24 short films compete in the first competitive edition of the Pyrenees Mountain Film Festival

The first competitive edition of Pirineos Mountain Film Festival It starts at the Olimpia Theater in Huesca, which will host the free sessions where you can see the 24 selected short films that represent 13 different countries.

The official section proposes a fusion of “spectacle, adrenaline, great landscapes, reflection and above all love of nature and the mountains” in the words of David Asensio, director of the event. Productions that cover modalities such as climbing, skiing, base jumping, mountain biking, snowboarding or kayaking to take the viewer on a journey through visually spectacular places such as Tanzania, Hawaii, Chile or Iceland, but also the Pyrenees themselves.

He palmares which distributes 6,000 euros in prizes will be announced on Thursday the 23rd. A decision that falls on a jury made up of Ixeia Lacau, Chechu Arribas, Sara Ramionet, Jorge García and Juan Bazán; five members linked to the mountains and nature through climbing, skiing and the audiovisual sector.

The spectators in the room will have a key role in awarding the Audience Award through their votes (thanks to a QR code). There are seven awards that will be awarded this year: Award for Best Short Film (3,000 euros), Award for Best Adventure and Sports Short Film (1,500 euros), Award for Best Culture and Nature Short Film (1,500 euros), Award for Best Animated Short Film (trophy awarded by the town of Benasque), Award for Best Screenplay (trophy awarded by the town of Jaca), Audience Award (trophy awarded by the town of Boltaña) and Award for the best Ibero-American Short Film (trophy awarded by the town of Barbastro).

Parallel activities

The Pyrenees Mountain Film Festival is complemented by a series of parallel activities such as the photo exhibition Mountain in feminine by Jon Martínez organized jointly with the Ibercaja Foundation. A total of 27 snapshots that talk about women who have made the mountains their way of life, showing their will, strength and dreams. The images can be seen at the Villahermosa Palace until March 10 thanks to the support of the Aragonese Women's Institute.

Within the complementary program, cinema also has a prominent role and proof of this is the screening of three feature films. The first of them, The Dawn Wall (Tuesday 21st; 8:30 p.m. – Teatro Olimpia), is a portrait of the legendary climber Tommy Caldwell facing one of his greatest challenges: the Dawn Wall of El Capitan. On Wednesday the 22nd (8:30 p.m. – Teatro Olimpia) it will be the turn for Ainaras, a journey in the history of the “swallows”, hundreds of Navarrese and Aragonese women who between 1870 and 1940 migrated through the Pyrenees to the French Basque Country in search of work; a special session that also has the support of the Aragonese Women's Institute and where the viewer will enjoy a final mini-concert by Anne Etchegoyen, the singer and composer who is the guiding thread of the documentary. The third tape is No Limit que se verá el jueves 23 en el Centro Cultural Manuel Benito Moliner (20:30h.); un repaso por la trayectoria de Jon Santacana, uno de los mejores esquiadores españoles en Juegos Paralímpicos. El ganador de dos medallas de oro y cuatro de plata ha contado siempre con su guía, el oscense Miguel Galindo, quien estará en Huesca para presentar la cinta.

Uno de los invitados más esperados de este 2023 será el montañero Oscar Cadiach. El catalán protagonizará la jornada del viernes 24 de febrero con su conferencia La Vertiente Inexplorada del BroadPeak por el Xinjiang. Cadiach is the first Westerner to ascend Everest without oxygen on the northern slope and will arrive at the Manuel Benito Moliner Cultural Center (8:30 p.m. Free admission) to recount the feat achieved in 1992, when he summited the 8,051 meters of this corner of Muslim China. Prior to this meeting, the public will be able to enjoy two board games of Aragonese creation and inspiration at the Oscense Casino (7:00 p.m.): Escalábrate and 600 Questions and Pico.

The culmination of the contest will take place on Saturday, February 25 (7:30 p.m.) at the Huesca Conference Center, this will be the place where tribute will be paid to the Mountain Rescue and Intervention Groups of the Civil Guard (GRIM) of the province of Huesca and the Helicopter Service of the Civil Guard based in Huesca (U.H.E.L.-41).

A tribute prior to the premiere presentation of the national tour made up of some of the most outstanding works of this year's selection. Yonto The Mountain, Into the ice: An Expedition To The End Of The World, 24 Hours Odyssee, The Tough, (Plastik), Costa Brava: Roca Nua y The Forever Mustache They will be seen on the big screen at the Carlos Saura Auditorium before traveling to the rest of the provincial venues: Barbastro (March 17), Jaca (March 24), Boltaña (April 1) and Benasque (April 15).