Kendal is one of a many number of Mountain Festivals World wide and we are a member of the International Alliance of Mountain Film. We work with other Festival members to encourage film making of the highest standards both in terms of the artistic merit, content and innovative nature, but also to encourage friendly, low impact filming at environmentally sensitive locations. The Alliance has an annual award for the best film mountain film maker voted by the Alliance members.

The work of the Prize winning Film Maker will be celebrated at each Alliance Festival during the year.

For details of other Festivals, check out their websites.

DIABLERETS            Contact:           fifad@diablerets.com

Website:         www.fifad.ch

BANFF                       Contact:           cmc@banffcentre.ab.ca

Website:          www.banffmountainfestivals.ca

AUTRANS                  Contact:           autrans@alpes-net.fr

Website:          www.festival-autrans.com

TELLURIDE              Contact:           info@mountainfilm.org

Website:          www.mountainfilm.org

TORELLO                 Contact:           cinemum@ctv.es

Website:          www.torellomountainfilm.com/

GRAZ                         Contact:           mountainfilm@mountainfilm.com

Website:          www.mountainfilm.com

KENDAL                   Contact:           john@mountainfilm.co.uk

Website:          www.mountainfilm.co.uk

TEPLICE                    Contact:           FAX 420-447-581191 

Website:          http://www.teplicenadmetuji.cz

POPRAD                    Contact:           krokus@pp.psg.sk

Website:          www.mfhf.sk

LUGANO                   Contact:           FAX 41.91.6045163 

Website:          N/A            

CERVINIA                 Contact:           v.rosso@iol.it

Website:          www.promocinema.org/cervinofilmfestival

SLIVEN                   Contact:          slivenimff@abv.bg

Website:         www.everestnews.com/stories2005/film08242005.htm

DUNDEE                   Contact:           terryisles@jmt.org

Website:          www.dundeemountainfilm.org.uk

Website:           www.8848.ru

A HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL OF MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVALS

In February of 2000, a group of people gathered in the vaulted rooms of the Museo della Montagna in Torino, Italy to forge an alliance committed to the future of mountain film. Not surprisingly, the individuals present were from the some of the most important mountain film festivals in the world, along with the Museo della Montagna staff. Film Festivals in Autrans, France; Banff, Alberta; Cervinia, Italy; Graz, Austria; Lugano, Switzerland; Les Diablerets, Switzerland; Torello, Spain; and Trento, Italy were present at that first gathering, becoming the founding members.

The challenge was to create an association that not only emphasised mountain film issues common to all festivals, but that also recognised and promoted the festivals' unique qualities. After many hours of multi-lingual discussion, a number of initiatives were articulated for the group to focus on. A name was chosen - The International Alliance for Mountain Film.

Several months later, in Trento in the Italian Dolomites, the location of the oldest mountain film festival in the world, a slightly extended group gathered for the second meeting of the Alliance. The new festivals at the table include Dundee, Scotland; Kendal, England; Poprad, Slovakia; Telluride, U.S.A. and Teplice in the Czech Republic.  The Alliance agreed that one of its first priorities was to inform audiences and filmmakers about the global film festival opportunities, and to share information on films, programming and technology, ideas on promotion and ticketing, and to develop collaborative projects leading to the Year of the Mountains in 2002.   At Autrans later in the year, Kendal, Poprad, Telluride and Teplice were formally invited to join the Alliance.  Others like Dundee, New York, Moscow and Kathmandu could well become members in the near future.

In a first attempt at telling the mountain film festivals story, here are a few brief snippets about members of the International Alliance for Mountain Film along with contact information for those interested in digging deeper.

The oldest mountain film festival is Trento, Italy. Founded in 1952 by Amedeo Costa and Enrico Rolandi, it is now inching closely to the half-century mark. In its first year, Trento incorporated a mountain film competition, but widened its themes throughout the decades to include exploration and adventure, the coveted ITAS mountain literature award, an antiquarian book fair and important mountaineering seminars and debates.  Today the festival launches the festival calendar with its event in early May each year. Over a period of 7 days, 10,000 people attend the Trento festival.

The next festival to appear on the circuit was in the Swiss village of Les Diablerets when, 31 years ago, Jacques Lavenex and some of his cinema-loving mountaineering friends launched Le Festival International du Film Alpin (FIFAD). From the beginning it was designed to promote and develop film production in the mountains. Later it became more active in promoting mountain culture as well as giving the "Merito Alpino" award to alpinists, often anonymous, who have dedicated their lives to helping others. The festival takes place late September each year in the beautiful alpine resort.

