A day in the life of Claire, FARM DAYS is a heartfelt glimpse into the world of a farm manager and her twelve alpacas as they engage in feeding and trekking in the woods of Sheffield, UK. Claire, the dedicated farm manager at Holly Hag Community Farm, begins her day feeding and caring for her twelve beloved alpacas. Each morning, Claire meticulously prepares the animals for their daily trekking adventure, a highlight for visiting groups who join in to explore the woods alongside the alpacas. Claire’s passion and the close bond she shares with her alpacas are evident in every interaction. Through intimate close-ups, the documentary captures the unique personalities of the alpacas and the serene rhythm of life on the farm. The film offers an immersive glimpse into the harmony and community spirit that define Claire’s everyday life, leaving viewers with an appreciation for the simple yet profound joys of farm life.
Once upon a time there was a rough-and-ready ice-climber who didn’t come home. Together with her two precocious dachshunds, the Wunder Dachsies, the courageous Axie goes off in search of her long-lost knight in armour. High up in the mountains, she finds herself in an ice blizzard. Who knows what happens next… During the DMFF Awards ceremony in 2023, we challenged puppet-maker and Fröbelfrau Lisette Wansink to make a stop-motion film using her puppets of famous mountaineers. Without further ado, she took up the challenge and knew straightaway who the main protagonist would be in her film: the dachshunds of Dutch ice-climbing champions, Marianne van der Steen and Dennis van Hoek. For months on end, Lisette has worked with great ingenuity on the sets and props in her cellar in Teuven in Belgium. With help from the DMFF Academy (Jeroen Daemen), on a steep learning curve, she has mastered the art of stop-motion film. The music has been composed and performed by Rik Huijts. Now we are all curious to find out what happens in her first ever film!
The story of a quiet teen. The less she speaks, the more she wants to climb mountains.
Deep within the Earth lies a mysterious world, of which humanity knows only a fraction. Slovak speleologists bravely venture into these unknown spaces, facing unexpected challenges and dangers. In extreme conditions, at the limits of human capability, they become the first witnesses to fascinating natural wonders shaped by the eternal power of water.
My name is Frank, and I’m a cocker spaniel from Manchester. My story began when I moved in with Maleek, my human. He wasn’t in a great place—having just finished a four-year sentence, he found himself transitioning from one prison to another: the COVID lockdown and a debilitating depression. I gave him no choice; he had to start walking me. One walk led to another, and soon we were running. Before he knew it, we were on our way up Pen Y Ghent, his first mountain. The mountains are his spiritual home, he needs them just as much as I do. His ambition is to run in the Alps. To push his boundaries and tackle a route higher and further than he has ever been before. So that’s our plan. Together we are going to go to the Alps, we’re going to see the peaks, the ridges, the summits, and we’re going to heal together.
A fairytale about the great wizard Zimnik, who is on a mission to save winters as he is faced with the climate changes affecting his beloved season with greater force each passing year. Will he succeed? Will he prevail over the warmer seasons? Will we ever again witness the joy of riding in the snow? We will look into his crystal ball and follow the epic task being handled through the eyes of a snowboarder enjoying the fruits but also fighting with mishaps of Zimnik’s endeavour!
A day in the life of Claire, FARM DAYS is a heartfelt glimpse into the world of a farm manager and her twelve alpacas as they engage in feeding and trekking in the woods of Sheffield, UK. Claire, the dedicated farm manager at Holly Hag Community Farm, begins her day feeding and caring for her twelve beloved alpacas. Each morning, Claire meticulously prepares the animals for their daily trekking adventure, a highlight for visiting groups who join in to explore the woods alongside the alpacas. Claire’s passion and the close bond she shares with her alpacas are evident in every interaction. Through intimate close-ups, the documentary captures the unique personalities of the alpacas and the serene rhythm of life on the farm. The film offers an immersive glimpse into the harmony and community spirit that define Claire’s everyday life, leaving viewers with an appreciation for the simple yet profound joys of farm life.
