The Last Lost Kingdom(2014)

Kurt Diemberger - Verso Dove(it)

A man walks in more or less familiar places, walks there as if crossing unknown lands, never encountered before. At each step, he observes the world before his eyes, forcing him to fix it and freeze it in an “other” space and time, on the celluloid of his old camera. This man is Kurt Diemberger, climber and filmmaker of high peaks and distant lands. He is 82 years old, but he lives in the "now" rather than the past, continually exploring the land beneath his feet, in places dear to him in Austria, Italy and the Dolomites, as if he continued his research through the eye of the camera he uses for the observer.

A Sky Without Stars(pl)

A story of the love between a father who is losing his eyesight and his seven-year-old son who learns to become his father’s guide and his eyes. What the son sees for the first time, the father is most likely seeing for the last. Their unique relationship illustrates the saying that love is invisible to the eye.

Woman Rebel(en)

Over the course of a controversial 10-year revolution in Nepal, 40% of the guerilla army fighting against the government were women. "Woman Rebel" follows the story of one such woman (codename "Silu") on her incredible journey — from the jungles, all the way through to the halls of Parliament. It's a powerful, unconventional topic featuring women as agents of change, not victims of circumstance.

Karim's Footsteps(es)

Documentary about Abdul Karim, the most famous porter of the Karakoram, born in Hushé, a small village in northern Pakistan where the only way to earn money to survive the harsh winters is to work as a mountain porter with the expeditions on the highest peaks in the country. He climbed with the greatest mountaineers: Messner, Kukuczka, Boivin, Bonington... But his last, most ambitious and revolutionary project of all was to create the first women's mountaineering team in Baltistan.

The Marinovich Project(en)

From birth, Todd Marinovich was raised with a defined purpose of creating the perfect athlete. Trained by his father, Marv, a former pro football player and a strength and conditioning guru, the young Marinovich was meticulously engineered and nurtured into a star quarterback. When it came to performance, Marv expected perfection and Todd delivered. He was dubbed "Robo QB," and his performance initially lived up to the name as he set passing records in high school, vied for the Heisman while at USC and ultimately was selected in the first round of the 1991 NFL draft by his hometown Los Angeles Raiders. But two years later, he was out of the NFL, a full-blown drug addict in search of a life beyond football. "The Marinovich Project" tells the unvarnished story of Todd's unique ascent to stardom, the dark descent that followed and the complicated father-son bond throughout, ultimately answering the question "What went wrong with Todd Marinovich?"

Concerto For Other Hands(es)

David dreams of being a pianist like his father, José Luis, who believes it impossible due to his son's physical characteristics: short arms, hands with four fingers and limited hearing. Thanks to his tenacity, David shows him that he can play in his own way and together they begin a musical path that culminates with a new challenge for David: premiering the difficult concerto for piano and orchestra that his father composed for him.

Karakoram(fr)

Account of the first French expedition to the Himalayas, which attempted to climb the hidden peak (Gasherbrum I) in 1936, from the preparations for the trip to the end of the ascent. After a long approach walk through quasi-desert regions, then on a huge glacier, the caravan of 700 porters arrives at the foot of Hidden Peak. The expedition was led by Henry de Ségogne, with Jean Charignon, Pierre Allain, Raymond Leininger, Jean Carle, Jean Deudon, Louis Neltner, Jacques Azémar, doctor Jeand Arlaud and director Marcel Ichac. Weather conditions, logistical problems and a strike among Sherpas forced the team to retire at 6900m on the south face. The film received the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1938.

Crazy Wisdom: The Life and Times of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche(en)

CRAZY WISDOM explores the arrival of Tibetan Buddhism in America through the story of Chögyam Trungpa, who landed in the U.S. in 1970. Trungpa became renowned for translating ancient Buddhist concepts into language and ideas that Westerners could understand and shattered preconceived notions about how an enlightened teacher should behave. Initially rejected, his teachings are now recognized by western philosophers and spiritual leaders as authentic and profound.

Dragon Rider(en)

An unlikely trio of heroes – a dragon, a boy and a forest brownie – embark on an epic adventure to find the “Rim of Heaven” - the mythological safe haven for all dragons.

Refuge(en)

A documentary about the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order in London.

