48th International Filmfestival, Trento, Italy - the awards

"Himalaya" awarded Grand Prize by International Jury

May 2000


	The 48th Trento International Filmfestival came to a close last weekend with the Jury awarding the Grand Prize to 'Himalaya', while 'Cavalieri delle vertigini was awarded Best Mountaineering Film.' 'Himalaya', directed by Eric Valli and filmed in France, Great Britain, Nepal and Switzerland, focuses on the inhabitants of the Dolpo-Nepal area and is thus perfectly in line with this year's Festival theme of mountaineers' sensitivity towards the people of this region. 'Cavalieri delle vertigini', was produced by the Swiss-Italian Television Network and recounts the first ascent of a new route on the North Face of the Cima Ovest di Lavaredo in 1959. The Festival proved to be a great success with guest including Sir Edmund Hillary, Kurt Diemberger, Reinhold Messner, Carlos Carsolio, Krzysztof Wielicki, Fausto De Stefani, Tomaz Humar, Nives Meroi, Riccardo Cassin, Cesarino Fava, and Cristoph Profit. The Jury's remarks:

Commended
for its formality and content:

Le secret de la déesse by Thierry Pellissier (France)
"Exemplary historical reconstruction of a Himalayan mystery."

Nés pour être libres by Pierre Stine (France)
"A touching story by a group of ethologists."

Endstation by Jan ThÃ¼ring (Germany)
"A strong ecological message with original use of language."

Special Prize
for the best Italian film:

Big Stone by Valerio Folco (Italy)
"A film by a young director who interprets the spirit of extreme climbing with joie de vivre and great technical ability. "

Special Prize
for the best filming:

Ushuaïa Nature: Les mémoires de la Terre by Gilles Santantonio (France)
"Patrice Aubertel filming admirably portrays the outstanding beauty of Venezuala's Tepuy, a true geological heaven. "

Genziana d'Argento
for the best film on adventure or sport:

Oceans of fear di Nic Good (Sud Africa)
"Three young South Africans repeat a hard route first climbed many years before by their more experienced companion, and finish the undertaking with an unexpected and gratifying parachute jump from the summit."

Genziana d'Argento
for the best film on exploration and protection of the environment:

Spuren im Sand di Waltraud Paschinger (Austria)
"A message of hope for man threatened by unstoppable environmental degradation: to reconstruct life in all its forms; life devastated by "civilisation", life being the true wealth of humanity.
An exceptional film that arouses feelings of amazement for a nutre that, despite all, is capable of regenerating itself. "

Genziana d'Argento
for the best mountain film:

L'é uscià by Urs Frey and Mike Wildholz (Switzerland)
"At a stones throw away from today's frenetic lifestyle, a peasant from Val Bregaglia has managed to join silence with solitude, hard work with contemplation of nature."

Prize "CittÃ di Bolzano" - Genziana d'oro:

Der Ãtztalmann und seine Welt by Kurt MÃ¼ndl (Austria)
"The discovery of the man from Similaun nine years ago aroused an exceptional interest in both the scientific world and the collective minds of all, who imagined a fantastic return to the origin's of man.
The film, which balanced scientific certainty with images of 5000 years ago, leaves it to the spectator to accept the reconstruction or to consider a different interpretation. Nevertheless, the film amazes."

Prize Club Alpino Italiano - Genziana d'oro
for the best mountaineering film:

Cavalieri delle vertigini by Gianluigi Quarti, Giovanni Cenacchi and Fulvio Mariani (Switzerland)
"In the 1950's european mountaineering devoted an extraordinary amount of energy to conquer the last great routes in the Alps.
The "Direttissima" on the West Face of the Lavaredo was the battleground between Weber & Schelbert and the Scoiattoli [guides] in Cortina.
The film analyses this event, at times without pity, revealing, through its meticulous research, the facts and protagonist's impressions, thereby filling a gap in history [...]

Grand Prize "CittÃ di Trento" Genziana d'Oro
for the film that best reflects the cultural objectives of the Filmfestival:

Himalaya by Eric Valli (France - Great Britain - Nepal - Switzerland)
"The first frame wins you over: yaks labouring up a dusty path, and in the background the fantastic Himalayan scenery. From here an adventurous journey begins for some peasants who live in the extreme north of Dolpo-Nepal.
The viewer becomes emotionally involved and completes the soul-penetrating journey with them."

Jury

The Jury of the 48th Trento International Filmfestival for the Mountain, Exploration and Adventure, was composed of
- Adalberto Frigerio - Italy, President
- Francisco Algora - Spagna
- Rachid Benhadij - Algeria
- Steve Burns - USA
- Christophe Profit - France