A mountain film is a film genre that focuses on

mountaineering Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, a ...

and especially the battle of human against nature. In addition to mere adventure, the

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

s who return from the mountain come back changed, usually gaining wisdom and enlightenment.

''Bergfilme''

Although the first mountain film, depicting the ascent of the Mont Blanc by the American climber

Frank Ormiston-Smith Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curre ...

, was released in 1903, the mountain film genre is most associated with the German ''Bergfilme'' (singular: ''Bergfilm'') released in the 1920s. Some critics describe the German mountain film as an indigenous national / cultural genre, comparable to the

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. The most important director of mountain films was Dr. Arnold Fanck. According to an essay by Doug Cummings in the DVD release of the landmark '' The Holy Mountain'' (1926), Fanck shot his first motion picture in 1913, and after serving in World War I, purchased a rare Ernemann slow-motion camera, taught himself to shoot on location during an expedition to climb the Jungfrau, taught himself to edit on his mother's kitchen table, and distributed the finished product himself. The film was eventually called ' (''The Wonders of Skiing'', 1920) and was an instant success. The young interpretative dancer Leni Riefenstahl was mesmerized by Fanck's fifth feature, ''

Mountain of Destiny ''Mountain of Destiny'' (german: Berg des Schicksals) is a 1924 German silent drama film written and directed by Arnold Fanck and starring Hannes Schneider, Frida Richard, Erna Morena, and Luis Trenker. The film is about an alpinist who falls ...

'' (1924), and successfully pursued Fanck and his star

Luis Trenker Luis Trenker (born Alois Franz Trenker, 4 October 1892 – 13 April 1990) was a South Tyrolean film producer, director, writer, actor, architect, Mountaineering, alpinist, and Bobsleigh, bobsledder. Biography Early life Alois Franz Trenker was b ...

, convincing them to make her the star of ''The Holy Mountain''. It took three days to write and over a year to film on location in the Alps. This started Riefenstahl's own career as a filmmaker. Fanck went on to produce the ski-chase '' The White Ecstasy'' (1931) with Riefenstahl and legendary Austrian skier Hannes Schneider, then in turn served as Riefenstahl's editor on her 1932 film ''The Blue Light'', which brought her to the attention of Adolf Hitler. The popularity of the German mountain films waned, then disappeared, in the run-up to World War II.

Modern mountain films

Mountain films pose unusual difficulties for the filmmaking process; although parts can and have been shot in studios, filming on location is a longstanding tradition. Concerns include low temperatures, variable weather, and the objective dangers of the mountain environment. Directors may "cheat" by filming the actors in a less dangerous area, such as on the slopes of a ski resort, and intersperse with shots of the real location taken with a telephoto lens. Although experienced

climbers Climber may refer to: *Climber, a participant in the activity of climbing *Climber, general name for a vine *Climber, or climbing specialist, a road bicycle racer who can ride especially well on highly inclined roads * Climber (BEAM), a robot that ...

are often used, in roles ranging from consulting to standing in for the actors, the resulting film may not seem particularly logical to an audience knowledgeable about climbing. For instance, a rescuer in the film may take a hard, but dramatic-looking route, even though in real life, time is of the essence and rescuers will always go by the easiest available route.

International Alliance for Mountain Film

The ''International Alliance for Mountain Film'' (IAMF) is an organization committed to the future of mountain film. IAMF was set up in February 2000 and founding members of the alliance included film festivals in Autrans, France; Banff, Canada; Cervinia, Italy;

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, Austria; Lugano, Switzerland; Les Diablerets, Switzerland; Torello, Spain; and Trento, Italy and one museum, Museo Nazionale della Montagna in Turin, Italy. Soon other film festivals joined IAMF over time, which is now composed by twenty members from some of the most important mountain film festivals in the world and one museum, Museo Nazionale della Montagna in Turin, Italy, representing 17 countries of Europe, Asia, and North and South America. IAMF has now become one of the main point of reference concerning mountain filming. The following festivals are today members of IAMF, in addition to Museo Nazionale della Montagna in Turin. There are many other mountain film festivals too which are not part of the alliance, such as the Edinburgh Mountain Film Festival and

Mountainfilm Held every Memorial Day weekend since 1979, Mountainfilm is a documentary film festival that showcases nonfiction stories about environmental, cultural, climbing, political and social justice issues in Telluride, Colorado. In 2000, Mountainfilm ...

