British Director Awarded at Mountain Film Festival

The Grand Prix of the 9th edition of the Meetings with the Mountain Film festival, a wooden statue and a 4.000 PLN prize went to Alastair Lee, the director of "Autana". The film demonstrates alpinism and advnture in an inventive and unusual way.

"Through surprising sequences this document absorbes the audience from the very beginning and allows them to appreciate a mountain-made story" explained the jurors. "Our special words of appreciation go to the director, who in one person combined the roles of a director, a camera operator, an editor and a producer.

This year's edition of Zakopane festival was entered by 29 films from 14 countries. The special award of the Mountain Rescue Service was awarded by its supervisor Jan Krzysztof to Vladimir Cellier's "Silbergeier". The French short film was found the best production demonstrating a man in extreme situations. 

The film that best demonstrates the bond between a man and nature was announced the American "Chasing ice" film by Jeff Orlowski. The production tells a story of climate changes on Earth.

The audience voted their favourite film to be Polish "Niedzwiedz, wladca gor" [Bear, the ruler of the mountains] by Krystian Matysek.

This year's festival was dedicated to Maciej Berbeka, a climber who perished on the slopes of Broad Peak this year.