Press Releases

23rd Tegernsee International Mountain Film-Festival, 14-18 October 2026 – Press Release – Programme available, advance ticket sales begin

Press Release – Tegernsee Mountain Film Festival –   August 31,  2026

Two Local Legends Open the Festival

The 23rd Tegernsee International Mountain Film Festival (14–18 October 2026) will screen 88 productions over the course of five days, bringing together extraordinary mountain experiences and bold adventurers. The programme will be available from the end of August, and ticket sales begin on 11 September.

The 2026 Tegernsee International Mountain Film Festival will open with “Six Days to the Edge” by Rosenheim director Valentin Rapp and the short film “Forever Young” by Schliersee filmmaker Moritz Attenberger. Festival director Tom Dauer deliberately chose the two films by Upper Bavarian filmmakers: “For me, both embody what motivates people to create mountain films: two filmmakers setting out to discover a world full of adventure.” Rapp follows a crew attempting to rig a highline above Salto Ángel, an 800-metre waterfall on Auyán-tepui in Venezuela’s Gran Sabana. And Attenberger documents four friends on a road trip across Bolivia’s Altiplano. Dauer adds: “It’s something special to see the world through the eyes of two well-known filmmakers from our own region.”

Both films also show that filmmaking is not only about overcoming creative and logistical challenges. Filmmakers also have to navigate political realities. While Rapp was filming in Venezuela, there were already signs that the US government was planning a military operation. In Bolivia, the largely Indigenous population was protesting against living conditions marked by poverty, unemployment and exploitation.

Guests expected on opening night include Rapp and Attenberger, slackliners Lukas Irmler and Antonia Rüede-Passul, professional climbers Stefan Glowacz and Philipp Hans, and jury member Simon Messner. More prominent names from the mountain and mountain-film world are expected over the coming days: Basanta Thapa, long-time director of the Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival, is expected to attend the Nepal Night (Friday, 16 October, 7.30 pm). Award-winning nature filmmaker Jürgen Eichinger will take to the stage at Sporthalle on Friday, 16 October, at 7.30 pm. On Saturday, 17 October, professional mountaineer Robert Jasper and mountain-film legend Gerhard Baur will join the panel for the Bergauf-Bergab afternoon from 5 pm. And on Sunday, 18 October, at 7 pm, leading high-altitude mountaineer David Göttler will appear live and present his acclaimed film “Nanga Parbat – Echoes of Sisyphus” – one of the many highlights of this year’s festival.

As every year, the Bayern2 and German Alpine Club evenings will feature thought-provoking panel discussions. This year’s Bayern2 evening, titled “Frauen, die ihr Ding machen” (Women Doing Their Thing), takes a female perspective on the mountains. Guests include mountaineer Noemi Kreuz and Berchtesgaden-based mountaineer Ines Papert. The evening will be hosted by Antonia Schlosser, presenter of the BR podcast “Bergfreundinnen” (Mountain BFFs), who accompanied an all-female team on an Alpine crossing in 2026. The German Alpine Club (DAV) evening, provocatively titled “Ski Touring Is Deadly”, focuses on avalanches and risk. In winter 2025/26 alone, 151 people were killed in avalanches. The expert panel will examine which tools genuinely help when planning and carrying out a ski tour – and whether the sheer number of aids now available can sometimes create a false sense of security.

A total of 88 films are competing in 2026. They will be shown across several venues, including the cinema tent in Tegernsee’s spa gardens (Kurgarten). The Medius Center has established itself as the festival’s home for action films, while Schalthaus is the place for more unusual and occasionally challenging films. Sporthalle, Tegernsee’s largest “mountain film cinema”, is where many of the biggest names appear. The ornate Barocksaal at Tegernsee Castle will offer a different programme focus each day – from the official opening on Wednesday, 14 October, to themed evenings and the closing ceremony.

As always, the five-member jury will carefully assess all films before selecting the winners. Anyone who wants to share in the celebrations can attend the awards ceremony at Barocksaal on Saturday evening. Guests will meet the winning filmmakers – either in person or via video message – and see excerpts from every award-winning film. On Sunday, 18 October, the cinema tent at Kurgarten and – if demand is high – the Medius venues, will offer one final opportunity to see the best films in full at the matinée screenings.

New this year for lovers of Alpine literature – and anyone who might become one – is a bookstall run by librarian Axel Straßer from the Allgäu region. He will bring a large collection of historic and contemporary mountain books to the festival office (Rathausplatz 1) in Tegernsee. These will be on sale on Friday, 16 October, from 2–7 pm, and Saturday, 17 October, from 10 am–5 pm. All festival guests are welcome to browse – and to add a few new titles to their own shelves.

Please note: There will be no physical box offices at the screening venues! However, tickets can be purchased online right up until each screening begins at www.bergfilm-tegernsee.de and via München Ticket. They are also available from München Ticket advance sales outlets and, on festival days, from the Tegernsee Tourist Information Office (open from 9 am to 8 pm).

The programme will be available from the end of August and can also be viewed at www.bergfilm-tegernsee.de. Ticket sales begin on 11 September.

Further information: Tegernsee Mountain Film Festival, phone +49(0)8022-1801 – 36; bergfilm@tegernsee.de. Ticket sales (from 11 September) and programme information are available from the Tegernsee Tourist Information Office, phone +49(0)8022-92738 – 0; tegernsee@tegernsee.com; online at www.bergfilm-tegernsee.de or from all advance sales outlets via www.muenchenticket.de. Full details of all films and supporting events can be found in the festival programme and online.