Film program – 25 November
Film program
25 November, Saturday
Big Hall
11:00 / 11:13 – Café Americano, 2023, USA, Ben Page, Joey Schusler, Thomas Woodson, 13` – original language English with Bulgarian subtitles
Inspired by a photograph handed to him by his father, Shawn Neer embarks on a trip across Italy in search of the the country’s best coffee…and best mountain bike trails.
11:13 / 13:05 – Sturm Am Manaslu, Germany, 2022, Reinhold Messner, 101` – original language German with Bulgarian subtitles
Премиера за България – филмът ще бъде представен от проф. Волфганг Наирц, официален гост на Банско филм фест 2023/ Q&A – Bulgarian premiere of the film will be presented by prof. Wolfgang Nairz (Austria) – official guest of Bansko film fest 2023.
13:05 / 13:30 – DAIDA – back to the ocean, Spain, 2022, Pablo Ramírez Bolaños, 25` – original language Spanish with Bulgarian subtitles
Daida Ruano Moreno, 18 times World Champion, tells her fight against her most difficult rival: a Cancer that almost took away not only her Life, but her most personal and intimate dream…
13:30 / 14:22 – Himalayan embrace, 2023, Bulgaria, Veliko Karachiviev, 57` – original language Bulgarian with English subtitles
Two friends embark on a journey into the heart of the Himalayas, to Everest Base Camp. They hope to photograph the beauty of the mountain along the way, but not everything goes as planned. The weather worsens, the friends are separated and everyone is left in the mountains alone with themselves.
Q&A – The premiere of the film will be presented by Veliko Karachiviev.
14:22 / 14:37 – INUSSUK The Way Home, 2023, Poland, 15` – original language Polish with English and Bulgarian subtitles
The film is set on the west coast of Greenland during calendar winter. Two big-wall climbers Marcin Yeti Tomaszewski and Paweł Hałdaś plan to establish the first ever climbing route at this time of year. It is narrated by independent voices – an Inuit woman recalling her father, a reflective narrator describing the climbers’ presence among the frozen fjords, and the climbers themselves. The film does not present the technical aspects of the climb, nor does it chronicle it – instead it describes the inner lives of the characters, their reflections during the expedition. The title-character Inussuk is a type of sculpture created by the Inuit by arranging stones in such a way that their pile resembles a standing person. Inussuk has a practical significance – it serves as a signpost. Inussuk can also show the way through life, the way back home, fulfilling its mystical purpose.
Q&A – Bulgarian premiere of the film will be presented by Marcin (Yeti) Tomaszewski (Poland) – official guest of Bansko film fest 2023.
14:37 / 16:00 – An Accidental Life, 2022, USA, Henna Taylor, 86` – original language English with Bulgarian Subtitles
AN ACCIDENTAL LIFE tells the story of climber Quinn Brett, who suffered a horrific fall in Yosemite at the height of her athletic career that left her paralyzed from the waist down and forced to question her identity and community. Soon after her accident Quinn’s relationship ends throwing her into a lonely place where she wonders if this new version of herself is lovable – until an expected romantic connection reveals that she is indeed still Quinn Brett, and nothing can take that away from her. Over the course of the film, viewers watch Quinn’s raw recovery and return to the world she almost lost as she eventually comes to accept the things she cannot change.
16:00 / 17:00 – break – See exhibitions
17:00 / 22:00 – See Presentations Program at Big Hall
Visitor Information Centre Hall
11:30 / 11:55 – In the shadow of Chamlang, 2022, France, Jérémie Chenal – Benjamin védrines – Charles Dubouloz, 25` – original language French with English subtitles
The north face of Chamlang, nearly 2000 meters high and culminating at 7200 meters, is one of the last great unclimbed faces of the Himalayas. Benjamin Védrines, who had spotted the face during a previous ascent of Chamlang, decides to partner with Charles Dubouloz, a very strong mountaineer but novice of the high altitudes. Spindrifts, suspended bivouacs, lengths of mixed and vertical ice… This film immerses us in the best of what is being done in the Himalayas in the 21st century!
11:55 / 12:25 – No bolts – Crack climbing around Innsbruck, 2023, Austria, Jonathan Fäth, 30` – original language German with Bulgarian subtitles
Rare things are precious – and a rarity in Tyrol are hard single-pitch trad routes. Climbing with mobile belays provides increased tension in the crux and brings the added challenge of having to plan placements in advance. The feeling of a perfectly placed camalot and the nervousness of climbing above uncertain protection provide the perfect combination of satisfaction and excitement in climbing. Looking through Tyrolean climbing guides, you won’t find many cracks. Talk to the right people, however, and a handful of top-notch climbs and breathtaking lines will be revealed to you. “No Bolts” shows the uniqueness and charm of a few of these routes. The two passionate climbers Moritz Plattner and Luis Beitl climb Markus Haid’s crack trilogy in traditional style and first climb an impressive urban crack. The outgoing and cheerful personalities of the two climbers, as well as the creative approach to shooting and editing, make this 30-minute film exciting and entertaining.
