INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL OF MOUNTAINS “CITTÀ DI TRENTO”

From 2 to 9 May 2004, the 52nd year of the oldest cinema festival in the world dedicated to mountaineering, adventure and exploration, with a tribute to K2 “the 8000 metre peak of the Italians”

Trento. With the year of Everest finally wrapped up, the spotlight moves to K2, “the 8000 metre peak of the Italians”. And the International Film Festival of Mountains, Exploration and Adventure “Città di Trento”, the oldest cinema festival in the world dedicated to mountaineering, adventure and exploration, will officially open the festivities celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the first ascent of K2, the mountain portrayed in the 2004 festival poster (a 1909 photo by Vittorio Sella).
The 52nd year of festival, promoted by the Italian Alpine Club and the City of Trento in 1952 and, more recently, also by the City of Bolzano, will be held from 2 to 9 May 2004. The new 2004 Regulations are already available and can be downloaded with the entry form at www.mountainfilmfestival.trento.it .
The Festival Board has introduced many innovations in the 2004 Regulations. These include the official Trento 1952 Section for films competing for the “Gentian” awards, a Special Mountain Fiction Section for films invited out of competition that may compete for the Audience Prize and 6 Informative Sections for films competing for Special Prizes promoted by subjects other than the Film Festival. These cover New Horizons – films from countries emerging in the field of mountain, exploration and adventure cinematography; Young Directors – films by directors under 30 and films by first-time directors; The Other Mountain/Mountains of Peace – films presenting subjects of Peace, Solidarity and Sustainable Development; Parks: resources for the future – films shot in parks and protected areas; Trentino, Alto Adige- Suedtirol, Tyrol – films shot in mountain regions in the heart of the Alps; The Rai for the mountains - films produced by the RAI regional offices and newsrooms.
Another innovation is that the films may be entered in any digital standard in use nowadays.
Moreover, an entry fee of 50,00 Euro is required this year, which however does not apply to young film directors born after 1973.
Documentary and fiction films (short, medium and full-length films, telefilms and television reportages, films in 35 and 16 mm format or videos in analogical and digital format) on mountains, mountaineering, mountain environments, exploration, sports and sports adventure may be entered in the Film Festival of Mountains, Exploration and Adventure “Città di Trento”.
The films submitted to the competition, after selection by a special commission, will be judged by an International Jury that may award the three “Gold Gentians” – the Gran Premio “Città di Trento” (5000 Euro) for the best film of all, possessing high artistic qualities, that corresponds to the cultural aims pursued by the Festival; the Italian Alpine Club Prize (3000 Euro) for the best film on mountaineering; the City of Bolzano Prize (3000 Euro) for the best film on mountains – and the three “Silver Gentians” (each with 1500 Euro) for the best films on the mountain environment and promotion of sustainable development, exploration, sports and sports adventure.
The entry deadline for the 52nd Festival is 31 January 2004. The films produced in the years 2002 and 2003 must reach the Festival by the same date and those produced in 2004 by 29 February 2004.
And the International Jury? The Festival has already received confirmation from the film director Maurizio Nichetti, the great American mountaineer Lynn Hill and the renowned explorer of the Himalayan region, Harish Kapadyha, gold medallist of the Royal Geographical Society in 2003.
The 2004 International Film Festival of Mountains, Exploration and Adventure will open the festivities celebrating the Fiftieth Anniversary of the First Ascent of K2, by the alpinists of the official expedition of the Italian Alpine Club, led by the late Prof. Ardito Desio, in which Achille Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli conquered the summit on 31 July 1954. The occasion will be attended by the protagonists of K2’s mountaineering history, from the men who took part in the 1954 expedition to the alpinists and film directors whose images and feats have made that history. A film retrospective and historic exhibition dedicated to K2 will be prepared by Roberto Mantovani and Leonardo Bizzaro.
During the Festival week “Montagnalibri – 18th International Review of Mountain Publications”, the most important world event entirely dedicated to new mountain publications (700 new editions from 350 European and non-European publishers and 80 specialist magazines displayed in 2003), will be held from 30 April to 9 May 2004 in the exhibition area of Piazza Fiera, in the historic centre of Trento.
This year, besides fringe events such as “In-person presentations”, bookshop novelties, debates and exhibitions, Montagnalibri will include a special section dedicated to publications on the “World’s Great Nature Parks”, “Montagnilandia” a play area for young readers and the 9th International Fair of Antique Mountain Bookshops. Moreover, the 33rd ITAS Award for Mountain Books will be presented during the week by the Jury chaired by the writer Mario Rigoni Stern.