52nd Film Festival di Trento

From the 1st to the 9th of May the International Festival of Mountains, Exploration and Adventure will take place in the small town of Trento, Northern Italy.

Vinicio Stefanello

May 2004

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From the 1st to the 9th of May the International Festival of Mountains, Exploration and Adventure will take place in the small town of Trento, Northern Italy. The 2004 edition marks, as could only be expected, the 50th anniversary of the first ascent of K2. This 52nd festival will focus on the "Italian mountain", while contemporarily running the retrospective "Journey through the impossible - from the Earth to the Moon via Mars". Or rather: a trip through space and the mind. The focal point of this exhibition is a section dedicated to Julies Verne, the author who travelled across mapped borders to see (and foresee) the impossible. And the parallel with the Italian 1954 K2 expedition is clear: which "impossible" borders were Desio and company dreaming of and searching for?

K2 "Jubilee"… The FilmFestival dedicates three initiatives to this event. The first “Chogori-K2: Dream, Conquest, Reality” is a truly complete retrospective of all the films dedicated to this epic, not only Italian, on the second highest peak in the world. Starting from Vittorio Sella's 1909 "Spedizione di SAR il Duca degli Abruzzi al K2" to Marcello Baldi's historic and recently restored "Italia K2" documenting the first ascent in 1954. Other interesting films have been taken into consideration, including "Le parois de la Memoire: K2" by Carlo A. Rossi and Jerome Equer, in which Erich Abram, one of the original members of the successful expedition, returns to Pakistan, and the documentary "Mountain men: the ghost of K2" by Mick Conefrey, that traces the unsuccessful American attempt led by Charles Houston and Fritz Wiessner.

An exhibition dedicated to K2 completes the cinematographic retrospective. And, as has become custom, Friday's mountaineering night will be hosted once again by Reinhold Messner. The theme, naturally, is K2. Guests include some protagonists of that incredible 1954: Lino Lacedelli and Achille Compagnoni, the first ascentionists, and Erich Abram, as well as the film maker Marcello Baldi and Charles Houston, leader of the American K2 expeditions in 1938 and 1953.

The actual Film Festival is comprised of 58 films from 21 different countries (17 documentaries are included in the 6 special sections). Some of the biggest titles include “Touching the void”, Joe Simpson's bestseller, and “Deep blu” by the production house Lucky Red, which in the past brought “Himalaya” and “Le peuple migrateur” to Trento.

Mountaineering and climbing is well represented with the likes of "The race" by the German Uli Wiesmaier, starring Stefan Glowacz (a climber who needs no introduction) and the world paragliding champion Rob Whittal. Others include "Hook or book" by Frenchman Robert Nicod about El Capitan (starring Scott Burk, Leo Houlding Jim Bridwell, Jean Marc Troussier, Valerio Folco), and "2177 s.l.m." by Ruggero Melis. This film analyses the history of the important Grigne rock face above city of Lecco, and features local mountaineer Marco Anghileri. The programme also includes a homage to Jean Rouch, while on Saturday night Vittorio De Seta's long standing career will be honoured with the award "Genziana alla carriera". De Seta won the 1961 Filmfestival di Trento with his film “Banditi ad Orgosolo”.

As usual, other initiatives include the 18th edition of "Montagnalibri", the international exhibition of antique mountaineering books, and various award ceremonies for internationally recognised artists and mountaineers. Last but by no means least, the Premio ITAS for the best Mountain Book, juried by Italian post-war author Mario Rigoni Stern, celebrates its 33rd edition this year.

All that is left to say is see you at Trento. This is a great opportunity for climbers, cinema lovers and mountaineers (apart from those currently climbing distant mountains) to get together and discuss and reflect. And perhaps discover that, mountaineering as it once used to be, no longer exists. But this is nothing new, or is it?

Have a great Festival!

	programme 52Â° Film Festival di Trento
	News archive Film Festival di Trento

52 FESTIVAL International Festival of Mountains, Exploration and Adventure
Trento, 1-9 May 2004

International Jury
Maurizio Nichetti, president: (director)
John Porter (mountaineer)
Fulvio Mariani (director)
Harish Kapadyha (explorer)
Vaclav Swiezynski (journalist)