The festival starts on March 17, but the winners are announced right now. This is because the organisers want the viewers to be sure, while they are watching the films, that the films which they watch are the best of the best, and so that they can find out whether they agree with the verdict of the jury.
And this year's jury decided that the Silver Award for UIAA Best Climbing Film goes to "Jurek" by Paweł Wysoczański.
"Jurek" tells about the Polish Himalayan mountaineer, Jerzy Kukuczka, who died tragically. The documentary film does not, however, concentrate on the mystery of his death, but shows a person, who climbs up, higher and higher – in a literal, but also metaphorical and symbolic sense. From a bootblack to a millionaire, from a socialist worker to an international media star, from the man who climbs without any money and equipment to the real competitor of Reinhold Messner in the competition to climb the Crown of the Himalayas and the Karakoram.
The full list of the award-winning films can be found on the website of the festival.