Once upon a time there was a rough-and-ready ice-climber who didn’t come home. Together with her two precocious dachshunds, the Wunder Dachsies, the courageous Axie goes off in search of her long-lost knight in armour. High up in the mountains, she finds herself in an ice blizzard. Who knows what happens next… During the DMFF Awards ceremony in 2023, we challenged puppet-maker and Fröbelfrau Lisette Wansink to make a stop-motion film using her puppets of famous mountaineers. Without further ado, she took up the challenge and knew straightaway who the main protagonist would be in her film: the dachshunds of Dutch ice-climbing champions, Marianne van der Steen and Dennis van Hoek. For months on end, Lisette has worked with great ingenuity on the sets and props in her cellar in Teuven in Belgium. With help from the DMFF Academy (Jeroen Daemen), on a steep learning curve, she has mastered the art of stop-motion film. The music has been composed and performed by Rik Huijts. Now we are all curious to find out what happens in her first ever film!
The story of a quiet teen. The less she speaks, the more she wants to climb mountains.
Deep within the Earth lies a mysterious world, of which humanity knows only a fraction. Slovak speleologists bravely venture into these unknown spaces, facing unexpected challenges and dangers. In extreme conditions, at the limits of human capability, they become the first witnesses to fascinating natural wonders shaped by the eternal power of water.
My name is Frank, and I’m a cocker spaniel from Manchester. My story began when I moved in with Maleek, my human. He wasn’t in a great place—having just finished a four-year sentence, he found himself transitioning from one prison to another: the COVID lockdown and a debilitating depression. I gave him no choice; he had to start walking me. One walk led to another, and soon we were running. Before he knew it, we were on our way up Pen Y Ghent, his first mountain. The mountains are his spiritual home, he needs them just as much as I do. His ambition is to run in the Alps. To push his boundaries and tackle a route higher and further than he has ever been before. So that’s our plan. Together we are going to go to the Alps, we’re going to see the peaks, the ridges, the summits, and we’re going to heal together.
A fairytale about the great wizard Zimnik, who is on a mission to save winters as he is faced with the climate changes affecting his beloved season with greater force each passing year. Will he succeed? Will he prevail over the warmer seasons? Will we ever again witness the joy of riding in the snow? We will look into his crystal ball and follow the epic task being handled through the eyes of a snowboarder enjoying the fruits but also fighting with mishaps of Zimnik’s endeavour!
"The dream of traversing the Carpathian Arc kept me awake as a high school student after we became the first to complete the now-legendary SPN route from Devín to Dukla in 1975. Inspired by the achievements of Slovak Himalayan climbers, I pondered how to elevate long-distance trekking to a top-level endeavor. A key moment was meeting the famous mountaineer Reinhold Messner in the Caucasus. One year later, in 1984, our team from Slávia Prírodovedec successfully fulfilled the Carpathian challenge—a groundbreaking sporting and travel expedition.
Decades passed, and during the Expeditions mountain festival near Draždiak in Petržalka, the idea of marking the 40th anniversary of this first Czechoslovak and second global undertaking was raised. On impulse, I suggested the best way to honor it would be to do it all over again. We agreed it would be a fascinating comparison. I embarked on the journey with a new team, following a significantly different, longer route spanning eight countries.
The three-month, 2,500-kilometer trek along the Carpathian ridge—from Serbia to the confluence of the Danube and Morava—reveals a vast terra incognita right on our doorstep, showcasing untouched nature and hidden treasures of the mountains. This journey across 45 mountain ranges provided time for deep reflection on philosophical, ecological, and ethical aspects of the human-nature relationship. Comparing the experiences from both expeditions illustrates what has changed over 40 years and what remains the same. It also sheds light on different mindsets—from casual visitors and dedicated trekkers to native highlanders—and explores why people from the world of consumerism and material comfort are drawn to nature, where self-reliance and support teams become crucial."
Svetozár Krno is a pioneer of Slovak expedition and long-distance trekking. He holds a record with 38 successful completions of the legendary Trnavská stovka hike. His travels span nearly every corner of the world, including two full crossings of the 2,500-km Carpathian Arc. Additionally, he has completed similar treks across Iceland, the Pyrenees, the Apennines, Corsica, Sardinia, the Adriatic, the Balkans, the Eastern Alps, Czechia and Moravia, Poland, Hungary, Transcarpathia, and Crimea. He has twice completed Slovakia’s Heroes’ Trail (Cesta hrdinov SNP).
As an author of non-fiction and a publisher of travel literature, Krno received the Egon Erwin Kisch International Literary Award for his latest travel book. He has written 15 essayistic travel books and over 100 reports, combining firsthand experience with extensive research in science and literature to present both distant and familiar worlds.
Since 1987, he has been organizing Expeditions, Slovakia’s oldest international mountain festival, dedicated to promoting non-commercial, non-consumerist expeditions that offer both sporting and exploratory value.
