In 1953, in an old cabinet of a former photographer from Zermatt, a first mountaineering film was found. It was a silent film from the first era showing the ascent of the Matterhorn by a group of guides across the Hornli ridge. The film is attributed to the American Frederick Burlingham and dated 1901 and is therefore the first mountaineering film in history. The story of the discovery was also dressed in a certain aura of legend and mystery as it was told that the original copy of the film had been lost forever in a shipwreck in the Atlantic and was the only copy printed that remained. The film was renamed Cervin 1901 or Cervino 1901, and in 2014, after being restored again. But the truth is that this whole story, which has somehow held together throughout this period, is full of inaccuracies...
Kundun (1997)
The Tibetans refer to the Dalai Lama as 'Kundun', which means 'The Presence'. He was forced to escape from his native home, Tibet, when communist China invaded and enforced an oppressive regime upon the peaceful nation. The Dalai Lama escaped to India in 1959 and has been living in exile in Dharamsala ever since.
Gorillas in the Mist (1988)
The story of Dian Fossey, a scientist who came to Africa to study the vanishing mountain gorillas, and later fought to protect them.
Walter Bonatti, King of the Alps (2012)
Walter Bonatti is THE mountaineering legend, capable of meeting the great challenges of mountaineering: K2, Drus, G4, Matterhorn, to name a few. But the summits reached are not points of arrival, they are intermediate stages which then push him on a journey around the world, in search of himself. His exploration, starting from the vertical walls, then moved towards horizontal paths and was always expressed towards the interior space where our fears and our desires reside. Where the man, sitting alone in front of himself, must decide to surpass himself or to adapt. And Walter never complied with them, he wrote his own rules and followed them all his life, allowing himself no loopholes or shortcuts. He built himself as a mountaineer, as an explorer, as a photojournalist and as a writer, but always and only with the intention of being an uncompromising man with his hands, his muscles, his heart and his head.
Expedition Everest (2020)
In a groundbreaking expedition on Mount Everest, dozens of scientists converge to investigate what secrets the world’s highest peak has to tell us about our changing climate. The notorious Khumbu Glacier is mapped in stunning detail, biologists study extreme lifeforms, and a team of Sherpas and climate scientists climb straight toward the “death zone” to install the highest weather station in the world.
Figli del Minotauro / Storie di Uomini e Animali (2022)
The Mancuso family has practiced transhumant grazing for generations, moving the herd of Podolica cattle from the Marcedusa countryside to the large Sila forests.
Refugee Poetry (2016)
The Kurdish Iraqi poet and actor Zeravan Khalil travels with his dog through an Alpine gorge after fleeing from IS war and genocide. As he remembers the abomination, he writes a poem with the title “You drive me mad” in Kurmanji Kurdish. In his home country, Yazidic Kurds are forbidden to work in his profession. Then he eats his apple and wanders through Europe’s middle with more hope.
The Other End of the Rope (2018)
Nine of the most outstanding climbers nowadays come together in this striking documentary about the ethics, values and the very nature of climbing. The brothers Ravier, Christian Ravier, Ekaitz Maiz, Mikel Zabalza, Arkaitz Yurrita, Eneko César and Unai Mendia will show the unknown side of climbing in the Pyrenees. Best Film - Ukerdi Film Festival 2018. Best Documentary - Cuentamontes 2018. Official Selections 2018: Explos Film Festival, Festival du Film de Montagne de Cluses. Official Selection 2017: Bilbao Mendi Film Festival.
Torn (2021)
When world renowned climber Alex Lowe was tragically lost in a deadly avalanche, his best friend and climbing partner went on to marry his widow and help raise his three sons. This profoundly intimate film from eldest son Max, captures the family's intense personal journey toward understanding as they finally lay him to rest.
Climbing Everest with a Mountain on My Back: The Sherpa's Story (2013)
Every year, over a thousand climbers try to reach the summit of Mount Everest, with the annual record for successful attempts currently standing at 633. But of that number, nearly half were Sherpas - the mountain's unsung heroes. Yet the Sherpa community has remained secretive about their nation, culture and experiences living in the shadow of the world's highest mountain. Now, for the first time, they open the door into their world. Without the expertise of the Sherpas, only the hardiest and most skilful climbers would succeed. Every day they risk their lives for the safety of others, yet they seek neither glory nor reward, preferring to stay in the background. Following the stories of four such Sherpas - Phurba, Ngima, Ngima Tenji and Gelu - this film reveals the reality of their daily lives, not just up the mountain, but with their families after they return home.
When Night Falls in Late December, Everything That Was is Left Behind (NaN)
A series of vignettes captured in Brevard, North Carolina at the end of December.
Galahad of Everest (1991)
Brian Blessed plays George Mallory in this intrepid recreation of his ill fated 1924 climb to Everest. Meeting Sir Chris Bonington, Rheinhold Messnerhe learns of the pitfalls that await him before setting off for his epic struggle with the mountain. Against all odds he reaches 26000 feet on the North face of Everest, and is a changed man
The Old Breed (2012)
“Getting to the top matters,” or so says veteran alpinist Mark Richey as he prepares to climb Saser Kangri II, at 7,518 meters the world’s second highest unclimbed mountain. In “The Old Breed”, co- director and climber Freddie Wilkinson takes the audience with him on a journey to the heart of one of the last unexplored patches of mountain wilderness: the war-inflicted eastern Karakoram range. As Richey and Steve Swenson, both in their 50s, push the limits of physical health and will power to be the first to claim this final summit, a gripping psychological thriller unfolds.
K2: The Impossible Descent (2020)
On July 22 2018, a Polish ski mountaineer clicked into his bindings at an altitude of 8,611m to make history. Follow Andrzej Bargiel’s expedition from Poland to Pakistan, as he descends K2 on skis.
Spellbound (2020)
Wingsuit BASE jumping is often presented as a thrill seeking adrenaline rush. Spellbound takes us deeper into the more contemplative aspects of jumping, as David Walden and friends venture into the mountains around his home in New Zealand. Beautiful scenery and hypnotic cinematography eject us from our daily lives into a world of air, earth and flight.