FILM PROGRAMME 2026

At the foot of Mont Blanc lies Courmayeur, a mountain village of around 3,000 people, shaped by nature, sport and a close-knit community. But at weekends and during the winter holidays, the village transforms into “Courma”: a glamorous tourist destination filled with luxury, nightlife and urban buzz. With a keen eye, Elettra Gallone follows residents and visitors who seem to inhabit two very different worlds. In doing so, she paints a portrait of a place searching for its identity somewhere between tradition and overtourism. An atmospheric documentary that captures the fragile balance between a deep sense of home and the polished image created for tourists.

As climate change melts the glaciers, relics that have lain trapped in the ice for thousands of years are emerging. For archaeologists, it is a treasure trove – and a race against time. The glaciers cover vast areas, while the annual window for fieldwork is extremely short. With climate change accelerating, the next 20 years will be crucial. After that, too much snow and ice may have disappeared for cultural artefacts to be recovered and studied. The film follows archaeologists as they search for traces of the past in icy caves and glacial landscapes, revealing how they preserve and investigate these artefacts.

“Le tracce del Lupo” tells the story of Erik, a park ranger who develops leukaemia and survives thanks to a stem-cell transplant from a baby in Spain. As his body undergoes profound change, Erik returns to the mountains of the Italian Alps, where he watches and tracks wolves. Drawing on the diary he kept during his illness, the film becomes a record of treatment and his return to the field. These notes and observations offer a parallel map of fear, endurance and recovery. The search for tracks in the snow mirrors his healing process – the wolf comes to symbolise resilience and the will to live.

The short history of a great love affair between a mountain village and ice hockey, which became the cultural heart of the community in the 1970s. As enthusiasm grew, an entire generation devoted itself to the game, and before long hockey began to shape both daily life and the spirit of the place. Between gripping matches and long evenings at the rink, a small world of its own emerged, built on emotion and solidarity. But even the most intense love stories are not made to last forever – and eventually the rink fell quiet, becoming a place of farewell and, finally, of memories. In 2022, Gaël Truc won the award for the best film in the category “Mountain Life” for his film “Combat”.

More than a century ago, Flosi Björnsson and his seven siblings withdrew to the foot of Vatnajökull, Iceland’s largest glacier. None of them married or had children. Long before anyone spoke of the glacier melting, they devoted their lives to it in radical isolation. Like a whale skeleton stranded on the shore, their remote derelict farm remained hidden from curious eyes – until now. Photographer Ragnar Axelsson returns to the place where he spent his childhood summers, opens the doors, and Flosi’s voice once again echoes through the house. Drawing on archival photographs, objects rescued from decay and new footage, the film becomes a poetic meditation on the interplay of memory and loss in a vanishing glacial world.

Fall down and get back up. Fall down and get back up, every single day. This is the heart of the film and where its story begins. A man, struggling with health problems, lives in the city and suffers from insomnia. Then, on an ordinary day, he sets out into nature to go climbing – and gradually finds his way from inner turmoil to peace of mind. Told with elements of poetic narrative, the film uses its title, “Izarren Zaunka” (Barking Stars), as a metaphor for the restless nights within him, which slowly give way to a quiet connection with nature.

Two fathers set off with their young sons, Emil and Karl, on a six-day mountain-bike journey through the Swiss Alps. Carrying heavy loads and towing child trailers, they cover 180 kilometres and climb 6,000 vertical metres around the Swiss National Park in the canton of Graubünden. Between steep ascents, sudden weather changes and the needs of two small children, the trip brings daily challenges – and becomes an unforgettable family adventure. As the boys discover the natural world with wide-eyed curiosity, the fathers learn to adjust their pace and their expectations. During the demanding tour, a special bond develops between fathers and sons amid spectacular mountain scenery.

Once upon a time, there was an old oak tree … The seasons change, but its residents remain the same: the nimble squirrel, colourful weevils, noisy jays, tireless ants and countless other creatures. All of them find refuge, shelter and a home in this majestic tree. The oak is like an apartment block in the natural world, where neighbours squabble and celebrate together. There are animal concerts, dramatic natural disasters and action-packed chases. The film is a sensory journey into a wonderfully vibrant world – a nature documentary that, without a single word of narration, celebrates the magnificence of one ancient oak and, with it, of all trees.

Extreme mountaineer Robert Jasper is known throughout the global climbing community as “Eigerman”, yet remains little known to the wider public. Hailing from the Black Forest, he has completed around 30 routes on the Eiger North Face, including the legendary “Odyssey”, and has spent more than a year on the wall in total. His ice climbs have inspired an entire generation. In 2025, he returns to “his” wall. This time, for the first time, he approaches the mountain by bicycle before attempting the “Porte du Chaos” route solo. The film traces the story of a life shaped by the mountains.

Director Malte Roeper and Robert Jasper will be in attendance.

