Programme - Friday 20. October 2023 - during the day

With the help of kolbar porters, three young men try to cross the Kurdish border area between Iraq and Iran, in order to obtain asylum outside Kurdistan. The kolbars often haul up to 110 lbs (50 kg) along dangerous pass routes, without modern equipment, with poor footwear. In addition to inhospitable, rugged mountains, they face the threat of Iranian border guards who rigorously shoot at the kolbars – as they consider them smugglers. The hail of bullets is just one hurdle in the escape to a better life.

The empire of the South American Incas stretched from Ecuador to Chile. Basis for the expansion of their empire was a branched road network and the skill of building bridges. In the South East of Peru, along the river Río Apurímac, this art survives to the present day. The grass ropes of the so-called Queswachaka have to be renewed every year. Four village communities are working together on this bridge, which is a World Heritage Site. Each family must make a strand of at least 120 ft (38 m). Master builder of the rope bridge is 60-year-old Victoriano Arisapana.

Climate change is taking its toll on the Alps: What will become of this natural paradise? The Alps are Europe’s freshwater reservoir. But glaciers are melting, flora and fauna are migrating or partially disappearing, landslides and avalanches are claiming more and more victims. What was once a natural paradise is now being lost. The documentary demonstrates the precarious situation caused by man-made climate change.

For his film La Congenialità (Congeniality), the director received a Special Jury Mention in 2018.

Nestled between the Dachstein Mountain Massif and the Schladminger Tauern lies the Styrian Enns Valley, which is characterised by agriculture and tourism. This documentary portrays different people who live in harmony with nature close to the tourist trails, who maintain their communities and an intergenerational coexistence. In doing so, they succeed at reconciling agriculture and tourism. As a result, these are people who carry a special satisfaction in their hearts.

Hauni and Matthias are freeriders and adventurers who have experienced a lot in terms of extraordinary journeys. Already, they have eternalised powder turns on camera on six of the seven continents. As powder hounds, they have never before wasted a thought on Africa. But times are changing and they pose themselves the question: How can we experience great adventures but still minimise our ecological footprint?

Two brave teams of amateur speleologists are about to break the records for unearthing Canada’s longest and deepest caves. Since there are only a few places left on earth to discover, caving is perhaps the last real exploratory activity. From abysmal, muddy crawl passages to oppressive vertical shafts and ghostly underwater caves, Subterranean delves into the strange and intriguing world of underground exploration to tell the story of true adventures and, depending on luck, record-breaking discoveries.

A western doesn’t necessarily have to be filmed in the Rocky Mountains! 1873, Emmental: Where is Johanna Frey? Separated from her family and sold into contract work, her sister Luisa goes in search of Johanna. Two rural police officers come across the body of the priest, who was shot in cold blood – at his side cowers a young, completely traumatised woman. While Jost tries to find out the motives of the crime, Christen finds a first lead. And for Luisa, a journey between retribution and redemption begins.

For people who work high up in inhospitably harsh mountain regions, their profession is often much more than a livelihood. It is a passion that shapes their whole life: as a mountain guide, alpine innkeeper, helicopter pilot or driver of a snow groomer. The film accompanies these different occupations above the tree line and shows how the high alpine world affects people. The beautiful views among this landscape but also its barren simplicity bring them all close to their own calm experience of what it truly essential.

Elias is an excellent student and son of the richest farmers in the Zillertal Valley. But the more the 18-year-old tries to fulfil the role intended for him, the more he threatens to break down. He retreats to the mountains, where the wilderness and solitude of nature await him. Up to the top of the Märzengrund alp, where his head finally comes to rest – and his body gradually dissolves. Elias will stay in the mountains for 40 years.

Based on the play Märzengrund by Felix Mitterer.

Anne-Lise Rousset lives in Haute-Savoie with her husband Adrien and their one-year-old son Faustin. She divides her time between work as a rural veterinarian, her passion for running and her family life. Adrien plans her training sessions and organises the preparation for her next goal: to break the female record on the famous GR20 long-distance hiking trail on the island of Corsica, which is about 112 miles (180 km) long. One year after the birth of her child, the congenial runner starts in Calenzana with the aim of undercutting the 36-hour mark. Hikers need 15 days for this trek.

Freerider and filmmaker Sandra Lahnsteiner-Wagner, together with David Widauer, a Tyrolean friend and mountain guide, sets off on a journey to Norway with an extraordinary goal: skiing under the Northern Lights. In the Lyngen Alps, 218 miles (350 km) north of the Arctic Circle, the two must first face the challenges and unpredictability of the Arctic weather. Setbacks test their patience and make the film an inspiration to pursue one’s dreams.

Only 2.5 percent of Swiss mountain guides are women. There are exactly forty of them and Rita Christen is among them. Two years ago, the association elected her president. Lawyer, mountain guide, yoga teacher and much more – Rita Christen is a lively, non-conformist woman with a deep passion for the mountains. The cinematic portrait grants an insight into her work and private life and what motivates her.