Press Release – Festival is back – 2022-04-30
19th Tegernsee International Mountain Film Festival, 19 to 23 October 2022
The Mountain Film Festival is back!
After the Covid-related cancellation in 2020 and a courageous “reboot” under pandemic conditions in autumn 2021, this year’s International Mountain Film Festival Tegernsee must confront the reality of war in Ukraine. Nevertheless: like other mountain film festivals around the world, the Tegernsee event 2022 will strive to continue as a success. Once again, a “real” festival will take place. Preparations are in full swing. Producers and film makers have until May 31st to submit their latest mountain films.
Just as we were beginning to hope for an end to the pandemic, Russia’s attack on Ukraine paralyses us with horror. “Many people find it difficult to rally their spirits,” says Festival Director Michael Pause. “It helps to do something that makes you feel good! Go roam around nature, meet friends, go to concerts, theatres, cinemas and other cultural events. We’ve all missed that.”
This year presents a new challenge indeed: to get people off the couch and out of their home office, to gather the community at Lake Tegernsee and to enchant them with that special atmosphere that defines any authentic festival. The City of Tegernsee and the team of organisers have proven over the past 20 years that if there is one thing they excel at, it’s mountain film festival hosting. They have brought a veritable piece of “high cinematic culture” to the valley, Pause explains: “The festival’s evolution over the past two decades gives us great pleasure. Now it’s up to us to free people from their lethargy and rekindle the fire that all mountain fans feel.”
The festival’s cooperation partners – Bavarian Public Broadcasting (BR), the German Alpine Club (DAV), Tegernsee Valley Tourism (TTT), Tegernsee Friends of Mountain Film (Bergfilmfreunde Tegernsee e.V.) – pool their resources in these difficult times. Despite all obstacles, we feel great anticipation: to finally see films on the big screen again, together with our community! Film makers, more than anyone, are red hot for this opportunity. Festival-goers can look forward to a “proper” event with excellent films and that accustomed festival atmosphere: having fun together, exchanging ideas with like-minded people, actors and mountain film makers.
Festival Director Michael Pause is currently looking forward to just such an exchange of ideas at the 70th Trento Film Festival. The world’s oldest mountain film festival runs from April 29th to May 6th in northern Italy. It has established an important opportunity to make new contacts in the film community and to get up to speed with news and trends in the mountain film genre. The annual gathering of mountain film festival organisers also takes place in Trento.
Meanwhile, preparations are in full swing at Lake Tegernsee. This coming autumn, an international jury awards prizes to the best competing mountain films. On show are high-end films that evidence the genre’s special appeal. Audiences are in for surprising and creative contributions from international film makers. It is noteworthy that mountain films can be surprisingly sensitive and not quite as action-packed as one might assume. They present topics the mainstream would simply ignore. Until May 31st producers and film makers can submit their latest mountain films to the three categories “Mountain Experience”, “Mountain Nature” and “Mountain Life”.
Please find all further prizes, endowments and the Call for Entries at: www.bergfilm-tegernsee.de
Information and Call for Entries: Sonderbüro Bergfilm-Festival Tegernsee, Rathausplatz 1, 83684 Tegernsee, Germany, phone +49(0)8022-1801-37 or -53, bergfilm@tegernsee.de,
www.bergfilm-tegernsee.de