For 25 years, he has been a professor at the Faculty of Arts, Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra (UKF).
He went out of his way to find a new one. The documentary film Via Slovakia tells the story of an extraordinary tourist Slavomir Duchovič, who discovers the treasures of Slovak nature and culture. In 82 days, he walked the longest hiking route in Slovakia – more than 1,870 km along the Slovak border. He experienced crises, reached the end of his tether, overcame fear numerous times, yet he stood up and kept going. The documentary depicts the natural beauty or adrenaline attractions the area has to offer, but it is also an interesting personal story of the main character, whose journey helped him to cope with addiction and a troubled past.
A short photo and video remembrance of the late climber Ondro Húserka.
Embark on a captivating journey through time with the legendary Slovak climbing association – JAMES. Showcasing the association’s humble beginnings with three friends in the Tatras in 1921, all the way to global triumphs in the highest mountains, the film captures how JAMES endured the turbulent times of the 20th century, influenced generations of climbers, and continues to inspire a love for mountains, freedom, and friendship.
In the late 1980s, mountain paragliding made its way from the Alps to the Tatras. Early paragliders resembled rectangular mattresses, with thick cords similar to clotheslines and harnesses that looked more like climbing gear. Pavel Ballo began his paragliding adventures at Rohačka near Ploštín, later soaring from Babky, Kriváň, and even Mont Blanc—an achievement that earned him the "Tough Guy of the Year" sports award.
He delved into the bionics of the golden eagle and frequently raised a fundamental question in his lectures and publications: “Who owns the sky above the Tatras?” As a zoologist specializing in alpine ecosystems at TANAP (the Tatra National Park), his work revolved around marmots, both as a profession and a passion. Using GPS technology, he created digital marmot habitat maps, documenting an impressive 23,000 burrows. Thanks to his efforts, marmots were successfully reintroduced to the Belianske Tatras.
Ever since he developed a true passion for mountains when he was young, Guillaume has one dream: crossing the Alps with a paraglider, from Slovenia to Nice, France. Now 25, he decides to take the challenge, climbing major summits along the way, and only with friends supporting him can he succeed. Together, they fly above glaciers, hike on dizzying ridges above the Matterhorn and rock climb major routes in the Dolomites. Guillaume takes us on a paragliding, mountaineering and climbing journey where each of these activities demand high focus and dexterity. A story where friendships seal forever, and where solitude and doubt go hand in hand with sharing unique moments of happiness.
Highliners take us into their unusual, visually extreme practice. From line to line, we move from confusion to its opposite: tangible sensations, and palpable physical and mental challenges. Within a team that seems unstoppable, we share in their pursuit of balance through imbalance.
Blending techniques from the disparate worlds of mountaineering and acrobatics, adventure aerialist Sasha Galitzki performs gravity-defying routines in subzero temperatures, all without being ‘tied in’. Her aerial adventures require immense physicality, sound risk-assessment, and unwavering confidence much like free soloing—only with flips, spins, and occasional splits. Wild Aerial follows Sasha to dramatic ice-bound locations in Banff and Jasper National Parks where she overcomes extreme cold and dizzying heights to draw attention to the beauty and fragility of Canada’s mountain landscapes. The film culminates with Sasha’s most ambitious routine performed outdoors, which she dedicates to all those affected by the Jasper wildfire on July 24, 2024.
A moderated discussion with the world champion climber and one of the greatest sport climbers in history, accompanied by an exclusive pre-premiere screening of the latest film starring Jakob (a surprise!).
Jakob Schubert won the European Youth Cup from 2006 to 2008 and claimed three consecutive Junior World Championship titles from 2007 to 2009. In 2012, he won his first World Championship title in lead climbing, a feat he repeated in 2018, along with an additional title in the combined discipline. At the European Championships, he earned bronze medals in both lead climbing and bouldering.
Though primarily focused on lead climbing, he occasionally competed in speed climbing, particularly at the European Championships in 2013 and 2015, as well as at the 2018 World Championships following the introduction of the combined climbing format (speed, bouldering, lead) for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. At these Games, eventually held in 2021, he secured a bronze medal thanks to his victory in the lead climbing discipline.
At the following Olympic Games in Paris 2024, where speed climbing became a separate event, Schubert once again finished third in the combined event—once again, largely due to his outstanding performance in lead climbing.