“Der Weg ist das Ziel” is a masterpiece by Allgäu filmmaker Gerhard Baur. It reconstructs the dramatic events on the Eiger North Face in 1936, when an attempt by Toni Kurz, Andreas Hinterstoisser, Edi Rainer and Willy Angerer ended in tragedy. The film retraces the chain of events that led to one of the most dramatic rescue attempts in the history of alpinism. It also paints a revealing portrait of an era in which mountaineering was shaped by ideas of conquest and heroism.

“Der Weg ist das Ziel” will be screened together with “Eigerman” as part of the Bergauf-Bergab Edition. Director Gerhard Baur will be in attendance.

Switzerland: one of the richest countries in the world. Its people: often somewhat reserved. So how difficult is it to travel across this country without any money? Matthias Rusch, a reporter with Swiss broadcaster SRF, decides to find out. Over four days, he travels on foot and by hitchhiking from Zermatt across wintry Switzerland to Lake Constance. He carries no money and no provisions – just a backpack and a mobile phone to film the experiment – and offers his labour in exchange for food and a place to sleep. An adventure close to home that leads to surprising encounters and memorable experiences.

After years of feeling caught in a rut, Dave Pen, singer with British rock band Archive, reaches a turning point. When the pandemic brings touring to a halt, the 45-year-old begins searching for a challenge that can give him a new sense of purpose. He finds it in one of Britain’s toughest endurance events: the 268-mile winter Spine Race along the Pennine Way. The film follows him on an extreme physical and mental journey through cold, exhaustion and doubt. Blending concert footage, personal memories and endless miles on foot, it becomes an intimate portrait of a man searching for meaning and identity through a fresh start.

The film retells the story of the Arctic from a female perspective. Three remarkable pioneers who travelled, conducted research and survived under extreme conditions emerge from the shadows of an expedition history largely shaped by men. Their experiences echo in the lives of present-day female scientists and Inuit women navigating the intersections of climate change, research and memory. Combining rarely seen archive footage with contemporary voices, the film offers a richly layered perspective on nature, knowledge and female empowerment in one of the most fragile regions on Earth.

Taking over a farm means carrying on the life’s work of another person – usually within the family. But what happens when there is no heir to take it on? For the Bavarian Broadcasting “Homeland” editorial team, filmmaker Bernhard Wohlfahrter accompanies young women and men who are finding different ways to realise their dream of running a farm of their own and living as self-sufficiently as possible. They take over farms that have been left vacant or passed on beyond the family, investing enormous energy and dedication in keeping these businesses alive. New forms of farming emerge – rooted in tradition, community and a vision for a more sustainable future.

Covering 630 square kilometres, Tierra del Fuego National Park is home to the world’s southernmost forests, vast glaciers, windswept peaks and deep fjords cutting into the Argentine mainland. In Patagonia, the landscape is defined by the seemingly endless pampas, crystal-blue lakes, evergreen forests and dramatic granite spires. From Ushuaia to El Chaltén, people live in close connection with nature: king crab fisher Liz Consentino, gaucho Miguel Burgos, puma expert Emiliano Donadio and the climbers of Fitz Roy. A journey through an extreme region rich in natural wonders and remarkable stories.

The awards ceremony promises to be exciting. Accompanied by music, we’ll present clips from the winning films, welcome the award winners - either in person or on screen - and celebrate together the conclusion of the 23rd International Mountain Film Festival in 2026.

Filmmakers Hanna Carmen Schneider and Paul Schweller received the Tegernsee Mountain Film Festival’s “LOWA Young Talents Incentive Award” in 2025. At this year’s closing ceremony, they present their supported project “Der Zeit ihre Steine”. The film follows young Swiss crystal hunter Nino on his search. Like many before him, he is drawn to the rocky and grassy slopes of the Graubünden mountains in eastern Switzerland. The slow, arduous pursuit of his goal develops into a poetic exploration of the relationship between people and mountains. Time, purpose and the individual gradually begin to merge.

Directors Hanna Carmen Schneider and Paul Schweller will be in attendance.

René Grincourt tells the story of rediscovering an Alpine landscape. The peaks of the Mont Blanc massif become the backdrop for a quieter form of exploration: alpine bouldering. Together with Clément Lechaptois, Jim Pope and Ashima Shiraishi, the French climber opens up a new bouldering area at high altitude. The focus is not on sporting achievement, but on a different relationship with the mountains. Against the backdrop of climate change, this slow, attentive approach becomes an invitation to listen to the fragile Alpine world and find a new connection with it.

Mountaineer Benjamin Védrines is one of the strongest high-altitude climbers of his generation. He is known both for his exceptional technical skill and for his record-breaking speed ascents in the Alps and Himalayas. His great goal is to climb K2 (8,611 m) without supplementary oxygen and in record time. But the film follows more than this extreme challenge: it also traces Védrines’ personal search for meaning and direction. It explores the physical and mental limits that even an exceptional athlete must face. Learning to accept those limits takes him on a journey that reaches far beyond the summit. In 2024, Hugo Clouzeau won the German Alpine Club (DAV) award in the category “Mountain Experience” for “Nuptse”.