12:25 / 13:05 – LIFE ON THE RUN, 2023, Poland, Grzegorz Lipiec, 40` – original language Polish with English and Bulgarian subtitles
The story of Piotr Hercog – an interdisciplinary athlete, winner of the most challenging mountain ultramarathons. His path from childhood in the poor neighbourhood in communist Poland to the top of the world. A movie is about extreme passion and its essence. Vivisection of all benefits and losses also from Peter’s mother and wife perspective. This is a story about sacrifice.
13:05 / 13:40 – break
13:40 / 15:20 – STAMS, 2023, Austria, Bernhard Braunstein, 97`
Q&A – Bulgarian premiere of the film will be presented by Bernhard Braunstein.
15:20 / 16:10 – Kom-EmiDA, 2023, Bulgaria, Desislava Todorova, 50` – original language Bulgarian with English subtitles
The film Kom-EmiDA follows the adventures of the group that passes through the Kom-Emine route in 2022.; The route from Mount Kom in Western Stara Planina to Cape Emine, where the mountain abuts the Black Sea coast, is the longest marked tourist route in Bulgaria. The idea behind the film was inspired by this year’s anniversary – 90 years since the first crossing of the route.; Through the story of the participants in the trek, the viewer witnesses all the challenges with which this route abounds. These are not only physical trials, but also trials of the spirit.; The film is an exciting story about the moments when a person surpasses himself, but also a testimony to the unique power of the collective. The storyline describes that, although often invisible in everyday life, humanity exists and is most strongly manifested in moments of trial. Kom-EmiDA proves that friendship between complete strangers can be built in days, amid the turbulent conditions typical of the mountain.; 38 complete strangers, each with a different motivation and experience, united around a common idea become one indivisible organism.; In this film, you will see what a person can achieve when he has the support of an entire team behind him.
Q&A – Тhe film will be presented by Desislava Todorova.
16:10 / 17:00 – break
Turzestvena Hall
11:30 / 12:15 – Horsky vodca / Mountain Guides, 2022, Slovakia, Pavol Barabas, 45` – original language Slovak with English and Bulgarian subtitles
150 years passed since the initial ideas of organized mountain guiding in the High Tatras began. This ancient tradition has remained unchanged in its essence. Even today, mountain guides are part of the magical Tatras world. They still help others to fulfil their dreams and desires. But there is more to this craft than freedom, romance, and adventure…
12:15 / 12:50 – Everest: by Those Who Were There, 2021, United Kingdom, John Porter and Dom Bush 35` – original language English with Bulgarian subtitles
Produced in the centenary year of the first Everest expedition, ‘Everest by Those Who Were There’ follows Julie Summers, the great niece of Sandy Irvine, as she explores the history of the three earliest Everest expeditions. Using the original footage shot by John Noel in 1922 and 1924, photos, artefacts and written records, as well as the expertise of prominent Everest mountaineers, Julie guides us from the first thoughts of climbing Everest in the 1890s, all the way up to the tragic disappearance of Mallory and Irvine in 1924. The film is an opportunity, not just to celebrate the scientific, geographical, technological and mountaineering accomplishments of these early expeditions, but also to look again at the world’s highest peak. To reassess our relationship with it after more than a century of climbing, and to follow the threads of how it came to be a social, cultural and political nexus that still fascinates climbers and the wider public today.
12:50 / 13:30 – break
13:30 / 14:27 – Wallride, 2022, Germany, Tom Dauer, 53` – original language German with Bulgarian subtitles
OVER ALL MOUNTAINS – The WALLRIDE PROJECT BY STEFAN GLOWACZ; 46.184 meters of altitude – 2.274 kilometers – 2 first ascents; The numbers can only give an abstract, very vague idea of the incredible effort that professional adventurer Stefan Glowacz and his partner Philipp Hans had to make during their WALLRIDE project this year.; After more than two months in the saddle and on the wall, the two athletes returned safely to Berg am Starnberger See on August 30, 2021. There, on June 25, 2021, the CO2 neutral adventure started: on mountain bikes, with a lot of muscle power and even more ability to suffer. The first goal was in the eastern foothills of the Dolomites, where a first ascent was made on the 800-meter-high southeast face of the Croda Bianca, a 2,840-meter-high rock cathedral in the Marmarole Group.; The second goal for Glowacz and Hans was almost 1,000 kilometers away in the westernmost foothills of the Alps, on the 2,709-meter Pic de Bure in the French Maritime Alps. On this mountain, too, the duo climbed a first ascent on the 700-meter east face. Both routes, which they christened “Wallride Vol.1” and “Wallride Vol.2,” are in the 8th and upper 8th degree of difficulty. Both routes were climbed in alpine style with one bivy each on the wall.; The route from the front door in Berg / Starnberger See and back led from east to west over the entire main ridge of the Alps. The two professional athletes used exclusively mountain bikes (without electric assistance). The equipment, weighing a total of 35 kilograms, was transported under their own power in specially designed trailers. On their