In 1979, following committed efforts by Aleš Kunaver, Yugoslavia established a mountain guide school in Manang, Nepal, where Slovenian alpinists and doctors would share their skills and experiences with future Nepalese guides. Our volunteers worked with more than a thousand locals who went from simple porters to fully trained mountain guides. There certainly aren’t many similar international projects that would last almost four decades and include such a vast number of expert volunteers having such a profound impact on the life of a nation. The school has more than lived up to its mission set out by its original ambassador and organizer of this ambitious project, Aleš Kunaver.

A screening of the film “Mission” (30′, 1990) by Matjaž Fistravec and a round table with the following guests: Peter Markič, Bojan Pollak, Anda Pardan, Danilo Cedilnik, Jani Bele and Dušica Kunaver. The discussion will be moderated by Marjeta Keršič – Svetel.

From the town of Skardu, paraglider Antoine Girard sets off on a three-week hike and fly tour to explore the Karakorum Mountains in Pakistan – alone. If he succeeds, he will set a new altitude record in paragliding.

Shown with:
Tierra del Viento, 18′
The Red Lake Party, 28′
Edspedition, 15′

A celebration of one of the UK’s most impactful climbers: Edwin Drummond. We pay tribute to his life with a look at the historic first ascent of what’s now considered to be one of the world’s greatest trad multi-pitches: A Dream of White Horses.

Shown with:
REEL ROCK: United States of Joe’s, 22′
Climbing Blind, 58′

Olivier Testa explores the caves of Haiti since 2009, leading expeditions, trainings, and prospection projects across the country. While following the cavernal rovings of the speleologist, Baraka Flims sketches a colourful and rythmic portrait of the Pearl of the Antilles.

Shown with:
The Ridge of Dreams, 24′
Still Flying, 37′

In the mid-80s Akhyuk Lama, a Buddhist monk, went to meditate on the sacred plateau of eastern Tibet. Little by little countless pilgrims joined him, thus founding Yaqen gar, an immense “Buddhist settlement” where about 20,000 monastics reside, two thirds of them are nuns.

Shown with:
Lonely Road, 35′

Resting on the table is the map of my last trip to the Svalbard archipelago, at the North Pole. That map, crumpled and broken, has become a form of mental cartography, a territory of painting and drawing, a new and exciting space for the imagination.

Shown with:
Drømmeland, 73′

Changabang has seen few visitors but has been the scene of far too many dramas. Three alpinists from the French High Mountain Military Group had only a short weather window to climb this thousand meter vertical wall. Their adventure provides the opportunity to explore questions about what pushes humans to face the dangers of a mountain.

Shown with:
Death Zone Nanga Parbat, 55′

Five Bolivian women set off on a unique expedition. To symbolize liberation and empowerment, they intend to climb the highest American mountain. Their appearance is surprising: they climb dressed in their traditional skirts. They are more than mere climbers; they are brave women for whom mountains are a place where they can feel alive, happy and free.

SPEECHLESS – silent movies with live soundtracks. In enchanting atmospheres of movie theatres, the union of cinema and music is brought back to life. The memories of 35 millimetre reels, buzzing in the back of the back of the hall and throwing their flickering light onto the screen; a last cough in the attentive audience, while the musicians briefly tune their instruments as the lights dim…

Movie details: Excerpts from Der heilige Berg, Die weisse Hölle vom Piz Palü, Stürme über dem Montblanc, Germany, 1926, 1929, 1931. Directed by Dr. Arnold Fanck. Featuring Luis Trenker, Leni Riefenstahl, Sepp Rist, a.o.

Musicians: Simon Quinn – Double Bass, Nolan Quinn – Trumpet, Gregor Ftičar – Piano, and Brian Quinn – Drums.

Jesse Dufton was born with 20% central vision and by the time he was 30, his vision was almost totally gone. As a lifelong climber, Jesse flies in the face of adversity training for world cup events and leading traditional rock climbs and as his sight degenerates, his climbing continues to make remarkable progress.

Shown with:
A Dream of White Horses, 8′ 
REEL ROCK: United States of Joe’s, 22′

After the Piano to Zanskar film showing.

In Shimshal, a small village 3,100 meters high up in the Karakorum, one of the world’s highest mountain ranges, climber Qudrat Ali has started training women to become mountain guides for the first time at the local Mountaineering School. We accompany them on their way up.

Shown with:
Isabella, 18′
Latok 1, 24′

A film about a unique expedition of two Russians and an Italian who climbed the treacherous Nanga Parbat, one of the most dangerous eight-thousanders with a mortality rate of almost 23 %, without oxygen to descend from its top on skis. Professional camera work using drones at altitudes above 8000 meters.

