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24/11/2024
'Sophie Lavaud, the Final Summit' wins the Gold Edelweiss of the 42nd BBVA Torelló Mountain Film Festival
'Sophie Lavaud, the Final Summit' wins the Gold Edelweiss of the 42nd BBVA Torelló Mountain Film Festival

Sophie Lavaud, the Final Summit is the big winner of this edition. The film directed by the Swiss François Damilano has been awarded this year's “Vila de Torelló” Grand Prize and Gold Edelweiss, and it has also won the Boreal Award and Silver Edelweiss for the best screenplay. The jury distinguished the documentary for its "disarming honesty when describing and following the entire process" which narrates Lavaud's ascent to the last of the 14 eight-thousanders on the planet, "an extraordinary immersion" into the world of mountaineering where "the value of humility and the risk of this sport" are highlighted to show the expedition to Nanga Parbat that places Lavaud among the legendary names of world mountaineering.

The second prize, the BBVA Award and Silver Edelweiss for the best mountain film, went to Marmolada-Madre Roccia by the Italian filmmakers Matteo Maggi and Cristiana Pecci. The documentary shows the debate about the passion for mountaineering and the awareness about the environmental impact of climbing after a tragic accident.

The Grandvalira Award and Silver Edelweiss for the best mountain sports film has been granted to the film Big Water Theory, by the French director Emile Dominé, for "the great narrative quality" of a picture that shows how the kayaker Nouria Newman tries the challenge of being the first woman to make one of the most difficult descents in the world in the Karakorum.

The Quadpack Wood Award and Silver Edelweiss for the best mountain culture film went to the Iranian production Mrs. Iran's Husband, by Marjan Khosravi, with "excellent" photography and "sober" filmmaking that metaphorically documents patriarchal society.

The Austrian film Via Sedna, by Ramona Waldner and Alexander Brugger, has won the F.E.E.C. Award and Silver Edelweiss for best photography showing the sailing expedition starring eight women from La Rochelle to Greenland.

As every year, the audience of the festival also had their say and participated in awarding by voting the Cervesa del Montseny Award and Silver Edelweiss to the best +Xtrem film to Le Grand Saut, from the French director Mathieu Rivoire. Everest Invaders (Jean-Michel Jorda, France) has won the Mountain Wilderness Award for the picture that best highlights the defence of natural spaces.

The jury has also granted two special mentions to The Ice Builders, by Francesco Clarici and Tommaso Barbaro (Italy), and Magda, by Adela Kaczmarek (Poland).

The awarded films were announced on November 23rd during the closing gala of the competition.

 

Sophie Lavaud, The Final Summit