Requiem in White

The glaciers in the Eastern Alps are dying - irreversibly, scientists agree. Experts are warning of the changing conditions, and adjustments need to be made in many areas. But while the ‘eternal ice’ is disappearing and the permafrost is dissolving, tourism is booming. In summer, visitors crowd into glacier cable cars to get as close as possible to the glacier. In winter, skiing operations are running at full speed and interventions in nature are taking on ever more drastic forms: Slope stabilisation, covers, snow depots, artificial snow systems, massive terrain levelling - a race against time. With Requiem in White, Harry Putz stages a haunting cinematic homage to the dying of the glaciers in the Alps. Through in-depth interviews, he weaves science and emotion into an oppressive documentary. Shot at 13 glaciers in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, the film ends by posing the unavoidable question: How do we want to say goodbye to our glaciers?