Shown with:
Changabang and the mirrors of a repetition, 52′

The 60-year-old Nils has turned his back on society and has taken his refuge in a small wooden cabin in the mountains of Norway. Despite his attempt to distance himself from the world, Nils brought his cellphone and is confronted with his urge to have contact with others.

Shown with:
Arktiko, 17′

A story about a single breath, a bike, and the highest mountain. In spring 2019, the Planetfit team decided to inspire people with an unforgettable challenge: diving to the deepest part of the Slovenian sea, more than 200 km of cycling to the Julian Alps, and a night climb of snowy Triglav. Edo had to complete the challenge in less than 24 hours.

Shown with:
Tierra del Viento, 18′
8000+, 22′
The Red Lake Party, 28′

Jenny Fischer and Kat Whipple, two female climbers, employ their niche off-width climbing skill set to establish a first ascent in a remote mountain range in China. Far Away shows us how climbing is more than just the experience on the wall.

Shown with:
Fissure, 26′
Loic and the Flolopapys, 46′

Fissure is the story of Didier Berthod, one of the world’s best crack climbers from the 2000’s. In 2006, Didier was attempting Cobra Crack (one of the hardest cracks in the world), when a knee injury stopped him in his tracks. He interpreted this experience as God’s response to his prayers and left everything behind to become a priest.

Shown with:
Far Away, 21′
Loic and the Flolopapys, 46′

Last year marked the 40th anniversary of the first Slovenian ascent of Everest. But the immense success of Slovenian alpinists in the Greater Ranges wouldn’t have been possible without the formative years of Slovenian Himalayan climbing, most notably the first three Yugoslav expedition to the Himalayas (JAHO): 1960 Trisul, 1965 Kangbachen, and 1969 Annapurna II and Annapurna IV, which was the most successful expedition to the Nepalese Himalayas of the season. To honour this notable anniversary, we’ll screen old archival films and various members of the expeditions will share fascinating tales and historic photos from their adventures.

January 1876. A small group of mountaineers is attempting Mont Blanc, the highest European mountain. Among the group is a woman wearing a skirt. 150 years later another group of mountaineers is using the same equipment, trying to re-tell the story of the first winter ascent of Mont Blanc.

Shown with:

Daughters of the Karakorum, 43′
Latok 1, 24′

A straightforward movie that follows the Slovenian-British trio of Aleš Česen, Luka Stražar, and Tom Livingstone on their ascent of Latok 1 from the north.

Shown with:
Isabella, 18′
Daughters of the Karakorum, 43′

Twenty two year old Loic has become a passionate climber after having received his first pair of climbing shoes at age six. Together with Florian, Pablo and Pierre, they form the inseparable “Flolopapys”, bringing their energy and good vibes to the farthest reaches of the climbing world.

Shown with:
Far Away, 21′
Fissure, 26′

There is a small nomad village between Khuzestan and Lorestan in a mountainous area of Iran. Teacher Aziz Mohammadi is the only teacher of the village, which is disconnected from the outside world. Attracted to the purity and sincerity of nomad children, he has been living as a teacher with them for sixteen years.

Shown with:
Ani, le monache di Yaqen gar, 53′

Ostatnia góra is the story of a climbing attempt on K2, the last Himalayan peak unconquered in winter. The 2018 expedition was led by Krzysztof Wielicki and included Adam Bielecki and Denis Urubko, who played a major role in one of the most extraordinary rescue operations in the history of mountaineering on the nearby Nanga Parbat.

Searching for the best conditions for climbing big walls, Albert Segura, Santiago Valerga, and Agustin Pelletieri travel around Patagonia. Iconic routes al Cochamó valley, a climb on Fitz Roy and a new route at El Monstruo, one of the biggest granite walls in the world, will all be part of their trip.

Shown with:
Portrait Fabian Buhl, 20′
The Pathan Project, 43′

A 65-year old piano tuner, Desmond O’Keeffe, takes on the most challenging delivery of his career: transporting a 100-year old piano from London to a primary school in a Buddhist village deep in the Indian Himalayas. The expedition will take him through a world on a brink of change, filled with equal measure serenity and hardship.

For a long time, Fabian Buhl’s greatest passion was bouldering. But after breaking his ankle he couldn’t jump down from boulders anymore, which led to a stunning development. Fabian Buhl started to climb longer routes and became more and more addicted to increasingly challenging tours in the mountains.

Shown with:
Patagonia Non Stop, 17′
The Pathan Project, 43′

While the world’s best boulderers push standards close to the ground, Nina Williams’ sights are set higher. She is among the only women who climb elite-level problems that are 30, 40, even 50 feet tall – with no rope. In this profile of an emerging star athlete, Nina Williams flexes her guns and tests her nerves well into the no-fall zone.

