taiga forests.

The very thought of a cable car ride triggers a tingling in many people’s stomach. Occasionally one hears of tangled ropes, engine failures and gondolas that stop at dizzying heights. Transport becomes an adventure. A look at cable car history reveals the astonishing fact that the very first Mt Zugspitze cable car was built in Saxony: in Leipzig’s Bleichert factory.

On a Bulgarian mountain peak, young Jean-Hugues Gooris from Belgium climbs the tower of a decaying communist monument – and is randomly filmed. Media attention is aroused, even the European Parliament discusses the ailing structure. Six months later, Gooris returns with a bicycle and a small camera and immerses himself in the turbulent history of the Balkans. His road movie reveals the warm hospitality offered by people in various different countries and mountain regions and tells moving tales.

During the darkest hours of the night, while the rest of the world is sleeping, photographer Paul Zizka sets out to find the most beautiful starry sky. The quest for heavenly wonders takes him to the Rocky Mountains, the Namibian desert and the glaciers of Greenland. Alone beneath the stars he learns important things about life, love, adventure and about our place in the universe.
Mathieu Le Lay has already received numerous awards. In 2015 he received the Tegernsee Award for the Best Nature Film and the Otto Guggenbichler Young Talent Award.

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Snowstorms around rugged mountain peaks, lonely islands set within the sparkling Mediterranean, wild animals that have disappeared from the rest of Europe: Greece is a land of unique contrasts. Pelicans breed on Lake Prespa beneath the snow-capped Rhodope Mountains. Bears roam through the Pindos Mountains, below the Meteora monasteries the last pair of Egyptian vultures are breeding and at the foot of the cliffs lives the sheltopusik, a bizarre legless, insectivorous lizard.

From the snow-covered, icy world of the high mountains with its mighty glaciers to warm steppe lakes and the last remaining primeval forests, this opulent journey takes viewers through the most beautiful regions of Austria. It consistently traces the journey of water – the element that has shaped nature’s diversity like no other. This first episode focuses on glaciers.

Jeszcze began paragliding at the age of seventy. He stands out among all the young, ultra-fit paragliders on Monte Grappa in Italy – simply because he’s the oldest. At 88, he dreams of gliding off Mt Olympus. Although it is quite hard for him to climb the seat of the gods, he spreads his “wings” at the summit and rises to the sky. And at the age of 91, “Grandpa” wants to enter the Guinness Book of Records.

It is 1869, Viennese mountaineer Paul Grohmann merely wants to go on vacation. However, he spots the at the time still unclimbed Three Merlons – and desires only one thing: to stand on the summit of the Great Pinnacle. Exactly 150 years ago in August, he set out with Franz Innerkofler and Peter Salcher – and in less than three hours they reached their destination.

Daniel Jung is an ultrarunner from South Tyrol. The 34-year-old celebrated his greatest trail successes in 2016 and 2017 at the Ultra Skyrace, where he holds the course record. Seeking the ultimate challenge, he is now trying to master the Tyrolean high route from Mayerhofen to Merano in 48 hours – 124 miles and 45,931 ft of altitude difference await him.

An unexplored mountain massif in a remote valley in Pakistan. A wall that has never been climbed. That’s the challenge for four climbers from Belgium, France and Argentina! A cool team that combines exploration, music and good humour and embarks on new adventures full of surprises, fries and twists.

Gabriel Voide is a mountain guide and a gifted ice climber. In Kandersteg, Switzerland, he braves spectacular ice falls, such as Blue Magic: an impressive 656 ft high cascade of glittering ice. At the other end of the rope is Diane, a young woman who shares Gabriel’s passion and craves to be a mountain guide herself. Will they be able to send the Blue Magic together?

In Ethiopia, Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on the night of January 6th. Anyone who truly wishes to experience this festival will need to hike 23 days from the breath-taking landscape of the Simien Mountains to the holy city of Lalibela. A moving pilgrimage to the heart of a profoundly changing nation.