in Telluride. According to the website for the Alliance, "the Alliance determines that one of its first priorities is to inform audiences and filmmakers about the global film festival opportunities. As well, information is shared on films, programming and technology, promotion and ticketing and funding challenges. An agreement emerges to take every opportunity to cross-promote mountain film festivals around the world and to meet twice a year at member festival events." IAMF created also the ''IAMF Grand Prix'' in order to recognize career leaders in mountain film. Recipients of the IAMF Grand Prix: * 2002 –

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* 2003 – Leo Dickinson * 2004 –

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* 2005 –

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* 2006 –

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* 2007 – Michael Brown * 2008 – Sebastián Álvaro * 2009 – Lothar Brandler * 2010 – Hans-Jürgen Panitz

List of mountain films

* '' The Vulture Wally'' (1921), remade

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *January ...

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...

, 1988 and 2005 * '' The Holy Mountain'' (1926) * '' The White Hell of Pitz Palu'' (1929) * '' The White Ecstasy'' (1931) * '' Das Blaue Licht'' (1932) * '' Kleine Scheidegg'' (1937) * ''

Schlitz on Mt. Washington ''Schlitz on Mt. Washington'' is a 1937 short film by American filmmaker Christopher Young. Shot on location using 35 mm, the film is said to have required a "Herculean effort," since all the camera equipment and reels had to be hiked up the ...

'' (1937) * ''

Der Berg ruft ''The Mountain Calls'' (German: ''Der Berg ruft'') is a film directed by Luis Trenker which recreates the struggle between Edward Whymper and Jean-Antoine Carrel for the first successful ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865. This German film is one ...

'' (1938) * '' The White Tower'' (1950) * '' The Mountain'' (1956) * ''Third Man on the Mountain'' (''Banner in the Sky'') (1959) * '' Vertical'' (1967) * '' The Eiger Sanction'' (1975) * '' El Capitan'' (1978) * ''

Five Days One Summer ''Five Days One Summer'' is a 1982 American romantic drama film directed and produced by Fred Zinnemann from a screenplay by Michael Austin, based on the 1929 short story ''Maiden, Maiden'' by Kay Boyle. Set primarily in the Alps, the story foc ...

'' (1982) * '' The Climb'' (1986) * '' Shoot to Kill'' (1988) * '' K2'' (1991) * '' Cliffhanger'' (1993) * ''

Seven Years in Tibet ''Seven Years in Tibet: My Life Before, During and After'' (1952; german: Sieben Jahre in Tibet. Mein Leben am Hofe des Dalai Lama; 1954 in English) is an autobiographical travel book written by Austrian mountaineer and Nazi SS sergeant Heinrich ...

'' (1997) * '' Into Thin Air: Death on Everest'' (1997) * '' Everest'' (1998) * '' Vertical Limit'' (2000) * ''

Touching the Void Touching the Void may refer to: * ''Touching the Void'' (''book''), a 1988 book by Joe Simpson ** ''Touching the Void'' (film), a 2003 film based on the book ** ''Touching the Void'' (play), a 2018 play based on the book {{Disambiguation ...

'' (2003) * '' North Face ''(2008) * '' The Summit'' (2012) * '' Everest ''(2015) * '' Mountain'' (2017) * ''

Free Solo Free solo climbing, or free soloing, is a form of technical ice or rock climbing where the climbers (or ''free soloists'') climb alone without ropes, harnesses or other protective equipment, forcing them to rely entirely on their own individual ...

'' (2018) * ''

The Last Mountain ''The Last Mountain'' is a feature-length documentary film directed by Bill Haney and produced by Haney, Clara Bingham and Eric Grunebaum. The film premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and went into general release on June 3, 2011. The fi ...

'' (2019) * ''

'' (2021)

References

* Aspetsberger, Friedbert (ed.) (2002) ''Der BergFilm 1920-1940'' StudienVerlag, * Halle, Randall and McCarthy, Margaret (2003) ''Light Motives: German Popular Cinema in Perspective'' Chapter 4 * Giesen, Roman (2008
''Der Bergfilm der 20er und 30er Jahre''
Frankfurt am Main: Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität * ''Faszination Bergfilm: himmelhoch und abgrundtief'' (2008) documentary film by Hans-Jürgen Panitz & Matthias Fanck * Peabody, Seth (2021
“Image, Environment, Infrastructure: The Social Ecologies of the ''Bergfilm''”
''Humanities'' 10#1:38 doi.org/10.3390/h10010038

External links