INTERNATIONAL JURY'S REPORT

Some Anticipations

The Gentians are awarded as follows:

The Silver Gentian for the best film on adventure and sport is awarded to: Oceans of fear by Nic Good (South Africa) "Three young South African climbers repeat a difficult route opened years before by the most experienced member of the roped party, completing the feat with an unexpected and gratifying end: a quick descent from the peak by parachute".

The Silver Gentian for the best film on exploration and environmental conservation is awarded to Spuren im Sand by Waltraud Paschinger (Austria) "A message of hope for man threatened by a relentless environmental deterioration: to reconstruct, starting from nature laid waste by "civilisation", a plant and animal life, the real heritage of humanity. An outstanding film which arouses feelings of amazement for nature which, despite everything, is able to regenerate itself".

The Silver Gentian for the best film on mountains is awarded to: L'č uscią by Urs Frey and Mike Wildholz (Switzerland) "Not far from the hectic life of today, a peasant of Val Bregaglia in the Grisons has learned how to unite silence and solitude, hard work and the contemplation of nature, in his mountain farmstead".

The "Cittą di Bolzano" Gold Gentian and 5 million lire for the best film in the section "Bolzano mountains" fiction film is awarded to: Der Ötztalmann und seine Welt by Kurt Mündl (Austria) "The discovery of the Similaun man nine years ago created outstanding interest in the scientific world and in the imagination of the public for the origins of man. The film poised between scientific certainties and imaginary scenes of 5000 years ago, leaves the viewer the choice of accepting the reconstruction of judging the interpretation. A film which nevertheless leaves one amazed".

The Italian Alpine Club Prize Gold Gentian and 5 million lire for the best film on mountaineering is awarded to: Cavalieri della vertigini by Gianluigi Quarti, Giovanni Cenacchi and Fulvio Mariani (Switzerland) "In the fifties European mountaineering renewed with extraordinary fervour the struggle for the conquest of the last classic routes on the Alps. Among these the "direttissima" (direct ascent) of the west peak of Lavaredo witnessed a real battle between the Swiss Weber and Schelbert and the Scoiattoli di Cortina. The film makes an anatomy, at times cruel, of this event, revealing with meticulous research the facts and direct impressions of the protagonists, filling a gap of historical memory with great ability in narration and action".

The Gran Premio "Cittą di Trento" ? Gold Gentian and 5 million lire for the film that, with high artistic qualities, best reflects the cultural aims pursued by the Festival, is awarded to: Himalaya by Eric Valli (France, Great Britain, Nepal, Switzerland) "The first frame grips you: hooves of yaks laboriously climbing a dusty track; in the background the stupendous scenery of the Himalayas. This is the start of an eventful journey by poor peasants from a village in the far north of upper Dolpo-Nepal. Step by step the viewer is drawn emotionally among them, making the journey in a world which penetrates the soul"