In a remote valley, surrounded by meadows and rivers, a mighty wall of rock and snow rises into the sky. Adventurous Lord Cliffrider sets out to become the first to reach its mythical summit. But as he follows the mountain’s call, time begins to accelerate and his goal slips further away. “Kronoshock” is a stop-motion film about change in mountaineering and the meaning of progress. Through poetic imagery, it brings different eras of alpinism together in a reflection on ambition, transience and the relationship between humans and nature. In 2021, Ignasi López Fàbregas received the “Award for a Special Film” for “El Gran Hito” (The Great Achievement).

Hamish McArthur is one of the world’s most talented boulderers. In Valle Orco, Italy, a film crew follows him as he attempts an ambitious new project – while that same crew is itself being filmed during its supposedly documentary work. Before long, the line between biographical reality and staged role-play begins to blur. Through increasingly absurd exchanges between athlete and fictional director, the film deliberately disrupts its own narrative and raises questions about identity and authenticity in documentary filmmaking. And yes, there’s some spectacular climbing too.

The Matterhorn (4,478 m) is one of the world’s most dangerous mountains: since 1865, more than 600 mountaineers have died while attempting to climb it. “Tod am Matterhorn” investigates why the risks are so often underestimated, particularly on the Hörnli Ridge, the standard route to the summit. The film accompanies Air Zermatt mountain guide Anjan Truffer to the Solvay bivouac, portrays hut warden Edith Lehner at the Hörnlihütte and follows mountain guide Meli Rüfenacht on her first ascent after she witnessed a fatal accident. The reportage examines the dangers of the mountain, the psychological impact on those left behind and on rescuers, and the influence of social media – a film of particular relevance given the difficult conditions on the mountain during the 2026 summer season.

In the world of climbing, people are constantly “moving mountains”. More than a metaphor, the phrase reflects the pursuit of what seems unreachable or impossible. In its purest form, that pursuit finds expression in bouldering – climbing on large rocks without ropes or protective gear. Bernd Zangerl is a pioneer and master of this discipline. In his second home in the Indian Himalayas, the Vorarlberg native has found his own personal Shangri-La. Indian filmmaker Abhishek Tiwari observes Zangerl’s world from his own perspective and discovers a man for whom these granite boulders have become the foundation of a deeply committed and spiritual way of life.

In Innsbruck, the “Nordstau” is regarded as an almost mythical weather phenomenon: moist northerly air piles up against the mountains, blanketing the Karwendel in fresh powder and setting off a race among freeriders for the coveted “first line”. At the centre of this satirical film, freeski world champion Arianna Tricomi meets the frantic scramble with remarkable composure. As ambitious powder junkies try to outmanoeuvre one another with dirty tricks, creating mounting chaos in the process, the hunt for untouched powder becomes increasingly absurd. With wry humour, the film takes a sharp but playful look at the dynamics of the freeride scene.

In 1955, a British expedition team succeeded in making the first ascent of Kangchenjunga (8,586 m), the third-highest mountain in the world. The film retraces the expedition and explores its significance in the development of Himalayan mountaineering. Particular attention is given to the fully integrated Sherpa team, whose indispensable contribution to the expedition’s success went without the recognition it deserved for many years. Historical film footage and photographs, together with the latest research, are interwoven with insights into the cultural and spiritual significance of the mountain, which is revered as sacred. The result is a multifaceted portrait of a first ascent regarded as a milestone in mountaineering history.

By the end of the 21st century, most Alpine glaciers will have disappeared. This will also have significant consequences for the Valais bisses, a traditional irrigation system based on transporting glacial meltwater. Mountain agriculture, tourism, energy production and ecosystems will all be affected. Water will remain at the heart of the debate. But could the communally managed bisses themselves perhaps offer part of the solution? The film follows Gaëtan Morard, director of the Musée valaisan des Bisses, along the water trail, where he meets people who are already thinking about the challenges of tomorrow.

To form a roped team means far more than a pragmatic alliance. It’s not just a matter of getting through a few pitches. A roped partnership is held together not only by the climbing rope, but also by an invisible bond of trust and understanding. In that sense, mountaineers Ines Papert and Sarah Huenekin make a perfect team. Together, the two women, both over 50, show that age is largely a matter of perspective – and that they can realise their full potential when they support one another as climbing partners.

The world’s largest lithium deposits are found in and around Bolivia’s Mt. Cerro Rico. While European players seek to secure this raw material for the automotive industry, local people see it as a possible way out of poverty. The film presents multiple perspectives, revealing just how different the priorities and perceptions involved can be. Businesspeople and diplomats engage in negotiations, while a group of local people gears up to resist foreign control of these resources. Among them: a farmer, a llama herder, a mine guard, a lawyer, a miner and an activist – several of them women. This struggle has deep roots in Bolivia: quotations from a 16th-century Indigenous chronicler show how European prosperity was built on the brutal plundering of Mt. Cerro Rico’s silver veins.