ride through the Alps, Glowacz and Hans did not use country roads connecting valleys, but followed old supply routes or trails that took them over countless mountain passes. The extraordinary route, the method of travel – 2,274 kilometers, over 46,000 vertical meters under their own power – were as much the goal of the WALLRIDE project as the first ascents themselves.; For Stefan Glowacz, the renunciation and reduction of motorized means of transport have played a central role in his expeditions for many years. In 2018 and 2019, Glowacz and Hans sailed to Greenland in a 14-meter steel yacht to cross the world’s largest island from the west to the east coast at its widest point and finally climb a big wall first ascent in Scoresbysund.; Stefan Glowacz on the WALLRIDE project:; “Already in 2018 on the ice cap of Greenland, Philipp Hans and I had the idea for the WALLRIDE project as a logical consequence and further development of the sustainability approach in our adventures and expeditions. In the past, climbers used to travel to the big walls of the Alps on bicycles. Of necessity, because they had no other means of transportation. Our WALLRIDE project was, of course, inspired by history, but reinterpreted in consequence and dimension and thus unique. In the WALLRIDE adventure, we combined two different sports – mountain biking and climbing – at the highest level. ; I am convinced that in the search for exciting adventures or great challenges in climbing, not only for me, but also for future generations, it should not continue to be about the aspects of “faster, higher, further”. But above all about sustainability and creativity in all undertakings. For me personally, the WALLRIDE project is an example of what alpinism could look like in the future.
14:27 / 14:38 – INSIDE — A HOLE NEW SKI EXPERIENCE, Andreas Gumpenberger, Stefan Ager, Austria, 11` – original language German with English and Bulgarian subtitles
After an amazing ski tour at the Grand Ferrand massive in France, where you can ski through stunning rock caves, a few skiers decide to take it to the next level in a huge cave in Slovenia.
14:38 / 15:25 – La Verte, a steep-skiing story, 2023, France, Bertrand Delapierre and Severine Gauci, 47` – original language French with Bulgarian subtitles
If the Mont Blanc is Chamonix’ King, the Aiguille Verte is its queen. Climbed for the first time in 1866 by the English mountaineer Whymper, it wasn’t until 1968 that the Swiss Sylvain Saudan imagined and dared the first ski descent of the Whymper couloir. It was a seminal achievement in steep skiing, inspiring generations of skiers from Patrick Vallençant and Marco Siffredi to Jean-Marc Boivin, Bruno Gouvy, Eric Bellin and Pierre Tardivel. This film retraces 50 years of steep skiing at La Verte, through the eyes of Vivian Bruchez who, in 2018, after descending the Nant Blanc slope with Paul Bonhomme, decided to set off to meet her predecessors.
15:25 / 15:35 – Limnos October Vibes, 2021, Bulgaria, Greece, Nikola Bagarov, 11` – original language English/Greece with English subtitles
Limnos in October is different. There is a lot of wind, it is much colder, but also much greener and beautiful in its own way, there are significantly fewer people on the island. I first came across the island so late, after the season, in 2021. This different “light” also inspired me to make this short film featuring both local Greeks and people, practicing their favorite sports during the season. The idea is to represent the atmosphere of the island at this time of the year. It was a challenge, filled with cold sunrises and sunsets on the water, but it was very interesting for me. The realization of the film would not have been possible without the support of: “Cabrinha Bulgaria”, “No Rush Kite School” and “FlaminGO Kite School”.
15:35 / 16:08 – Pionieri / Pioneers, 2022, Italy, Alessandro Beltrame, 33` – original language Italian with English and Bulgarian subtitles
Shortly after the middle of the 19th century, when the first English travellers saw the Pale di San Martino, they were struck by the beauty of this Dolomite group, most of whose peaks were still to be climbed. From that moment on, the race to conquer them began. The first to be reached, in 1870, was the Cimon della Pala (3184 m), defined by John Ball as the Matterhorn of the Dolomites. Shortly afterwards it was the turn of Sass Maor, Pala di San Martino, Cima Canali and before the century of great revolutions ended all the main peaks of the Pale had been reached. Those aristocratic mountaineers were guided to the peaks by farmers and hunters from the Primiero area who, although driven by different interests, formed legendary groups which have made the history of mountaineering. On 10 August 2021, Peter Moser linked six of the main peaks of the Pale di San Martino in a single day. Inspired by the pioneers of mountaineering, Peter carried out the solo traverse along the historic routes of the first climbers, relying solely on his own experience as a mountain guide. A confrontation on equal terms with the mountain, at speed but without haste, an intimate journey that Peter Moser wanted to make in order to get to the roots of mountaineering and his being a mountaineer, where exploration and amazement for Nature are still possible.
16:08 / 17:00 – break – See exhibitions
17:00 / 22:00 – See Presentations Program at Big Hall
FESTIVAL PARTY NIGHT – 23:00 / 4:00, hotel Gardenia Bar. Dances until the morning!