Shown with:
Undiscovered, 36′
Uže, 27′

In rural Utah, a valley of world-class bouldering is nestled among of conservative community of Mormons, cowboys and coal miners. When a ragged band of punk rock climbers shows up, the two cultures inevitably clash. After years of antagonism, a group of climbers work with locals to build a more harmonious future. But in this divided era, is that even possible?

Shown with:
A Dream of White Horses, 8′
Climbing Blind, 58′

Somewhere in the wild expanse of the Alps, our group of five friends, boards and climbing skins underfoot, marvel at the vast untracked mountain faces and the majesty of the surrounding peaks. They are willing to travel and ride the mountains in a more environmentally-responsible way, always thinking about reducing their carbon footprint.

Shown with:
Skiing the Fire Ring, 30′

Skiing the Fire Ring is a story of four friends who make the journey far into the heart of Iceland, with the intention of skiing on the still intact slopes of the volcanoes of Herdubreid and Askja. The expedition leader is the legendary alpine skier Ivica Kostelic, who is a great fan and supporter of so-called green expeditions.

Shown with:
Shelter, 45′

Janusz Orlowski aka „Grandpa” is unique. He began paragliding after he had turned seventy and at the age of 88, he set off to fly from Mount Olympus. Although it was difficult for him to climb up Zeus’ mountain, he spread his wing at the top and soared into the air. Grandpa has no intention of giving up, fulfilling one dream after another.

Shown with:
Anba-in the depth of Haiti, 24′
The Ridge of Dreams, 24′

The portrait of composer Svetozár Stračina pays tribute to an astonishing creative force who has left behind a vast, significant musical legacy. He was an extraordinary artist who cultivated the authentic folklore. Stračina not only contributed to the ethnomusicological repertoire, but also helped create an enormous amount of legendary motion picture music.

Shown with:
Wild Austria – Created by Water (The Flow of Time), 51′

An unexplored massif in the remote valley of Pakistan, a big-wall never climbed and a solid team of Belgian, French and Argentinean climbers ready to combine exploration, music and good humor. Nicolas Favresse, Jean-Louis Wertz, Mathieu Maynadier and Carlitos Molina take on a new adventure full of surprises, French fries and twists!

Shown with:
Patagonia Non Stop, 17′
Portrait Fabian Buhl, 20′

Three extreme sports teams are meeting in Croatia for another feat: jumping into a giant crater with ropes and parachutes. The Red Lake site in Imotski, an impressive 400-metre diameter, 200-metre high doline overlooking a lake more than 250 meters deep, becomes the ideal playground for members of the three teams.

Two best friends with very different views on life embark on a search for a mythical unskied mountain.

Shown with:
Anba-in the Depth of Haiti, 24′
Still Flying, 37′

Dolkar escaped from Tibet to Delhi with her father eighteen years ago, making a perilous trek across the Himalayas that ended in tragedy. She suppressed all recollection of that traumatic incident. But when she unexpectedly encounters Gompo, the guide who abandoned them during their journey, memories are reignited and she is propelled on an obsessive search for retribution and closure.

Erik is totally blind and is solo kayaking the length of the Grand Canyon. In Lava Falls, a large dangerous rapid, he discovers that despite what people might say, barriers can be real and they hurt .. a lot.

Tierra del Viento takes us on a beautiful road trip with fine-art photographer Eliseo Miciu as he sets out to capture Patagonia’s moving soul. Calm conversations fill the countless long hours spent driving and slowly reveal the artist’s bumpy road to pursuing his true vocation.

Shown with:
8000+, 22′
The Red Lake Party, 28′
Edspedition, 15′

Undiscovered explores Dave MacLeod’s 25 year obsession with exploration and climbing new routes. The film follows Dave as he travels to some of the remotest, most scenic corners of Scotland in search of unclimbed rock, including a trip onboard Bob Shepton’s boat the Dodo’s Delight.

Shown with:
REEL ROCK: The High Road, 18′
Uže, 27′

Former mountaineering partners Muhamed Gafić (70) and Željko Rudan (63) are preparing for what could be their toughest climb yet. Above them is Babin zub, the mountain they had climbed many times before. But beneath them is the burden of the past – war and suffering. Roped together, Muhamed and Željko share their thoughts on war and confidence.

Shown with:
Undiscovered, 36′
REEL ROCK: The High Road, 18′

Rivers and waterfalls slice through the mountains dragging millions of tons of gravel to the lowlands and creating new habitats: nesting sites for little ringed plovers, beds for airborne sycamore seeds that root and bind the new land…

Shown with:
Svetozár Stračina, 58′