Programme - Friday 20. October 2023 - Evening

Deep in rural Nepal, a handful of friends support Jagat Lama in fulfilling his promise to his dying father to establish medical care in their native village of Kumari. Under Jagat’s leadership, they begin to build a self-sustaining community with many innovations for the entire region: electricity, a training centre for women, a school, a community farm and an infirmary. Less than two years later, an earthquake shakes Nepal and destroys everything. How is Jagat supposed to keep his promise?

Twelve-year-old Bhyal works as a blacksmith, sharpening sickles and repairing the villagers’ tools. As a member of the lowest caste, he is an untouchable and meets with hostility from his classmates. Only his friend Laba is willing to defy social boundaries. Set against the backdrop of a Nepalese mountain village, the film tells of social inequality and friendship.

The film was included in the 2022 Berlinale.

Iron mining used to determine the fate of Jelbang village in the district of Rolpa. After the Nepalese government closed the mines in 1989, the family of 84-year-old Raj Bahadur Budha Magar, who had worked in the iron mines since he was ten years old, lost all income. Some relatives disappeared abroad in search of work; others were killed in the civil war. The film shows how the closure of the Jelbang mine operation has affected the lives of the villagers and that of Raj Bahadur Budha.

A nature film narrated as a fairy tale from the point of view of a raven. Nature in the Czech Republic is unspoilt and reminiscent of fairy tales. Amidst idyllic landscape, bears take care of their offspring, black storks hatch their eggs and live in harmony with nature alongside dormice, hawk owls, foxes and wolves. Dotted about, ancient castles tell of an eventful past.

In 2006, the director received the Award for Best Film in the Landscape Category for Gesäuse – Wildes Wasser – Blanker Fels (Gushing – Wild Water – Bare Rock).

Gerold Biner is a passionate rescue pilot and has been working for Air Zermatt for over 30 years. Biner has experienced first-hand how risky this work is: In 1989, he narrowly survived a crash on his first assignment. Emergency physician and anaesthesiologist Stephan Prückner is an enthusiastic skier and hiker. Prückner often has to make decisions at the scene of an accident under extreme time pressure. Some missions leave their mark, especially when young people are seriously injured.

At an altitude of 12,812 ft (3,905 m), Mt Ortler is the highest peak in South Tyrol and visible from afar. The Bergauf-Bergab TV team accompanies three friends on a tour. For the mountaineers, the ascent resembles time travel, as it leads past barracks from World War I, which were once covered by thick glacial ice. But the recent hot summers have melted all ice away. And so, relics left behind by soldiers at the end of the war in 1918 now become revealed at an altitude of over 9,800 ft (3,000 m).

Six passionate climbers and two sailors unite for a unique six-month adventure. The goal? To cross the Atlantic Ocean and the North American continent so as to climb the wall of their dreams – all while having as little impact on the environment as possible. Together with a dog, they sail to America and master the challenge of carrying out a sports expedition of great magnitude without booking a single air mile. Their main destination is famous El Capitan in California’s Yosemite National Park.

The freeriders of the Mountain Tribe Crew traverse the Tyrol from Fieberbrunn to St. Anton am Arlberg on skis and thus fulfil a long-cherished dream. The Cross Tyrol tour covers more than 300 miles (500 km) through mountains and valleys. The skiers do not avail of any transportation, with the exception of ski lifts located along the planned route. The group dives deep into this expanse of nature and into lonely glacier landscapes, but also crosses tourist hotspots removed from the solitude of the mountains, thus demonstrating the contrasts in Tyrol’s mountains.

Lukas Irmler has a special motivation to climb the seven highest summits of the Alps. Reaching their peak is only part of the goal – setting up and crossing a slackline near them is the next stage. The journey begins at Mt Zugspitze and leads via France to Slovenia. The highest peaks of the Alpine countries hold potential for spectacular highlines, but turn out to present even more serious challenges than expected.

In 2021, Valentin Rapp received the Otto Guggenbichler Young Talent Award for his film Alpine Highlines – Dolomiten (Alpine Highlines – Dolomites).

The film tells the story of author Mario Rigoni Stern (1921-2008) through testimonies and reflections, between past and present. Over the course of an imaginary day, his voice, which comes from an extensive archive, recalls the years of war and captivity. Over time, the returned sergeant of the Alpini mountain troops became the “guardian” of the Asiago plateau, where some of the bloodiest battles on the Italian front took place during the First World War.

The village of Cave del Predil is located in the Italian-Slovenian border area, hidden in the forests of the Julian Alps. Once a place of progress and the avant-garde, it is now a mere remnant of what it once was. Everything bears witness to the past. The mine seems to be the only static point in this small valley where empires, nations, peoples and ethnic groups used to meet. Today, abandoned by politics, Cave wishes not to be forgotten and still dreams of a possible future.

The last remaining wild rivers of the Alps are in danger, especially in Tyrol. The film investigates the expansion of the Kaunertal power plant, an XL-project that is to extend across the entire Ötztal Alps and represents an intervention in nature that would irrevocably change the last glacial river. According to the plans of the Tyrolean energy provider TIWAG, the unspoilt Platzertal high alpine valley is to be dammed up and to serve as a pumped-storage power plant. Experts, farmers and environmentalists have their say.

Two young alpinists aim to follow in the footsteps of legends Toni Kurz and Anderl Hinterstoißer, who sadly died in an accident on the Eiger in 1936. To get there, our young protagonists bike from Bad Reichenhall to Grindelwald. For top mountain runner Philipp Reiter, the 340-mile (550 km) distance and 16,404 ft (5,000m) altitude difference are a piece of cake, not quite so for mountain guide Martin Schidlowski. A buddy movie about the value of friendship and what else counts on the mountain.

In 2004, the director received the award for the Best Film in the Landscape Category with Die Alpen – Eine Reise durch Bayrisch-Afrika (The Alps – A Journey through Bavarian Africa).

A film about being gently on the road and that feeling when the tour becomes a journey: Michael Vitzthum sold his car 15 years ago and has been travelling to his mountain destinations by bus and train ever since. The film accompanies Angelika Feiner and Michael Vitzthum on a small ski safari through the Bavarian Prealps and shows how inspiring it can be to travel into the mountains without a car.

Places of longing charged with high expectations are usually found just a snowball’s throw from disappointment. This also applies to ski destinations surrounded by fantastic mountain panoramas. While the image boundaries of a webcam robotically pan back and forth, interpersonal stories evolve in the foreground and social boundaries are casually transgressed. An edgy film about all-too-familiar encounters and the tragedy nascent in what seems harmless – a painfully realistic, but also humorous episodic mockumentary.