Third oldest, but across the ocean, was Banff, Alberta. Banff appeared on the scene in 1976, marking 2000 as the 25^th Anniversary of the festival. Begun as an exhibition of films for the local mountaineering community, it outgrew its space in the very first year. Located in the heart of the Canadian Rockies, the festival grew incrementally over its 25-year history to fill four theatres on The Banff Centre campus and eventually to theatres across the river in the Banff Springs Hotel, via satellite technology. The character of the Banff festival is a study in contrasts; fierce local pride combined with international participation, entertaining films up against controversial seminars on timely mountain issues, local mountain craftspeople mingling with recognised mountain icons. It happens on the first weekend in November each year, attracts 10,000 people over a three-day period, screens 40 films in final competition and then extends its after-life through a global touring program that reaches tens of thousands on 6 continents with the Best of the Festival Tour.

Over the next few years, several mountain film festivals were born: Autrans in France, Telluride in Colorado, Torello in Catalonia and Graz in Austria. The Autrans festival began in 1984, evolving from a snow and ice theme to include mountains and adventure. It was the first festival to establish a competition for mountain fiction films. Today, the Autrans festival attracts more than 8000 people each year in early December over a 5-day period and is attended by filmmakers from around Europe. Telluride takes place in late May, with a unique perspective that focuses on the power of art and cinema to promote social change. Audiences are exposed to the political aspects concerning the mountains, their inhabitants and human rights violations, both through the film competition and in the seminars and presenters. Both the Graz and Torello festivals take place in late November, Torello for a full ten days; they have a strong European following and present a mountain film competition represented by an international collection of filmmakers.

Great Britain, source of many of the leading mountaineers for a century and a half, joined in the groundswell too. Up in the Lake District, the Kendal Mountain Film Festival surfaced. Apart from the obvious social reasons of getting the British climbing community together, the festival was committed to encouraging young filmmakers and climbers to become involved in all aspects of mountain culture and artistic creation. Kendal began and remains the foremost climbers' event in the UK: as Mountain magazine commented at the time, "the exact venues were masterpieces, films in a church and everything else in an old brewery."  The organisers took an unexpected 14-year hiatus break to climb, but then regrouped and in 1999, Kendal emerged as a much larger, professionally run event. Today, Kendal screens 40 films in competition (140 in total in 5 venues), has 20 lectures, an international bouldering competition and a stimulating art, photography and seminar programme.

In 1983 in Dundee, Scotland a festival was started by a group of mountaineers in order to commemorate one of their friends killed in a climbing accident. Throughout its 18-year history Dundee has evolved into an important event in the Scottish mountaineering calendar with films, workshops, displays and exhibitions of art and photography. In the mid 90's Dundee became an International venue for the Banff Festival "World Tour", a partnership that continues to this day. Dundee is a non-competitive film festival which takes place the last weekend of November. 

Eastern Europe, another hotbed of alpinism, especially Himalayan climbing, spawned two festivals. Teplice in the Czech Republic is a small village located in a beautiful area of sandstone towers near the Polish border, a gathering place for climbers, mountain bikers and kayakers. Renowned climber Mirek Smid began the Teplice festival in 1980. After ten years the festival took a 3-year break, resumed in 1994 and continues to this day - its 17^th annual event. The film competition takes place in late August. Across the border the Poprad Festival occurs each October in this mountain resort town in the High Tatras mountain range of Slovakia. The international film competition, speakers and exhibitions attract a large local following and this year marks its 8^th edition.

Another type of festival began to emerge, similar in style to the Dundee festival, with a focus on showcasing prize-winning films from other festivals rather than creating a competitive event. The Festival of Festivals in Lugano Switzerland established a working relationship with all the major mountain film festivals of the world and presents a week of their top films, mountaineers and exhibitions, in a non-competitive forum in the Ticinese city of Lugano each June. Across the Alps in Cervinia, Italy, another collaborative effort was launched in 1998. The Cervinia festival is the youngest and highest festival; it is a competitive festival, but only features the grand prizewinners and festival directors' choices from the leading mountain film festivals. Both have become, in their own way, a showcasing opportunity for the other festivals, further emphasising the need for co-operation and collaboration amongst the Alliance members.

New Festivals are emerging all the time, and the Alliance is introducing a membership programme to elect new members.  There are also close links with Mountain Exhibitions and Museums, and the Alliance is extremely grateful to the Museo della Montagna in Torino, Italy, which will provide the secretariat for the Alliance until 2003. This is the world's leading mountain museum with an impressive hilltop setting in central Torino, providing a panoramic view of the Alps, a very important permanent collection, and a challenging series of changing exhibitions. The Museo has a close programming relationship with the Banff, Autrans and Diablerets festivals through its annual VideoMontagna series.