Alain Vastine, les combats d'un père(fr)

14 Apples(my)

Wang Shin-hong is suffering from insomnia. A fortune teller advises the Mandalay businessman, whose car and bulging wallet suggest that business is going pretty well, to spend 14 days in a monastery, living life as a monk and eating an apple a day. Such a thing is possible in Burma today. Wang Shin-hong arrives at the rural monastery, has his head shaved and dons a red robe, in which he instantly becomes an authority. During the welcome procession, the village women, their poverty clear from their clothing and the huts in the background, put more than they have in his alms bowl. During his fleeting role as their advisor, Wang Shin-hong soon learns of the villagers’ attempts to survive and make a living as legal or illegal migrants in China, Thailand or Malaysia. He also finds out how the other monks try to generate profit and additional income.

Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks(zh)

A detailed look at the gradual decline of Shenyang’s industrial Tiexi district, an area that was once a vibrant example of China’s socialist economy. But industry is changing, and the factories of Tiexi are closing. Director Wang Bing introduces us to some of the workers affected by the closures, and to their families.

When Glaciers Go(ne)

A diminishing water supply is driving people from their land in a remote region of Nepal. The younger generation of the Gurung family adapts by commuting from their ancestral home, where subsistence depends on grazing goats and cows, to a village that has a commercial apple orchard, fed by irrigation. “We cannot give up cultivating our fields,” a elderly man explains. “The apple farm is not going to be able to feed us easily.” The older generation believes that water shortages stem from road building and bulldozing, upsetting the natural order, a young man explains. Both generations fly prayer flags, beseeching water.

Dragons: Gift of the Night Fury(en)

Hiccup and Toothless go on an exciting adventure and discover an island of new dragons.

Denis Urubko - My Own Way(en)

Denis Urubko is one of the strongest Himalayan climbers of all time: he has climbed all 8000 meter peaks without supplemental oxygen, establishing new alpine style routes on Broad Peak, Manaslu, Cho Oyu and Lhotse. He also made the first winter ascents of Makalu and Gasherbrum II. Add to his legend, the incredible rescue of Elisabeth Revol in distress on the Nanga Parbat in January 2018, and that of about eight other climbers. Urubko's story is simply unique, tells us about him and his journey to becoming the best in very high mountains. Denis Urubko is not just an exceptional climber, he is a true legend whose feats of arms will remain etched in the history of mountaineering.

Demon of the Himalayas(de)

Movie about an expedition in search of a mythical demon in the Himalaya mountains.

Ascent to Nanga Parbat(fr)

A film about the 1979 expedition to Nanga Parbat in Pakistan, led by Lyon native Jean-Pierre Frésafond. After a city tour, they set off by bus and then on foot with Sherpas to base camp. Having set out to attempt the Rupal Pillar, the expedition was unable to reach its objective in time (torrential rain, blocked roads, scree, etc.) and lost precious time before choosing to attempt the Mazeno Ridge by default. The team theoretically had the means to do so, since it brought together no fewer than 21 strong climbers, with a large core from Lyon—a concentration of talent rarely seen. But the resulting group dynamic worked contrary to expectations, and they had to settle for the most modest of consolation prizes: the ascent of the First Peak (6,880 meters). Frésafond recounted this in a book-testimony "The Revenge of the Himalayas - The Human Adventure at Nanga-Parbat".

Angulimala(th)

Arhingsaka was born in India to a noble family. Despite his noble birth, his horoscope showed to be born under the sign of thieves, and thus was preordained for a wicked life. On his 16th birthday his father sent him to complete his education and Arhingsaka became the teacher's favorite; the other jealous students told the master that Arhingsaka was flirting with the teachers wife. Deciding to punish his former star pupil, he told Arhingsaka : "You have almost completed your training; there is just one thing left to do. Once you finish your life of suffering will be over, and you will become a Bodhisattva. You must single-handedly kill 1,000 people"

Annapurna III - Unclimbed(de)

“Annapurna III – Unclimbed” is an award-winning 12-min documentary featuring the 2016 expedition to the Himalayas of Nepal led by David Lama together with Austrian alpinists Hansjörg Auer and Alex Blümel. Join the team in their feelings of fatigue, anxiety, exposure and ordeal during their 5 weeks attempting one of the world’s greatest, unsolved puzzles of alpinism: The unclimbed south-east ridge of Annapurna III.